JAMES Fry insists his Alvechurch side must be more clinical after slipping to a frustrating 1-0 defeat at Halesowen Town on Easter Monday.
Church dominated the play only for Luke Redfern’s 80th-minute header to stun the visitors at The Grove after Fry’s men lost 2-1 at home to Mickleover at Lye Meadow two days earlier.
And Fry acknowledged his side must improve in the final third if they are to climb up the table with four games left to play this season.
Fry said: “I sound like a broken record, I’m really pleased with the performance but we had all of the play in the second half, we need to be more clinical and get more shots off.
“You’re thinking there’s only one team who is going to score and then we concede off another set-piece, we’ve got to be more effective in the top third and we can’t keep conceding goals like that.
“We can blame the officials all we like but we didn’t take our chances, we’ve been hit with a sucker punch, the lads have to understand if they want to be at the other end of the league that’s what it looks like.”
After spurning a number of chances to take the lead against Halesowen, the home side scored the game’s only goal 10 minutes from time as Redfern headed in at a corner.
That came after Church suffered a late defeat against Mickleover two days earlier as Tyrell Waite’s deflected volley put the visitors ahead with two minutes left to play.
And Waite sealed the points for the visitors in injury time with a clinical finish from the right-hand side of the penalty area before Jaanai Gordon headed in Josh Dugmore’s cross moments later as Church grabbed a consolation goal.
The result means Church sit 16th in the Southern League Premier Central table.
Alvechurch are next in action at home to Bromsgrove Sporting on Saturday, April 6 with kick-off at 3pm at Lye Meadow.
