Johnson ‘proud’ of his players as Brackley move on up

Adam Rooney heads home his first goal for Brackley Town which earned their 10 men a 1-0 victory over Boston United on Tuesday night. Picture by Peter Keen

It’s been an excellent week for Brackley Town as two wins moved them up into the familiar surroundings of the top three in the Vanarama National League North.

Having seen his team claim two draws in his first couple of games in charge, boss Roger Johnson celebrated his first win since taking charge of the Saints as Callum Stead’s brace sealed a 2-0 success over Buxton at St James Park last weekend.

But even better was to come on Tuesday night as Brackley produced a big effort to secure a 1-0 victory over Boston United.

The Saints were reduced to 10 men when Jordan Cullinane-Liburd was sent-off for an off-the-ball incident after half-an-hour.

Callum Stead is congratulated by Adam Rooney after scoring one of his two goals in last weekend's 2-0 home win over Buxton. Picture by Glenn Alcock

But they grabbed what proved to be the only goal of the game with Adam Rooney heading home his first for the club before half-time and they then produced a battling second-half display to see things out despite the numerical disadvantage.

The midweek win sent Brackley into third place and Johnson said: “I am really happy.

“Those couple of wins have shot us right up the league and I am looking to stay there.

“The performance in the first half against Buxton was very good. I was a bit disappointed we didn’t press a bit higher in the second half but we got the result and got the job done.

“On Tuesday, it was just a great performance.

“They dug deep. It wasn’t ideal with the sending-off and it goes one of two ways after that - you either get spanked or you dig in and get together and that’s what we did. I was really proud of the boys.

“You can’t legislate for a sending-off but to have that ability to club together is massive.

“It was important to get in at half-time and explain how we were going to set up. We did that, we regrouped and it worked.

“But all credit to the lads, they deserve every plaudit for what they did on Tuesday.”

Brackley’s next assignment is at Bradford (Park Avenue) on Saturday before they host Peterborough Sports next Tuesday night.

Having struggled in the early part of the season, Bradford’s 1-0 victory at Blyth Spartans on Tuesday was their third win in a row and, with a 4G pitch to also contend with, Johnson knows it represents a tricky test for his players.

“I have played on it and it is a bit of a leveller, certain players struggle on it and others adapt,” Johnson added.

“I am sure our boys have played on it previously so I am sure we will adapt.

“Bradford have won three on the spin and they are down there fighting for their lives so it’s no easy game.

“We will prep the boys like we normally do and hopefully we will be recovered and ready to go.”