Kelly not afraid to make changes after record defeat - The Bromsgrove Standard

Kelly not afraid to make changes after record defeat

Bromsgrove Editorial 31st Oct, 2019   0

BRENDAN Kelly has vowed to ring the changes at Bromsgrove Sporting and promises that “inconsistency cannot continue” in the wake of his side’s 7-2 humbling by Barwell in mid-week.

The nature of the heaviest loss in the club’s history is made all the more inconceivable considering Bromsgrove defeated the same opponent 3-1 away from home in a league encounter a week earlier.

Kelly accepts there is no covering up the embarrassment of the FA Trophy exit on home turf, and said: “Sometimes it’s black and white – there’s no hiding.

“Before now we’ve broken all sorts of records during our time here, but after the club’s biggest defeat, and my biggest as a manager and in football, I’m hurting.




“I can’t possibly fathom how we’ve lost to the same team.

“We’ve had a mixed run of form and shown inconsistencies as a team and individually, it’s been a rollercoaster of a season so far.


“The only positive is that we were never going to win the FA Trophy – we all want a cup run, but I’m just glad it wasn’t three points at stake.”

Visitors Barwell held a 3-0 lead at half time after two expert finishes by Tristan Dunkley and a strike into the top corner from Brady Hickey.

Joseph Evans rounded goalkeeper Tony Breeden to finish into an empty net 14 minutes from time, starting a late goal glut in which Barwell added two more without reply through Sam Hollis and Jamie Towers.

Shaquille McDonald then netted two consolation strikes either side of Towers’ second on 87 minutes, to save some face – albeit too little, too late – for the hosts.

The Bromsgrove manager congratulated the visitors on their progression to the next round, but says the result has provoked the need to act quickly.

“We’ve had back-to-back defeats at home now, I don’t mind losing when we’ve given it our all, but I can’t accept that,” said Kelly.

“In the next couple of weeks there will be changes – there has to be.

“Some players are not good enough for the level, it might be that some want to move on and that’s fine, but we won’t act hastily, we don’t want to leave ourselves light in numbers.”

Sporting now visit bottom-of-the-table Leiston on Saturday (3pm), a match which Kelly does not view as an easy task considering the hosts’ three-match unbeaten streak.

“They’re in a good run of form and they’ve started to turn things around, we’ll see who has the character to get back on track,” he said.

“The inconsistency cannot continue, we’ve trained as we always do, but when they cross the white line there’s not a lot I can do.

“We tend to react quite well in training and they will 100% be in better shape on Saturday.”

As a result of the defeat, the Bromsgrove squad have donated a percentage of their wage to the Primrose Hospice, while one incoming has already been announced in the form of former Australian under-20 international Daniel Alessi.

The 22-year-old right-back, who arrives from National League North Hereford following spells in the Australian A League and Italian Serie D, has been labelled as a “technically gifted lad and a fantastic athlete” by his new manager.

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