FOOTBALL: BRAKES boss Paul Holleran believes a lack of match fitness coupled with some niggly injuries played a part in his side’s defeat to Stockport at the weekend.
Ahmed Obeng and Callum Gittings both suffered from impact knocks during Saturday’s clash, which saw Brakes concede a pair of late goals to go from one goal ahead to a goal behind by full time. Speaking after the game, the gaffer said: “We didn’t start the game well but we grew into it and had a great spell before half time.
“We were the better side for long periods in the second half and had a couple of great opportunities.
“We got the goal to go ahead which prompted Stockport to make a change. The last ten minutes was men against boys.
“We faded. We haven’t defended set plays well today and we weren’t strong enough.
“There’s no point hiding away from it. We didn’t have enough game management, didn’t defend our box well enough, and didn’t deal with their change, which is frustrating because the lads were made aware of the options Stockport had.
“It’s bitterly bitterly disappointing to come away with nothing again.
“At the end you see an accomplished side at this level, with plenty of experience and plenty of know how, and you see a side struggling to find their feet at this level – that’s an honest assessment.”
Despite the loss, Holleran was full of praise for Liam Canavan.
“Liam impressed with his desire to get stuck in and also his range of passing,” said Holleran.
“That was one of the reasons why we signed him, for his ability to get in those little pockets and make things happen. You could see he was lively.
“He’s had so little football and training in pre-season, even after his half hour performance he was blowing at the end – the level is so intense.
“It’s a level of football where we have to 100 per cent at it and at the moment we’re not.
“Some of that is down to the amount of niggles and knocks we’ve got, and part of it is we’ve got to be smarter.
“We’ve had good spells in all of our games so far, but we have let points slip away.”
