Winger in upbeat mood about coming fixtures
Andy Barcham was instrumental in AFC Wimbledon’s storming second-half turnaround at Crawley on Saturday – and he says there is renewed belief among the squad that they can build on the victory.
Speaking during an interview with Rob Cornell for Dons Player, Barcham reckons that banter at the training ground helped the players come through a tough week that included two defeats.
“The morale has been quite high and during the week we did a bit of team stuff together,” Barcham said. “We came into training wearing some funny gear and it was a really good week. The team spirit is something you need when you are away from home and getting beat. I think we showed that.
“The lads were all buzzing afterwards, especially after coming in behind at half-time. We were a bit down at that point because we had not been playing to our potential. The manager told us that we needed to up our game at half-time and we were much improved in the second half.
“We were right by our fans when the goals went in and you could see how much it meant to them. That was a great feeling. When we equalised I knew we were going to win the game. You could see how much it meant in the dressing room. The fans turned up in their numbers and it was fantastic that we gave them something to go home happy about.
“We have a big week coming up now and the month is crammed with games. You are especially looking forward to games coming up thick and fast when the team spirit and morale is high. You just want the games to keep coming and hopefully we can steamroller teams. We will go again on Tuesday and hopefully we can get another three points.
Barcham was delighted to make such a big second half contribution as he set-up the equaliser for Bayo Akinfenwa, before netting the winner himself.
“I stole it from George,” he joked. “The build-up play was really good and that was the most pleasing thing. George did well to get in a position to get a shot in and it looped over their goalkeeper. I knew I had to make sure, particularly as it was to put us 2-1 up. It was difficult to miss that one.
“I used to play together with Bayo (at Gillingham) and I know he likes the crosses hung up for him as well. We did that a lot previously. I would hate to be a defender marking Bayo. He used his strength to keep the man at bay and then produced a fantastic header to get us back into the game.”
Full post-match reaction from Andy Barcham featured on Dons Player yesterday, along with interviews with Bayo Akinfenwa, Neal Ardley, and 10 minutes of highlights from Crawley Town.
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