Sittingbourne keepers Jordan Carey and Harry Brooks told to fight it out for the No.1 spot
Published: 00:00, 20 December 2017
Sittingbourne must decide who is their Christmas No.1.
The Brickies have been looking at Jordan Carey since goalkeeper Daren Hawkes’ departure but also have Harry Brooks waiting in the wings.
No decision has been made on who is the new first-choice but Brooks may feel he deserves another chance after Carey had a bad day in Bourne’s 5-1 defeat at Greenwich on Saturday.
Assistant manager Tony Cornwell said: “We’ve given Jordan some opportunities over the last four or five games.
“He came to us with a reputation as a decent keeper and he is but unfortunately he was probably responsible for two of the goals.
“You need two keepers and it’s down to one of them to establish themselves as the No.1. We couldn’t determine who was No.1 and who was No.2 without giving Jordan a chance.
“Harry did well in the games he played when Daren was unavailable but we didn’t want to be left with one keeper when Daren left because it only takes an injury or an unavailability and you’re struggling.”
Bourne host Bostik South leaders Lewes on Saturday and go to struggling Kent rivals Ashford on Boxing Day.
Ninth-placed Bourne have lost their last three games – conceding 11 goals – while Lewes remain top despite back-to-back defeats.
Cornwell said: “We’re playing reasonably well without getting results. We’ve hit a sticky patch and it’s about how quickly you come through it.
“At the minute we’re either not clinical enough in front of goal or we’re making individual errors. It’s causing us a bit of a problem but every team hits a sticky patch, it doesn’t matter who you’re talking about.
“I fancy us against any side on our day so why not play Lewes at home, get a decent result and give our supporters something to celebrate over Christmas?”
Brickies are missing defender John Coker, who starts a three-match ban following his red card at Cray last week, so Lex Allan should deputise.
Tom Loynes (hernia) misses the next four weeks, Ollie Brown (back) is out for eight weeks, while Bola Dawodu (head injury) should be back in a week.
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Craig Tucker