AFC Sudbury boss Mark Morsley is taking the positives from Tuesday night’s cup defeat to Suffolk rivals Needham as his charges return to league matters this weekend.

Sudbury Mercury: Panashe Mundawarara, 16, protecting the ball make a real impact when he joined the match in the second half. Picture: CONTRIBUTEDPanashe Mundawarara, 16, protecting the ball make a real impact when he joined the match in the second half. Picture: CONTRIBUTED (Image: Archant)

The Yellows were beaten 2-0 in the Suffolk Premier Cup on home turf by the Marketmen in midweek, with Morsley’s former side currently struggling in the Bostik Premier.

And the hugely respected boss admitted that the clash was a tough one for him.

“For me Tuesday was a mix of emotions, which is no surprise when you consider my relationship with Needham,” he said. “I still look for their result first and feel the pain of their defeats but I am sure Wilks (boss Richard Wilkins) will turn things around for them.

“I am not sure that winning on Tuesday will help their league campaign as we were a little disappointing in a number of areas. “Saying that it was an excellent exercise for me and we did benefit from the game, which if we had taken the chances we created in the first half, might have been interesting.

“I was very pleased though that, when we introduced first year scholars Tom Maycock and Panashe Mundawarara and switched our system, we domineered possession for a large chunk of the second half.”

Morsley’s men, who sit 15th in Bostik North with games in hand on most sides, get back to league action tomorrow with a trip to Waltham Abbey, who currently occupy tenth place, four points ahead of the Suffolk squad.

And he stressed the need for his players to keep their focus and defend better as he looks to lead the side up the league.

“Away to Waltham Abbey on Saturday will be another great test for us,” he said. “They have had some decent results of late and are a well established Isthmian League team.

“We played very well at Ware recently on a difficult pitch, being robbed of all three points deep into injury time, and that is something we need to build on.

“We need to be working harder to get a clean sheet and be harder to beat. Saying that we have definitely unearthed some real gems from Danny Laws’ academy and in the coming weeks I will be talking to these lads about long-term commitment to my project and AFC Sudbury.”