Danny Lewis takes home Reusch Goalkeeper of the Year award

Danny Lewis may be approaching 40, but the Brackley Town ‘keeper has just finished his best season yet, writes James Reid.

The Saints stopper recorded 28 clean sheets last term and his efforts were recognised with the Reusch Goalkeeper of the Year award at the Non-League Paper's National Game Awards in association with Buildbase.

Brackley missed out on promotion despite a second-place finish in the Vanarama National League North but Lewis is pleased to have his performances recognised.

“It’s nice to get recognised at a national level,” said Lewis.

“On a personal level we kept 28 clean sheets which was more than I’ve ever kept in a season, I normally set my tally at maybe 15 so to keep 28 was fantastic.

“I’m sure in years to come, I’ll look at the award, look back and think what a fantastic season.”

Brackley conceded just 23 goals last season and Lewis praised the team in front of him, who he hopes the club can keep together for another tilt at the title.

“I’d like to say it was all down to me but not even just the defence, we work hard in the midfield and forwards as well - we defend from the front,” added Lewis.

“Ever since I’ve been at the club, I’ve got such good defenders. There’s games where I haven’t had anything to do.

“Hopefully we’ll be strong again at the back and maybe score a few more goals next year.

“This is the time to go one better and just win it, not have the lottery of the play-offs.”

For Lewis, the award caps a fine season in between the sticks and the veteran ‘keeper points to a lot of hard work during the season as the key behind his success.

The stopper admitted he was surprised to have won the award given the strength of goalkeepers across non-league but was happy to have his efforts recognised.

“I was surprised when Matt [Badcock] got in touch,” added Lewis.

“There’s five or six in the Conference North, it’s a competitive area now, there’s a lot of experience throughout teams. There’s a lot of good keepers in the league.

“A lot of hard work goes on behind the scenes. We’re part-time, we train two nights a week so we have to train hard.

“We do a lot of analysis work, watching the other teams, trying to gain little margins.

“Hopefully we can kick on. I think 28 clean sheets was a one-off, I’ll be happy with 20.”

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