Brackley Town see off Maidenhead United upon St James Park return in promising conclusion to pre-season
DJ Sturridge’s second-half strike was the difference as Brackley Town rounded off their pre-season fixtures with a narrow 1-0 victory over Maidenhead United on Saturday.
Returning to St James Park for the first time since April, and for the first time on the newly-renovated pitch, Brackley put in a professional performance in front of several hundred eager supporters.
Manager Andy Whing came under plenty of fire at the end of last campaign as he oversaw 12 defeats in his first 16 games in charge, though he will be the first to state that very much wasn’t his team.
Now, several months on, there were signs of real improvement upon the Saints’ homecoming with a very different squad.
Whing has made his mark on the side, bringing in a dozen new signings and many of those had an involvement in the August sunshine.
Albeit competing in a friendly match, Brackley - helped by a few trialists keen to impress - were well up for the task and proved good value for the victory.
Ewan Williams was the first to go close as he headed narrowly wide from a wicked O’Shea Ellis delivery 19 minutes in, before Matt Lowe had a header saved just before half time.
Maidenhead had their fair share of chances, including low Joshua Johnson and Jaden Mitchell-Lawson efforts saved by Brackley’s Harrison Rhone in the first half.
Rhone also had to deal with several snap shots in the second period, as well as a host of dangerous crosses from wide.
But Brackley always bounced back as they tried to dominate possession. Whing’s men upped the ante after 70 minutes, particularly when Sturridge and fellow substitute Kian Pennant entered the fray.
Pennant, direct and quick to take on defenders on his right flank, was involved in the only goal of the game, setting up a triallist to whip in a terrific cross for Sturridge to fire home.
It was an excellent finish from Sturridge as he composed himself to drill the ball into the near bottom corner, out of the reach of Maidenhead goalkeeper Jordi van Stapperhoef.
The triallist who assisted the goal - who cannot be named but was donning the number 16 and has had previous experience at Step 1 and Step 2 - is a midfielder who was deployed out of position at right-back.
He played brilliantly and will be hoping he did enough to warrant a contract.
All in all, it was a decent performance from Brackley and a step in the right direction ahead of what truly matters – the return of league action.
The Saints are on the road for their first game of the National League North campaign, away at Telford United on Saturday, August 8.