Peterborough Sports boss to become ruthless after gift goals deliver a disappointing defeat
Peterborough Sports manager Phil Brown will adopt a ruthless streak for the rest of his side's battle against relegation from National League North.
Sports went down 3-1 to Spennymoor Town at PIMS Park last weekend to slip to within a place and two points of the relegation zone ahead of a tough game at fourth-placed Radcliffe on Saturday. Sports then have a big game at fellow strugglers Bedford Town, who recently signed former Posh player George Moncur, next Tuesday (February 24). The teams are currently level on points.
Brown claimed all three goals against Spennymoor were gifted to the visitors and he’s now determined to remove the things holding the club back.
Spennymoor led 1-0 at the break before easing to victory in the second-half despite a 10th goal of the season for lively Sports forward Luca Miller. The city side have now failed to win any of their last four league games.
“People will always make mistakes in all walks of life,” Brown said. “But goals in this game were gifted by players who should know better.
"We had just started to show positive signs of life in matches and in training on Thursday, but we killed ourselves here. Collectively we were okay and certain things at the club are very good, but certain things are also holding us back so I need to sort that out quickly. I need to be ruthless now as it’s a 14-game countdown to the end of the season.
"It was a bad day at the office. We played a team who came here to try and slow the game down with no thought about entertaining, but we opened the game up with a mistake, then made a second mistake for the second goal and then a third mistake killed us after we had got back into the game.
"Our game-plan was unhinged by three mistakes. We’ve made our place a tough place to come to, but some players let me and the club down.”
Glen Taylor opened the scoring for Spennymoor last weekend midway through the first-half and the same player made it 2-0 early in the second half.
Miller pulled a goal back on 67 minutes following a pass from Mustapha Carayol before substitute Shaun Jeffers went close to equalising with a header.
But a misjudgement from goalkeeper Peter Crook enabled Junior Mondal to seal an away win with Spennymoor’s third goal.
Sports hope to have centre-back Charlie Hickingbottom and club captain Dan Jarvis back from injury this weekend.
**Centre-back Richard Faakye has left Sports after 12 appearances. His contract has been cancelled by mutual consent. Faakye is a former Swansea City player.