YOUTH REPAYING ADAM’S FAITH

Shorts win gives Saintfield boss satisfaction

ADAM KELLY admits the kids are all right after his Saintfield young guns shot down promotion-chasing Shorts on Saturday.

Stand-in skipper Ryan Sofley, earning his 250th appearance for the club, Adam Childs and Michael Thompson were all on target in a 3-1 win at Aircraft Park.

It was a result which handed the initiative to Bryansburn Rangers in the race to join 18th Newtownabbey in 1B next season, particularly in the wake of Suffolk’s shock 1-0 loss to basement boys Iveagh United.

The permutations at the top of the table are of no concern for Kelly (below), however, whose side sit comfortably snug in mid-table, neither in danger of getting sucked into trouble at the bottom nor a threat to the three or four teams challenging for that coveted runners-up spot.

Indeed, the Saints have been hard to pin down this season, typified by the fact they have now taken five points off thirdplaced Shorts, yet crashed to defeats home and away to Holywood languishing in

ninth. “You can see we have one good week, and then we can’t seem to back it up, so that’s the challenge now for the players, not to look at this week’s result and think that’s them done,” explained Kelly.

“We have Finaghy next in the Clarence, and if we can get past them we have Shorts again, but it doesn’t count for much if you only do it one week.”

Saintfield’s fluctuating form is highlighted by their peculiar standing in the league, with the exact same amount of wins as losses – seven in all – and the same goals scored as conceded, 52 on both counts.

Kelly attributes their inconsistent form to the youthfulness of his team.

Only two players in Saturday’s win were aged over 30, with 12 of the overall squad products of the club’s flourishing youth academy.

“We started the season well, and then we had a couple of injuries and the season tailed off a bit,” said Kelly.

“To be honest we have struggled at the back, we have struggled with numbers, and yesterday was the first time we’ve been able to call upon the full spine of our team.

“The Seconds have had a good run there, getting to the quarters of the Walter Moore, and that’s been helping because the last couple of years we have had a squad of 15 or 16 and with a couple of injuries or suspensions you are out of it but now the Seconds are adding a bit of depth to it.

“Building up the squad has been a progression. At the start of the season, I had five or six teenagers in my starting XI, so it’s been about blooding those guys, and like I say the seconds have made the difference this season.”

With 52 goals scored in the league, an average of almost three per game, finding the back of the net hasn’t been a problem, with James Sofley’s return to the club sharpening their attack this season.

But with exactly the same amount of goals conceded,

Kelly knows where their weaknesses lie.

“James Sofley joined us from

Dundela, he was with us from the mini-soccer setup and then moved onto higher levels but he has came back to us,” explained Kelly.

“So he’s been a big plus this season and has helped us with goals. The problem has been at the other end.

“We haven’t been able to select a regular back four and we’ve been leaking too many.

“I’ve been playing a centre-forward Stuart Black in there, then he got injured for a few games, and the skipper Craig Bowman, he moved from centre midfield to try and help us out but he hurt his leg and has been missing for a few weeks now too.”

Looking ahead to the rest of the season, Kelly is urging his players to keep the pressure on as they look to record their highest points tally in 1C – 38 points in 2014/15 is their best so far – while he admits he’s glad they are still involved in the cup to keep his players on their toes.

“We just need to keep it going and try to build momentum,” he said. “Hopefully we can use that as a launchpad to try and bring a few new faces in over the summer. And at least the cup keeps our season going. Last year, the season was really finished by about the second week of February, and then it becomes a hard job keeping guys interested.”