ONE name caused a bit of a stir on the City team sheet last night.
Their bench at Cheltenham included two keepers – with Zac Hadi in the 18 for the first time in a league game.
Clarke Oduor had made the trip but was ruled out with his ankle still bruised from Saturday.
So,18-year-old youth-team stopper Hadi was included to make up the numbers as the seventh substitute.
“Zac travels with us all the time,” said Graham Alexander. “He’s third-choice keeper but he warms up and does all that.
“There’s a space there so we want to involve everyone. We talk about being together.
“Was he going to come on? Probably not. But I just felt it was important for him.
“We value him highly and think he’s a really good young player. It was good for him to be involved.”
Hadi, who signed his first pro deal in the summer, has only recently returned to action following a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
He had been on the bench before in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy when Sam Walker was cup-tied.
The City boss added: “He’s been out injured long term last season. But he played for the youth team in the last couple of weeks as well so he’s getting that game time.
“We just wanted to include him because he was here really.”
Oduor could be back in contention for Saturday and City are hopeful on Tyreik Wright, who was not included in the travelling squad to Gloucestershire.
Alexander revealed that Jay Benn was pushing to return but they decided against taking the risk.
“Jay came with his tracksuit ready to travel. He was disappointed that he couldn’t quite make it.
“But we can’t afford to lose any more players so we have to take the right precautions.
“I also thought the team played exceptionally well on Saturday and could repeat it.
“It’s down to the players to build that consistency and resilience to play in games.
“We’ve been hard hit, not just with muscle injuries but contact ones as well. That’s the game.
“That’s why training is in a certain way, so you build that resilience to challenges. We train at a certain level.
“The bench only had five outfield players and three of those were strikers. It was quite limited on decisions to make.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel