Anton Rodgers was happy his hard work on the training ground paid off after scoring a sensational free-kick to guide Town to a 1-0 win over Bradford City earlier today.
The midfielder stepped up from 30-yards and curled home a beautiful effort into the top corner to claim the spoils for his side at SN1.
Having put plenty of time into practicing his free-kicks, Rodgers was delighted to see his efforts bear fruit and help his team claim what was a big win.
“I was excited that it went in,” he said.
“I practice a lot in training with the boys and there are a few of us that fancy our chances when it comes to taking free-kicks and thankfully it was me today and thankfully it went in.
“I’m very happy with it.
“It is just repetition and getting your mind set for that moment. Normally I practice a little bit closer in so the one today was further out to what I normally practice, but it is important we do take the time after sessions to do that because we get the three points off it today.
“It makes everything easier and happier going forward.
“We needed the goal and we would have liked to have got on the ball a bit more than we did in the first twenty-minutes but that contribution maybe just helped us to settle down a bit.
“The boys worked very hard and we’re still learning every day. We are improving and it is important we stay humble after this win and don’t get carried away and learn from our mistakes.
“Being a younger group we’ve been getting too carried away with wins and too low after defeats, so it is important we find some middle ground.
“We’ve got some rest coming up before Luton now so it is important we rest and prepare well.”
Bradford were not as direct today as they have been in previous encounters and Rodgers admitted that he and his team-mates had to adapt to that.
“They are a good team and they weren’t as direct as they are normally are. They still did use James Hanson but they had good footballers in there who played football,” he continued.
“It left me in midfield in two minds as to whether to screen the centre-backs and get in-front of the frontman or press in midfield, so they were a tough team and that is what League One is all about.”
Rodgers also praised Tom Smith who slotted in at left-back just after half-time and turned in a real mature and impressive display in what was an unnatural position.
“He’s a good professional, he works hard every day and that’s what the squad is all about – we haven’t got the biggest of squads,” he added.
“Tom has come through the Academy and he’s shown that he’s a young man and he can come in and deal with these situations.
“I thought he did that superbly today.”
