AFC Sudbury enjoy a positive bank holiday ahead of FA Cup tie at lower-league Mildenhall Town

It was an enjoyable bank holiday weekend for Marc Abbott and his AFC Sudbury players.

On Saturday the Yellows recorded their first win since being promoted to the Pitching In Southern League Central Premier Division with a 1-0 triumph on the road at Nuneaton Borough before following that up on Monday by drawing 1-1 at home with Berkhamsted.

For Abbott, it was a 48-hour period that provided a pleasing riposte to the 4-0 home defeat at the hands of Redditch the previous weekend.

The Sudbury boss said: “We’re really pleased with how the players have applied themselves over the last couple of games.

“Nuneaton is a tricky place to go but we did really well. We were very good first half and then defended our box brilliantly in the second half.

“The players deserve a huge credit for going there and coming away with all three points.

“And we were happy with Monday’s performance as well. It would have been frustrating to come away with nothing because we controlled the game for pretty much the entire 90 minutes.

“They had a little spell where they put us under pressure and gained some momentum with set pieces, but overall I felt we were the better side.

“It’s tough to pick up positive results at this level and we’ve got a couple on the bounce which will give us some confidence.”

Both of the goals over the bank holiday were scored by summer signing Joe Neal, who kept his cool from the penalty spot at Nuneaton and then curled in a late equaliser to rescue a share of the spoils against Berkhamsted.

And while Abbott is delighted with the early impact that the forward has made, he also believes that there is plenty more to come from the former Cambridge United trainee.

“Joe also scored against Barwell in our first league game so that’s three now and that’s a really good return at this stage,” added Abbott.

“When we brought Joe to the club we knew what type of player we were getting, but also what type of player he can become.

“When I first spoke to Joe I was struck by his positive attitude and mentality around wanting to improve and as a coaching group we’ll support him on the finer details – his finishing, back to goal play and the runs he makes off the ball, things like that.

“He’s got a great work ethic and he also gives us some resilience because even if we’re not creating much in certain parts of a game, he does a big job for the team.

“Joe has been great since coming in and I think he’ll get even better as the weeks and months go on.”

Yellows aiming for FA Cup progress

AFC Sudbury manager Marc Abbott believes that his side will be in for a ‘very tricky tie’ when they travel to face lower-league Mildenhall Town in Emirates FA Cup on Saturday afternoon (3pm).

The Yellows head to The Riverside Stadium for the first qualifying round tie sitting two levels above their hosts in the non-league pyramid.

However, with Mildenhall having recruited players from a higher standard during the summer, Abbott is taking nothing for granted.

He said: “We’re taking the game very seriously and that’s why we’ve watched them play.

“It’s going to be a very tricky tie. We understand the nature of it and also the importance of it financially for the club.

“It’s probably the first time this season that we’ll go into a game not as the underdogs and that brings with it a little bit of pressure.

“But we’ll focus on ourselves and what we do. We know that on our day we’ve got plenty of match winners within the group.

“And at the same time it’s important as a coaching group that we know exactly what they do and how they play.

“I know most of their players from having played alongside them or coached them over the years – and they’ve got some very good players as well.

“It’s a game we're really looking forward to after a good bank holiday weekend.”

Captain Jake Turner (ankle) will be assessed ahead of the clash at Mildenhall.