Town Head Coach Luke Williams gave his post-match thoughts to swindontownfc.co.uk after goals from Raphael Rossi-Branco and Nathan Delfouneso sealed a 2-1 victory over a Chelsea Development Side in their opening game of the Checkatrade Trophy this evening...
On The Performance:
“I thought it was good overall but there were periods of the game that were a bit disappointing from us.
“We allowed Chelsea to pin us too deep and I don’t think we were clean enough when we won the ball in those deep positions to try and counter and breakaway.
“We have it every single week in the league where it is tough for us to try and defend from set-pieces and we have to try and be clever with how we do that.
“So often it is a mismatch and it was nice to be matched up more evenly in all honesty, it was nice to be able to have a chance to score from a set-piece.
“We could see how well Chelsea moved the ball, physically the boys are exhausted in the changing room because they really had to batten down the hatches and close space very quickly.
“It is great for football in this country that these young boys are getting a chance to play against league teams and against experienced players in a competition that matters.”
On Raphael Rossi-Branco’s First Outing Of The Season:
“I was very pleased and I thought Raphael was a leader tonight. It is nice when you can hear the information from the players more clearly, so that was very interesting for me.
“I could really hear a lot of Raphael’s information and I thought he was very good – I could see his leadership qualities there.”
On Sean Murray’s Home Debut:
“I can see the quality of the boy and I can also tell by looking at the way he was moving later in the game that he is not quite fit, which I would expect.
“His attitude was spot on, he wanted to work hard and he played his position tactically that he’d been asked to.
“He looks a talented player.”
On Chelsea’s Performance:
“Chelsea are one of the biggest clubs on the planet and their scouting network is vast, so I expected some of the most talented players around to be on the pitch, and they didn’t disappoint.
“I thought they were excellent and I really enjoyed watching them, even though it was tense when they are in their flow, but I have to confess to enjoying watching them play.”
On Will Henry’s Night To Remember:
“I think it was very important to get some minutes into Will. When you are sidelined for a while you can just lose your edge, but Will is extremely professional so he does everything correctly to keep himself sharp and ready to go in at any time.
“But there is nothing that substitutes the real thing. He played in a reserve game and was very good but tonight was more of a test and was more similar to what he will face at the weekend, so I’m very pleased that he came through that and did very well.”
