The Brakes boss shares his thoughts on the 2-2 draw at Brackley Town on Boxing Day......
'In the end I felt it was a far reflection of the game. We got the goal and then maybe had a couple of good opportunities to get a second. I don’t think people should lose sight of what a good side Brackley are, and when it gets toward the end of the season they will be where they need to be. They’re a team full of players that have won promotion from this league, they’re a little bit up and down at the moment but they will get themselves sorted and get on a run again.
They finished the first half strongly, but we were disappointed with their two goals really, we felt we could have done better in wide areas to stop the ball coming in the box. The second was a great strike but Brackley got on top then, their system overpowered us, which is what they do. I’ve sat there many a time and watched Brackley do that, but we reorganised second half and were better. I thought we made a good fist of it second half, it was a pretty even game, but obviously if they put that penalty away for 3-1 it’s going to be hard to come back from that, but as has happened many times before, Tony has pulled that one out of the bag for us.
I think the substitutes we brought on then, Jordan and Reece, gave us a bit more quality and legs, and I think on the balance of play it was probaby about right. In my time as Leamington manager over the years we’ve had to go to Brackley and set up teams to stifle and delay them to stay in the game, and I think this is the first time we’ve really gone there and gone toe to toe with them really. We had plenty of the ball, we were brave, and I was delighted with it. It’s a tough place to go and it’s a good point for us.
The atmosphere our fans created towards the end of the second half really helped spur the lads on. The supporters really do act as a twelfth man sometimes, so I have to thank them for that. We’ve got another tough game coming up at Telford on Saturday, so we move on to that.
There’s always that element of disappointment when you’re not winning games, but we’re drawing a lot and still picking up points. When you’re going to clubs like York and Brackley and coming back from behind .... these are clubs with bigger resources, and we’re showing lots and lots of character to stay in these games, and come away with something.'
