Needham Market boss Mark Morsley hails ‘little gem’ Billy Clark

Billy Clark celebrates his strike (Image: Archant)

That is according to Needham boss Mark Morsley, who was delighted with the impact the former Bury Town and Leiston midfielder had against Wingate & Finchley.

“Billy’s such a great kid, I’m really pleased with him,” enthused Morsley, whose side are now just three points behind league-leaders Bognor Regis Town, with 13 Ryman Premier Division games to go.

“He’s come back from a broken leg and has worked really hard.

“He’s looked sharp in training, and he sees a pass. He really influenced things when he came on, and changed the whole dynamic of the game, I think the last 20 minutes was our best spell.

“He took his goal very well, and I hope he kicks on, he could be a little gem for us in the run-in. He’s got a little bit of class.”

Morsley also admitted that his side had to ‘dig in’ to get the three points on Saturday, as his team seem to keep winning games the ugly way.

“It was a really difficult day to play football,” said Morsley, whose side visit Billericay Town on Wednesday evening.

“The pitch was very heavy and there was some good old British non-league weather to contend with too so it was a challenge for both teams.

“I thought we dug in against a good footballing side, who did well to play some football on the pitch.

“They (Wingate & Finchley) should have been ahead at half-time, and it was down to our outstanding defence and goalkeeper that they weren’t.

“The defence got a bit of stuck from me last week (a 4-3 defeat to Worthing), I felt that let us down a little bit, but they all stepped up to the plate (on Saturday), they were outstanding. They kept us at 0-0, and in with a chance to win the game.”

Danny Gay, Jake Dye, and Keiran Morphew were Needham’s stand-out performers on Saturday, and Morsley only had superlatives for his defensive heroes.

“All three of them were fantastic,” said the boss.

“Jake is doing so well, and Morphew is a machine. I brought him into the side four years ago and he’s just got better and better and better – and Jake is the same.

“They’re really good lads, they are very important to us and Danny Gay is the best non-league goalkeeper at this level, in my humble opinion.

“He has been for continuous years, not just in this league, but in East Anglia as well.

“He pulled off some saves that wouldn’t look out of place on Match of The Day, and he’s part of a really great team that is just going to keep plugging away and see where they end up!”