Town Head Coach Luke Williams gave his thoughts to the media in the wake of his side’s 1-1 draw with Eastleigh in the First Round of the Emirates FA Cup earlier this evening…
ON THE RESULT AND PERFORMANCE:
“We had to do a lot of defending tonight and Lawrence was busy. It was a very tough side that we played against and I’m disappointed we’ve conceded a soft goal.
“But I’m very pleased with the amount of work the players have done and I’m very pleased that we’ve been able to come from behind and show that character that has been in question recently.
“Eastleigh are as good as a League One team and they’ve got a lot of experience – I’m sure a lot more than we’ve got if you count up the appearances in the league.
“They were very tough, very well-organised, very hard working and I don’t think there were any surprises from our point of view.”
ON EASTLEIGH’S GOAL:
“It was so disappointing especially as I tried to call to the player because two players are marking the wrong side.
“It is very difficult and it was soft.
“We know in the National League in particular but at all levels of football that balls into the box are a problem if you are not switched on and not prepared to compete.”
ON TOWN’S QUICK EQUALISER:
“It was very pleasing and we’ve been missing that and we’ve been missing Michael Doughty in particular.
“He shows that character and that drive to go get us back on level-terms and it is a bit disappointing that Nathan Delfouneso takes a touch in the box after Doughty gets past two or three and then plays an incredible pass that most strikers would be grateful for.
“He just maybe made the wrong decision and tried to take a touch when maybe it wasn’t the right idea.”
ON MICHAEL DOUGHTY:
“It is hard when you miss this type of player from your team and Michael has been very unfortunate to have been taken ill and we’ve drastically missed that.
“Tonight he showed that and it is very evident that he’s back and he’s picked up where he’s left off.”
ON INJURIES SUSTAINED TO NATHAN THOMPSON AND SEAN MURRAY:
“It is hard to know with Nathan at the moment. We need more time to assess but it is devastating to lose Nathan, even for one game, so I hope it is nothing too serious.
“Sean Murray looked more like cramp but again we don’t know until we’ve had a better chance to look – 48 hours will give us a clear indication.”
