After a mixed bag of results and performances against sides in the top five of the Thurlow Nunn Premier Division recently, Mildenhall Town boss Christian Appleford is continuing to learn more and more about his squad.

Hall fell to a seemingly one-sided heavy 4-0 home defeat against Felixstowe & Walton United on Saturday, but despite the result, Appleford thinks his side took a lot out of the game.

“When you have 16 shots on target and lose 4-0, that tells you something about the story of the game,” declared the Hall boss.

“We lost 4-0 at home to Norwich United (the current table-toppers of the league) recently and they were a lot better than us, I’ll hold my hands up to that.

“The difference on Saturday was the play in both penalty boxes – we also had other chances other than the 16 shots we had on target, and whenever we had a chance, they scored within literally a minute of us attacking.”

Appleford continued: “It was a lesson for us. They were sharp with the ball and possession.

“It was one of those games.”

The aforementioned Norwich game saw Hall lose 4-0 less than a month ago, with Hall playing their part in a exciting 1-1 draw with last season’s champions Hadleigh as well recently.

Appleford looks back at these three games against quality opposition with mixed reviews.

“In one game, Norwich were by far better than us and thoroughly deserved to win, while in another we showed we can compete against the champions, and in another we got shown up for when things don’t go right for us.”

Ultimately, these three games have accumulated just one point from a possible nine – with Appleford still searching for a formula to get more points on the board.

“In my eyes, we’ve showed that we can compete this season – we just need to add consistency, which we keep saying,” added Appleford, whose side’s current 12th-place league position is reflected by six wins, six defeats, and two draws.

Appleford’s troops play host to a Kirkley & Pakefield side not too dissimilar to his own this Saturday in league action.

The Royals currently sit three points, and four positions, above Hall before the weekend’s encounter, with Jamie Godbold’s men winning seven, drawing two, and losing five of their 14 league games so far.

Right-sided player David Cooper is set to miss the game at Recreation Way having picked up his fifth booking of the season recently, while striker Aaron Turner remains on the sidelines with a nasty ankle injury.

Before that though, Appleford and Hall must turn their attentions to a League Cup tie against Godmanchester Rovers this evening.

“It’s a tough draw for us, especially away from home, but we’ll go there and give it our best shot.”

Hall go into the game having already beaten Haverhill Rovers (3-1) and March Town United (3-0) in the competition.