Momentum is key as Lewes FC boss Pritchard reflects on holiday weekend wins
Lewes boss Bradley Pritchard toasted a home holiday double and said: “We just need to keep building momentum.”
Since losing their opening Isthmian Premier match, the Rooks have won four in a row to go fourth in the early table.
Saturday’s 2-1 win over Potters Bar – courtesy of goals by Perri Iandolo and Ryan Bernal – and Monday’s 3-0 success over Burgess Hill – with Ian Gayle, Kaan Bennett and Walter Figueira on target – delighted the boss.
It puts them in good heart for tomorrow’s FA Cup first qualifying round visit to step four side Flackwell Heath.
See our latest Sussex non-league podcast in the video player above – Bradley Pritchard is our special guest, talking about his time as a Lewes player, how he came to the manager’s job, his philosophy, his backroom team, his hopes for the season – and more.
Pritchard said after the Hillians had been beaten: “It feels brilliant. It’s important to keep building on our momentum and reacting in the right way.
“Burgess Hill are a really good team and in the first half we were all over the place. I thought they had the better of us. We were almost waiting for something.
“The most important element of the first half was to be able to go into the break at 0-0. We were able to regroup, a couple of home truths were said and we got a really good reaction.
“There were some brilliant performances from boys who started and boys who came on and overall I was really happy.
“We had to press Burgess Hill higher because their movement was really difficult to get hold of. We had to try to force them to play longer and for us to pick up the second balls.
“We made a couple of changes personnel-wise at half-time. It was our second game in 48 hours and the way we play, there are certain positions where the boys get tired.
“It was important to freshen it up and the players who came on made a real difference.”
Now the Rooks switch their attentions to the FA Cup and tomorrow’s trip to play Flackwell Heath, who are going well in the Southern League Central Division.
The Rooks were watching Flackwell in their win at Aylesbury on Tuesday night but Pritchard said: “It’s always difficult playing a team you don’t know much about.
“But we want to have the ball, we want to have possession, so it’s on us. We have to dictate the way we play and the way the opposition play.”