Sheppey United assistant manager Tommy Osborne calls for defensive improvement

Assistant manager Tommy Osborne says Sheppey must improve their defending at set-pieces.

The Ites’ frailties were exposed on Saturday in a 5-4 Isthmian South East defeat at Broadbridge Heath.

For having pulled a goal back through Dami Olorunnisomo after trailing 3-0 early on, they conceded from a corner on the stroke of half-time.

They got back to 4-3 in the second half, courtesy of an own goal and Rolando Onu, and almost equalised when Dan Bradshaw hit the post.

Broadbridge soon added a fifth and while Bradshaw grabbed Sheppey’s fourth, ultimately, the damage was done in the first half after the failure to deal with a corner.

It’s been a theme of the season for Osborne, although they bounced back impressively with a 2-0 win at Beckenham on Tuesday night.

“Conceding from a set-piece right on half-time was our biggest frustration,” he said.

“We gave ourselves too much to do. We haven’t managed to watch it back yet but the corner looked very defendable.

“That is something as a team, we need to recognise the importance of that corner at that moment in the game.

“We didn’t defend it well enough. That was the real killer blow for us.

“There’s always room for improvement. We’ve got one player we rely on quite a bit to defend set-pieces and that’s possibly got to change.

“It has to improve and it’s not just the back four, it’s the team, because set-pieces isn’t just your defenders, it’s your midfielders and your forwards coming back to mark.

“In general, we’re conceding too many goals. Something’s got to change and it’s got to change very soon.

“Whether we change the way me and Kevin (Watson, manager) put on training sessions, or we look to change our mentality, which is a big thing for me, or we look to change personnel,