The next four days are a big test for Brackley Town FC. Now 5th in the league, Brackley today face middle placed Spennymore and on Tuesday night top of the league, Kidderminster At the end of the 23/24 season after just losing out in the play off final for a sixth time , Brackley’s manager in his end of season speech reassured all present that he had a strategy in place to make sure they would go up this season, To date, Brackley performance has not been enough to show this to be genuinely possible. The next two matches could prove this view to be wrong if Town can win both of
these two key home matches and show they are back on track, and able to carry on from where they left off.
The first 10 mins of the match against Spennymore were nothing to write home about as both settled down into what looked like evenly balenced play. A few runs into the Spennymore goal packed with Brackley supporters behind it, expectant for an early goal shown below.
Suddenly as the first quarter came to a close, the heavens opened.
In the 16th minute, a goal by Connor Hall hit the back of the Spennymore net. Soon after, Tommy O Sullivan for Brackley followed on with another in the 17th. With Brackley’s goalkeeper suspended for the next three matches, the pressure was now on for his replacement who now had everything to save for in order to keep Brackley on track and and start re-igniting again the promotion dream. To their credit, a bit deflated Spennymore side kept their heads up and continued to fight neutralising and settling down the Brackley onslaught. However by the 32nd min Spennymore were not able to do anything significant to reverse the shocking Brackley shotburst lead. In the 39th min, the heavens opened again for the Saints with a third goal going in by Morgan Roberts. The closing stages of the first half were for Spennymore now more about stopping anymore rather than getting one back for themselves before the referee blew the whistle. When for them it thankfully went, Spenny were sent back into the changing room wondering with such a high score line against them, whether it was worth coming back out again for the second. When for them, the daunting prospect of a second half finally arrived, all Spennymore could get for their better play in the first quarter was a corner kick. By the 62nd min with the early massive score advantage at 3-0, all Spenny could do or hope for was that a substitution might change their fortunes. With the home end now full with the return of the Brackley supporters from the away end, Brackley countered the move with their own substitution in the 64th. In the 66th Spenny were awarded a free kick way out from the box. A good distant kick went straight onto the head of a Spenny striker which would have made it 3-1 had it not been for a great save by the reserve goal keeper. More Spenny step up in pressure followed in the second quarter of the second half, with more action in the Brackley goal end. However a Spenny corner awarded in the 70th failed to produce anything. Confident they had the game now sown , Brackley made a second substitution to save tired players and to test new ones. The trick worked as it gave them more of the match again as it went into the final quarter.
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