BROMSGROVE Sporting boss Paul Smith said his players’ reaction from the defeat at Saturday was fantastic as his side enjoyed a 2-0 victory over Lichfield City last night (Tuesday).
Two goals from Sean Brain ensured the Rouslers bounced-back from Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Nuneaton Griff and move to within two points of Midland League Division One leaders Coventry United, who lost 2-1 at Cadbury Athletic.
And for Smith, beating a strong Lichfield outfit and putting on a strong performance was key.
“First and foremost I asked my players for a reaction,” he said.
“It was a massive reaction from my players as they were so down beat after Saturday’s game.
“I spoke to the lads about it and told them they just need to raise their game and they showed that last night.
“My players out-battled and out-muscled Lichfield, we took our chances and probably should have won by a greater margin.”
With Coventry United slumping to a 2-1 defeat at Cadbury Athletic, the Rouslers moved to within two points of their title rivals who have a game in hand.
However, the two sides will meet at the Victoria Ground on March 12 (Saturday) in what could be a title deciding game.
And Smith tells the Standard he expects there to be more twists and turns along the way.
“I always told my players that Coventry United would drop points over the remainder of the season,” he added.
“You would have expected them to go to Cadbury and get an easy win but they got turned over with two quickfire goals.
“I have to make sure though that my players don’t take too much notice of what’s going on.
“We need to focus on what we are doing and keep getting the right results.”
Smith will be hoping for another win this weekend as his Rouslers side travel to 16th placed Heather St Johns.
Heather claimed an important 2-1 victory over Heath Hayes last night, a win that moved them seven points clear of the bottom two.
The last meeting between the two sides came in September where the Rouslers claimed a more than comfortable 7-2 win.
But this time around, Smith expects more of a challenge.
“There are no easy games in this league,” he said.
“I’ve been involved with this league a long time and this season is the most competitive.
“We cannot take them [Heather] lightly otherwise we could find all our hard work undone.”
