Defender delighted with his return to action
TOWERING defender Kevin Joshua admits he is pleased to be playing again after nearly three months without a club.
The 6ft 6in left-footer was last in action for Rushall Olympic back in the autumn and had been out of action until making his debut for Stratford Town in their 2-0 victory over St Ives Town on Tuesday evening.
“It’s been a while since I last played, probably back in October or November in a cup game for Rushall,” the central defender explained. “It was ages ago. I love football so I knew that I’d get back into playing eventually - it’s just that it took longer than I thought.
“I kept my faith, kept praying and had my friends around me who helped while I was training with my best friend. They really helped me to get back playing again and now I’m just so happy to be back.”
Dublin-born Joshua came to England when he was aged 17 and spent two years with West Bromwich Albion. During that time he went out on loan to Irish League side Waterford and has since had spells at a number of clubs including National League side York City, Northern Ireland outfit Crusaders and Scottish League One team Peterhead. He spent pre-season with the Bards but ended up at Rushall.
“My priority right now is to keep playing games,” he added. “Things haven’t been how I wanted them to be so I sort have fell out of love with the game. It’s about working my way back up now but the lads and the gaffer here are brilliant. I have a smile back on my face.
“There is a good togetherness in the squad which I really like and I think the sky’s the limit for the team.
“Professional football is my dream so I need to focus hard on my time with Stratford and see what happens.”
West Brom loanee Alex Williams also played his part in the 2-0 defeat of St Ives and there was a late appearance off the bench for Cyrus Bruce following his arrival from Daventry Town.
The win lifted the Bards up to second in the Southern League Premier Central table ahead of their match at Spalding United on Saturday and head coach Paul Davis was pleased with the display and the performances of his new arrivals.
He said: “I thought for the first 25/30 minutes we were very good. We defended well and were good on the ball. We took our chances and were deservedly in front at half-time.
“In the second half we expected them to give us a bit of a show and they did for a while but we then regained control in the middle of the pitch and saw the game out. My only slight criticism was that we didn’t win by more goals.
“Obviously we lost Chris Hussey and needed to replace him which isn’t easy to do at this stage of the season. Kev had been with us in pre-season and did well. He knew a few of the lads so it was a no brainer.
“In the first couple of minutes when he stepped in and threw the kid to the floor I thought ‘he’s my type of centre half’. He looked calm and accomplished and he is only going to get better because that was his first game since November.
“I thought Alex did well once he got into the game. This is a different type of football to what he has been playing but I thought in the second half particularly he stood up to be counted, winning his battles in the air and his quality on the ball was good.”