Interview on You Tube with goal hero and Jack
Alfie Egan’s fifth FA Youth Cup goal rewarded Wimbledon fans for great support in last night’s FA Youth Cup tie, but the midfielder was “gutted” to exit the game against Chelsea prematurely.
The 18-year-old, who signed his first professional contract last Friday, had to depart midway through the second-half due to a knee injury with the game in the balance.
with Alfie and goalkeeper Jack Wingate is now on our official You Tube channel.interviewAn
Alfie summed up his emotions after an eventful game at the Cherry Red Records Stadium, which ended with plenty of credit for our young Dons, despite the 4-1 scoreline.
“I was gutted to come off because I really wanted to stay on the pitch and do myself justice,” said Alfie. “But my knee went and I did not want to stay on and affect the team because I could not run properly. Reece Williams-Bowers came on and he did really well. We could not do much about the free-kick at the end, but I did not think 4-1 was a fair reflection.
“We did not give in after theY scored early on and we came back into the game. We had to stay solid at the back, but we got forward quickly when we could and caused Chelsea problems, particularly in the last 10 minutes of the first-half.
“The fans were unbelievable. For 90 minutes they kept singing, even when we went 2-1, 3-1 and 4-1 down. I think it’s a massive boost for us to play in front of that many people (3,455). If we do get to step-up to the first-team there will be that amount of fans or even more watching. It was great for our development.
“I’ve been scoring the goals, but the performances the team has put in has done us proud. The fans have been getting behind us by sending messages on Twitter and talking to us when we’re at the ground. That’s been amazing.”
Goalkeeper Jack Wingate only received a call on Monday from manager Mark Robinson informing him that he would be playing against Chelsea – and he hopes to build on a very positive experience.
“For me, it has been a bit of a rollercoaster because I’m usually Will Mannion’s number two,” Jack said. “Will had played in the competition in every round and I had just been training as normal. I knew Will had been ill recently, but I was just sat at home on Monday when ‘Robbo’ gave me a call and said I had a chance to shine. I just had to do the best I could.
To hear them supporting us when we were losing really meant a lot. It keeps the boys positive and gives us the extra edge to keep working hard. “The fans were great. Even when they did score the goals near the end our fans were amazing.
“I train with ‘Bayzo’ on a regular basis. He gets me in with first-team training as much as possible, which I am really thankful for. That allows me to progress myself and to try and meet their standards. For me now, it’s about working hard every day in training, keep progressing, and see where that takes me.”