Town Head Coach Luke Williams reacted to his side’s 4-2 penalty shootout success over Exeter City earlier this evening which sealed their place in the knockout stages of the Checkatrade Trophy…
ON THE RESULT AND PERFORMANCE:
“We’re through to the next stage and we look forward to that now.
“We topped the group and I think we played against some very strong teams in the competition and we were able to give some really valuable experience to a few of the players around our squad.
“It was a performance of grit and determination but it wasn’t up to the correct standard with the ball.
“We didn’t dominate enough and we conceded too many chances against us, but I don’t think it is a case of people not working hard enough or trying hard enough, just a few young heads getting confused and caught up in the speed of the game.
“There’s a lot of things to work on.
“We came under a lot of pressure and the opposition were very good. They had a strong side and they made some changes that caused us problems.
“They needed to beat us tonight to go through so we expected them to put pressure on us but we didn’t deal with it as well as I would have liked us to.”
ON WILL HENRY’S SUPERB DISPLAY:
“He did great and there a couple of moments that were difficult for him. The conditions were probably something he isn’t quite used to at this level but overall he did really well.”
ON LUKE NORRIS OPENING HIS ACCOUNT FOR THE CLUB:
“He had a goal ruled out on Friday against Eastleigh and it looked like for a moment that it could have been the same thing, but thankfully it did cross the line and it was given.
“I hope it is the start of many goals for him.
“Strikers thrive on the ball hitting the back of the net and that’s the ultimate lift for them.”
ON INJURIES:
“Anton Rodgers was hurt with the very first tackle of the game. He got nailed early and he struggled on through the first-half but he sat down for 15 minutes, tried to get back up and put weight on it but it was far too sore.
“It is only a knock which is nothing that we're worried about.
“Brad Barry made a lung-buster from one end of the pitch to the other and his calf cramped up, but it is nothing more than that.
“Luke Norris struck the ball and the pitch gave way underneath him. It was extremely wet and his full body weight went over the ankle but he’s fine now, he walked off the pitch fine and it shouldn’t be anything serious.
“We think Nathan Thompson has got a tear for sure and we’ll have to wait for nature to take its course. It will of course be aided with anything we can give Nathan, but ultimately the body needs time to knit back together.
“That’s where we are and it is impossible to put a timescale on his return – we just want Nathan back as soon as possible.”
