Hornchurch boss Steve Morison happy with early signs

Hornchurch head to Southern League Premier side St Ives Town for their next pre-season test on Saturday, boasting back-to-back wins under new boss Steve Morison.

Urchins followed their opening 3-1 win at Barking with a 1-0 home victory against National League side Dagenham & Redbridge in windy conditions at the weekend.

George Saunders netted the only goal of the game against his former club, who saw Myles Weston hit a post, while Ade Yusuff saw a header ruled out for offside.

And Morison was able to run the rule over his squad, making 10 changes on the day in front of a crowd of 825 at Bridge Avenue.

“Obviously we’ve put some changes in place to be better than we have been and it’s a good start,” he said.

“It was a tough game against Dagenham but we did really well.

“We looked quite comfortable and were really pleased with how it went.

“It was the first chance to see us at home and it was a good afternoon’s work.

“It will be a different looking team again [at St Ives] to get minutes and build up for a big week with two games in three days.

“It’s all about peaking towards the end of pre-season, not now.”

Urchins play host to National League South side Braintree Town on Tuesday, before visiting Isthmian North new boys Redbridge next Friday (July 28).

And they entertain Millwall U21s in their last friendly, before the Isthmian League Premier Division campaign starts with a trip to Horsham on August 12.

Morison says the focus is on that trip to Sussex, adding: “The boys are working hard in training to be ready for Horsham, we will keep working on fitness and be good to go as it’s a big week straight away with Saturday/Tuesday/Saturday.

“I think we’re all good now. Unless there are any changes out of my control. It’s quite a nice group. I’m really happy with how they’re getting on.

“We wanted a settled group, with a few additions, and training has been excellent. The results in the games so far have been good and winning is a nice habit to have.

“We’ve asked them to carry out specific jobs with some new ideas and they’ve taken it on board. It’s all we can ask for.

“We want them to adapt and do some things so that when and if the team changes, they can step up and take it on and you don’t notice the changes.

“There’s always improvements to make but we’re working towards that first game of the season.”

Hornchurch 2023-24 Isthmian League Premier Division
Aug 12 Horsham a; Aug 15 Margate h; Aug 19 Carshalton h; Aug 26 Lewes a; Aug 28 Hashtag United h; Sep 9 Wingate & Finchley a; Sep 16 Dulwich Hamlet h; Sep 23 Haringey a; Sep 30 Hastings Utd h; Oct 14 Cray a; Oct 21 Bognor Regis h; Oct 24 Folkestone Invicta h; Oct 28 Concord a; Nov 4 Enfield Town h; Nov 11 Cheshunt a; Nov 18 Potters Bar h; Nov 25 Kingstonian a; Dec 2 Whitehawk h; Dec 9 Billericay a; Dec 16 Chatham Town a; Dec 26 Canvey Island h; Dec 30 Lewes h; Jan 1 Hashtag United a; Jan 6 Horsham h; Jan 13 Carshalton a; Jan 20 Concord h; Jan 27 Enfield Town a; Jan 30 Folkestone Invicta a; Feb 3 Cheshunt h; Feb 10 Dulwich Hamlet a; Feb 17 Haringey h; Feb 24 Hastings United a; Mar 2 Cray h; Mar 9 Bognor Regis a; Mar 16 Billericay h; Mar 23 Whitehawk a; Mar 30 Wingate & Finchley h; Apr 1 Canvey Island a; Apr 6 Chatham Town h; Apr 13 Margate a; Apr 20 Potters Bar a; Apr 27 Kingstonian h.
*subject to change.