First-half goals from Olufela Olomola and Matthew Lund secured the victory as a number of players received valuable game time in the first warm-up game ahead of the 2019-20 campaign.
Hurst said: “It’s always nice to win a game of football but I stand by what I said in that it’s more about the application and taking things on board that we’ve said. For a first game, in hot conditions, there were glimpses and signs of the players understanding what we want.
“In fairness to them, we haven’t battered them with that information in terms of eleven versus eleven on a full pitch, so credit to them for what they have taken on board. We expect to get a lot lot better but at the same time there were some positive signs and it was good to see them against opposition, other than their own team-mates, and score a couple of good goals.
“You’re always learning and, as much as training’s great and you clearly see some things, ultimately it’s about what happens on the big pitch. Overall, there were promising signs and the lads will be pleased to get that first game under their belts.
“I’ll have a look at next weekend (when the Iron travel to Guiseley while another XI face Bottesford at the same time) to see what we decide on that, but there’s no doubt some have found it more difficult than others and we have got a few niggles, so we have to see how we go once we are back in England on Monday morning, ready to go again.”
The boss went on to explain: “Earlier in the week we lost Clayton Lewis and Jacob Bedeau, which was disappointing for those two lads. Jacob has gone back for a knee scan while Clayton’s is more muscular but I don’t expect him to be training next week certainly. We’ll assess them when we get back. Michael (McBride, head of medical services) and Ben Palmer (assistant physiotherapist) will look at them and we’ll get them right as quickly as possible.
“Levi (Sutton) reported back a couple of days before the rest of the players returned and his back was sore. We’ll see how that settles but he’s frustrated because he felt he’d done quite a bit in the summer and was in good shape. The only advantage with him to a degree is he’s relatively fit naturally. In midfield, we have been a little bit light, but a couple of younger lads who we’ve had out with us have come in and trained well, and have done pretty well in the game today.”
Talking about the week in La Manga as a whole, Hurst concluded: “It’s been very worthwhile. A lot of teams come out and do their work at places like this. It’s a long, hard season and there will be a long time when we’re in the same environment so there’s no respite. The hot weather and bonding, and starting to implement ideas, has made it a good trip. The facilities have been excellent and I don’t think we could have asked for much more.”
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