IAN Long wants more cutting edge from his Tividale forward players following last night’s narrow 1-0 home defeat to Stafford Rangers.

It was the second time in seven days Neil Kitching’s side were victorious at The Beeches following last week’s Doodson Cup tie.

Tivi dominated much of the opening period without severely testing Rangers’ Goalkeeper Adam Whitehouse, much to the manager’s frustration.

Long said afterwards “We dominated the opening half without creating any clear cut opportunities and it’s costing us dearly.

“The final third of the field is proving to be a real problem for us, particularly at home.

“Early in the second half, Leigh Downing had a fantastic opportunity to score and should have put us ahead”.

Long’s side face a testing trip to Leek Town this coming Saturday with ‘Dale now without a home league win since August, a 2-1 victory over Sheffield.

He added “It’s a difficult game and we’ve seen they’re a good team on several occasions earlier in the season.

“We’re relying on our very good away form again to pick up points. We need to start winning at home”.