Mark Robinson praised Paul Osew's impact after the 20-year-old wing back proved to be the difference between the two sides at the Valley.
It's almost two years since the academy product made his first-team breakthrough, and our Head Coach still rates him as a real talent, particularly when offering a different option as a wing back.
“He tucked it away nicely," said Robbo. "When Paul first came onto the scene everyone was excited, but people forget that he is young. He had a bit of a dip, probably from opponents recognising his strengths and doubling up on him. He has to come up with different solutions, but tonight he was good until he had to come off. He was up and down the flank and it probably suits him more when we play with a three at the back, meaning that he is playing as a wing back and not a full-back. It plays more to his qualities, so that gives us another option."
Osew was replaced after a head injury in the 75th minute, replaced by Cheye Alexander, and the Dons were able to make four changes as it was classed as a 'concussion substitution'. Thankfully, his injury appears not to be serious as he was back on his feet to earn applause from our supporters when he went off.
Having made eight changes to his starting line-up, Robbo was delighted with the performance on the night.
“It’s going to be a long season, and if you have a successful season it could be 55 or 56 games, so there is going to be minutes for everyone. I keep saying to them that it’s got to be a case of ‘we, not me’. We are all in it together, and there’s going to be game time for everyone. We have got to be in a position, no matter who we put in, of knowing that the standards won’t drop. The standards didn’t drop tonight, so there was a lot to be pleased about. We made eight changes and we put in a good performance, so that was the key thing.
“We caused some of our own problems early on, playing with a back three and the centre halves going for the same ball, but once we sorted that out they created very little. We can be a lot better on the ball, and we will be, but it was a wonderful goal. It was a great move, and it was something we had worked on in training. I know coaches often say that, but we had worked on getting both wing backs forward, so I was pleased with that.
"We didn’t create loads ourselves, but I felt we showed some real composure, the way we knocked the ball around in the final third. There is loads more to come, but the key thing is that the resilience and discipline was there."
Pic credit: Ian Stephen, Pro Sports Images.