FECKENHAM manager Aaron Blackwood heaped praise on his players after they returned to winning ways with a 1-0 triumph in Saturday’s Worcestershire derby at Droitwich.
The Millers had lost three successive games in all competitions but produced an improved display and took maximum points in Midland League Division Two thanks to Danny Murphy’s 25th-minute strike.
Shortly after Ryan Edwards had cleared a Droitwich effort off the line, the only goal of the game arrived when Jake Donnelly picked up the ball in midfield, shook off his marker and, to the sound of the referee calling advantage, threaded a neat ball into the path of Murphy who dispatched well past the onrushing Spa goalkeeper.
Josh Goddard made a smart save shortly into the second half to keep Feckenham’s lead intact but the visitors finished the game strongly and Donnelly’s header was superbly tipped over before Ben Ellicott twice went close to doubling their advantage.
“Full credit to the players, they responded and put in a good performance against a side that I believe when all is said and done will be near the top of the table,” said Blackwood.
“Thankfully, unlike the previous week, we were able to welcome back a host of names – which helped our cause.
“We wanted to start well and put pressure on Spa and the group knew that was an area that we could exploit. In truth, there was a lack of quality from both sides throughout the 90 minutes but a whole lot of endeavour.
“Danny Murphy has taken his goal well to win us the game. His contribution from midfield has been fantastic, he’s our top goalscorer as things stand and will only get better as the season goes on.
“We’ll now quickly change our focus to the Bloxwich Town fixture this Saturday, which is always a tough place to go, but we’ll go into the game with confidence off the back of the Droitwich result and knowing Umit Eminoglu will be returning and hopefully Jack Brimmell (only fit enough for the bench on Saturday owing to a lower back strain) is fit enough to play a bigger role.”
