WHILE Saturday’s win over Gainsborough Trinity didn’t feel like a game where we had slapped five goals past our visitors, that’s exactly what we did. The score flattered us a bit but I’m starting to come round to the idea that the National League North is all about the gunslingers and at the moment, we’re right up there with the best.

In previous diaries, I have bemoaned the poor nature of the goals we conceded, especially when they mount up to 20 in 14 games. However, I’ve decided to dial back my frustrations with the goals conceded column and chill my beans.

The reason for my new found inner peace with the regular blemishes on the score sheet is a quick look through the final league tables for this division over recent years. It’s nuts. I mean the whole division is nuts. I had to go back to the 2012-13 season, the year we blitzed the Northern League, to find a team who had achieved the holy grail: to go the season conceding on average a goal per game or fewer. That team was league champions Chester.

Since then, not a single club has achieved the target. Considering the step up in quality and the noticeable improvement in tactics and game management in this division compared to where we’ve been in the NPL, it amazes me that the league effectively boils down to a shoot-out at the O.K. Corral.

So, despite having conceded what feels like an eye-wateringly high number of goals, it’s actually quite nice to know that none of that matters if history is to be trusted. Under Martin Gray we score goals better than almost all and we’ve done that year after year after year. Over the last four years, the team that scores the most goals in this division either wins it or goes tantalisingly close. At the moment, AFC Fylde are the only team to have scored more than us. In fact, as pointed out by the @NonLeagueCrowd Twitter account earlier in the week, only two sides (AFC Fylde and Leiston) have scored more goals than us in the top four levels of non-league football which accounts for 12 divisions. That’s some feat.

Speaking of goals, it was good to see the impact made by Dave Syers when he came on to make his debut. I’ve thought at times that our two centre forwards can get a bit isolated, especially when we’re playing more directly. Immediately, Syers showed a willingness to break out of midfield and get close to target man Mark Beck. His forward runs paid off both in securing our third penalty and also the goal which he calmly slotted home after some nice play by Nathan Cartman and Beck. Spreading goals around the team has never been an issue although it would appear that we may have found another regular contributor if last Saturday’s cameo is anything to go by.

Tomorrow sees us entertain Worcester City with most will hope is a repeat of seven days prior. The Blues are in good form, having picked up 13 points from their last six games. They also look pretty stingy defensively away from home having conceded just six goals in seven games so patience may be required.

While I’ve nearly absolved the defence of blame for all the goals conceded this season, they’re going to have their hands full with the evergreen and ever-controversial Lee Hughes, whom despite being in his 41st year, is still banging in goals and is the division’s second top goalscorer.

With a new-found appreciation for the gung-ho nature of this division, let’s hope we score one more goal than Worcester and keep up the pressure on Fylde.