STAND-in skipper Brad Birch led the calls for Worcester City to sharpen up their game management in the wake of last Saturday's fraught success at Boldmere.

City kicked off the campaign with three straight clean sheets but have kept two in 10 matches in all competitions since, a statistic Birch feels needs addressing after a porous performance in the FA Vase.

“Most of their goals came from free-kicks and corners," said Birch, who faces a fitness test ahead of today's home Midland League clash with Shepshed Dynamo (3pm).

“When we went in 1-1 at half-time at Boldmere, we said we wanted to push on and dictate. We did that and got in front but all of a sudden, we sat back again and invited pressure.

“For the last 20-25 minutes all we did was defend. We keep mentioning and working on it but it does need to stop because we’re letting in goals.

“If we keep playing our game and squeezing up the pitch, I personally don’t think we’ll have the issues we had in that game and a few others.

“It is being addressed, though. We are working on it all the time and the gaffer has been making it clear that’s what we need to do.

“When you’re winning 2-1 it is about game management, doing the right things at the right times, clipping it into the channel when you need to and squeezing up and defending in their half.

“We didn’t do that at Boldmere, we invited them on. It is a learning curve, every game is and we will improve I am sure."

n City's under-18s will take on their Sutton Coldfield Town counterparts at Walshes Meadow, home of Stourport Swifts, in the FA Youth Cup second qualifying round on Wednesday.

The winners will be one round away from the competition proper where clubs from League One and League Two enter the action.