TIM Flowers could not fault his Bromsgrove Sporting side despite the Rouslers suffering another derby defeat against rivals Redditch United.
A first-half goal from Aaron Bishop saw Sporting slip to an eighth derby defeat in their last nine meetings with Redditch.
Sporting also missed the chance to reach the Worcestershire Senior Cup final but Flowers praised his side’s performance after the Rouslers withstood plenty of Redditch pressure to only lose by a single goal.
Flowers said: “Redditch came out really fast and stuck it on us.
“This time they would have gone under, and they did in August, but we stood up to it and we had to withstand a barrage.
“We were on top for the vast majority of the second half but I don’t remember the Redditch keeper making a save.
“Every one of them to a man gave everything. It was a vastly-improved display with and without the ball in terms of the commitment.
“I can’t fault our lot. When we’re not good enough I don’t sugar-coat it.
“It was a really tight close-fought derby but they found a way to get over the line.
“It’s a poor goal from our point of view because it’s an error.
“If we sustain and replicate that kind of performance, we should be okay.”
Bromsgrove are next in action against Kettering Town on Saturday, March 7 with kick-off at 3pm at Latimer Park.
