Town’s title hopes dampened by Borough defeat

ALCESTER assistant Lee Adams admitted a third defeat of the season to Redditch Borough will make it tough for the Romans to hit top spot and win promotion from MFL Division Two.

Chances proved elusive for the Romans and they were beaten by two second half goals, Szhem Whyte-Hall heading home on 55 minutes with fellow substitute Josh Beeson wrapping things up in added time.

“We have struggled of late to be honest,” Adams admitted after the game. “Morale is a bit low. We defended the slope well in the first half and we were pleased to go in without conceding. But I don’t know if they thought that they had done the hard part but in the end, we’ve not played well enough and they have opened us up coming up the hill.

“A lot of the lads are deflated and we have to get our heads down and see if we can put things right. At one time we were scoring goals for fun but, today, we never looked like scoring. We have played them three times and they have beaten us on all three occasions. We must realise where we are.

“We were in with a chance of winning the league at one stage but this defeat has opened up a ten-point gap between us and them with us having a game in hand, so it is going to be difficult. Knowle have played far more games than us but are well in front so that will be difficult to close the gap.

“I understand that this is what happened last season with the club dropping points around new year and that cost them at the end of season. Let’s hope it doesn’t happen again this season.”

“Something is not quite right at the moment. Aaron [Blackwood – manager] is good at recruiting and we have gone and signed quite a few players. But you have to say that at the moment the squad isn’t strong enough because we have not won for four games.”

See this week’s Herald for a full match report and pictures.