Abbott’s timely return gives Quakers vital touch of class
PAWEL Abbott's intervention
last weekend turned a Darlington
defeat into three moraleboosting
points, and now Quakers
hope he can fire the club to
promotion following his timely
return to action.
The £100,000 signing has been
injured for much of the season
but returned last month and
against Grimsby Town seven
days ago showed supporters
what they have been missing,
with two goals and some touches
of genuine class.
Darlington were 2-0 down
when Abbott, particularly before
the break, found space and created
openings for himself in one
of Quakers' most memorable individual
performances in recent
seasons.
Some even drew comparisons
with former favourite Marco
Gabbiadini, which may be a
shade premature, though Abbott
does appear to have the touch
and goal instinct possessed by
the former terrace idol.
Gabbiadini guaranteed goals
during Quakers' last promotion
push in 1999/00, and now supporters
are looking for Abbott to
do likewise during the club's latest
stab at going up.
He will start today at Chester
City in a side which will show few
changes and manager Dave Penney
said: "Pawel's a good finisher
and this is the fittest we've
seen him.
"He missed a bit of pre-season,
then he had a thigh strain so he
wasn't quite fit enough at the
start of the season. Then he had
a knee problem which he tried to
play through.
"He had a couple of injections
which didn't quite work, so then
he had an operation, which looks
like it's cured it. Now he looks as
fit as he's ever been while with
us.
"He was first-class last Saturday,
really on top of his game,
and I was delighted with his goals
and his overall performance."
Penney would love to have had
the striker available more often,
but feels those that have filled the
gap have performed admirably.
He added: "Hopefully Pawel
being with us now has worked
out to be good timing. We've
hung in there and have been
there or thereabouts while Pawel
wasn't fit.
"People like Kevin Gall and
Guylain Ndumbu-Nsungu came
in and did a job. Now that Pawel
is with us hopefully he can carry
on the good work.
"Don't forget we've also got
Richie Foran and Julian Joachim
who can play up front too, so
we've got plenty options, and we
know we can keep it tight at the
back so things are looking quite
bright."
The fact Quakers have had to
use 35 players in League Two,
more than any other club barring
bottom-of-the-table Wrexham, illustrates
the injury problems
Penney has had to contend with.
He has continually used the
loan market to find players to
plug gaps and with four games to
play in 11 days Penney will no
doubt continue to tinker with his
selection to get the best from his
squad.
Today he must choose between
Ian Miller and Alan White to play
centre-back alongside Steve Foster,
who will again wear a lightweight
cast to protect a broken
bone in his hand.
"We've had to chop and change
all season but I think that's part
of the job at this level," said Penney,
who now has Foran available,
though he is not ready for a
full game.
"When I was at Doncaster and
we won the title we had a season
when it wasn't like that, everything
went smoothly.
"This year we've had injuries
and suspensions all the time, but
most managers have that.
"We'll put out our strongest
side on Saturday, there won't be
many changes from last weekend,
and then we'll reassess the
situation on Sunday ahead of the
Morecambe game on Monday.
"We've got to be careful with
Richie and he won't start on Saturday.
I know from past experience
with hamstrings that you
can think you're OK but it's the
fatigue that causes problems.
"He's been out for two months
so we've got to gradually bring
him back and not let him go hell
for leather in his first game.
"He had 45 minutes in the reserves
on Tuesday and the next
task is to give him an hour and
slowly build him up."
The outcome of Quakers' season
will be heavily influenced in
the next 11 days, with next Saturday's
home match with Bradford
followed by a midweek trip
to Barnet.
"We're a point behind third,
we've got nine games left and it's
in our hands," added Penney. "If
we have a good run-in then we'll
end up in the automatic places,
if not we'll be in the play-offs.
"It's up to us how we finish the
season. The players should not
need any motivating now, if they
do then they're in the wrong
game."
8:47am Saturday 22nd March 2008
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