ROUSLERS boss Brendan Kelly hailed the manner in which his side dug in on a difficult playing surface away at Didcot Town last weekend, bringing home another crucial three points.
Sporting were made to scrap for the win against the fourth-placed side, who levelled moments into the second-half after Jason Cowley’s headed opener in the first-half, prior to Charlie Dowd’s all-important winner.
The result was all the more important after Peterborough Sport’s Tuesday night win against Welwyn Garden City put the Turbines five points clear at the top of Southern League Division One Central – following their final game in hand over the Rouslers.
Kelly thought his Rouslers side were good value for their away victory, and was left even more pleased by his side adjusting to the unfavourable pitch.
“It was exactly what we were after, we knew it would take a big performance on their dry pitch.
“It was clear it would not be a day for good football, the lads rolled up their sleeves and were prepared to fight.
“The game was a scrappy affair, but the win puts even more space between us and them.”
The Bromsgrove manager felt a response from the hosts was expected after conceding to Cowley’s opener, but was full of praise for the way in which his side reacted to Didcot’s equaliser just minutes into the restart.
“When we went 1-0 up early on and going into half-time, we knew they were going to have a good spell as the home side.
“But we showed character in bucket loads to go back in front, and we finished strongly.
“The substitutes made an impact, and all-round it was the perfect response to see out the victory.”
Bromsgrove face two mid-table sides in consecutive weekends at the Victoria Ground, heading into the final five-game stretch of the season.
Kelly re-iterated the importance of backing up two crucial away wins with two results at home in the coming weeks.
“We’re unbeaten at home, and we’re still the only team in the division to hold that record, so the team will be looking to extend that.
“It’s just about keep getting the three points on the board, that’s all that we can do at this stage.
“Peterborough won in mid-week, so we now know they have that five-point advantage.
“But our aim is just to keep winning and see where it takes us, without being affected by what they’re doing.”
The Rouslers kick-off the first of their two consecutive home fixtures against Barton Rovers on Saturday (3pm), a side that Bromsgrove triumphed 3-0 over in straightforward fashion back in October.
And Kelly is holding high hopes of repeating that scoreline when the two sides meet again this weekend.
“I’m not sure if their side has changed much from when we played them earlier in the season, but we were comfortable winners before, so we’ll be feeling confident going into it.”
Sporting currently sit on 99 goals scored for the season, and despite targetting 92 points for the campaign, Kelly does not believe the same kind of target applies in the goal scoring charts.
“We’ll just be looking to keep up our scoring rate and keep the goals coming.
“We’re probably more concerned about the other end of the pitch, if you look at the league, us with the second best defensive record, and Peterborough with the best record is reflective of the overall table.
“So we’ll be hoping to continue getting the results, trying to play exciting football when we can, regardless of how many goals we score.”
The club have announced that they will be collecting donations in aid of a local food bank prior to Saturday’s game, which will be donated to Catshill Foodbank, operating out of Catshill Baptist Church – which also serves parts of Bromsgrove and Rubery.
Donations ranging from tinned food, toiletries, packeted food and jars will be collected by the club shop at the Victoria Ground.
