Missing striker Tom Wilson was the inspiration behind our Under-18s FA Youth Cup upset against Category One side Blackburn Rovers.
The forward had to sit out our 1-0 victory at Plough Lane due to a medical emergency last week, but Head Coach Simon Clark and goal scorer Kai Jennings revealed that the squad wanted to get the win for their teammate who is now well on the road to recovery.
Listen to the full interview and celebrations in the tunnel area below.
“Tom couldn’t play tonight, but we did it for him,” said Kai who ultimately dispatched our winner from the penalty spot in the second half.
“Tom had appendicitis last week. He went under the knife and he’ll be out for two or three weeks. We asked him to do a video, which the analysts put together of really good clips, and put that on the end of it. The final part of the video was Tom talking to the lads about what it means. It was wonderful because he’s a good lad and an integral part of us.
“He’s smiling now though, because now he’s aiming to be in and around it and healthy and fit for the next round. We’ll welcome him back with open arms.”
Two aspects of the win, under the lights at the Cherry Red Records Stadium, particularly impressed Simon.
“I still think we can play better,” said Simon. “However, to get the win and to get into the next round – we had such a young side out there. We had sixteen-year-olds on the pitch which is a credit to the football club, so we’re really delighted.
“What’s pleasing for me is that we’ve won games this year by taking the ball, by playing, moving it and hitting 500 plus passes. We played a different style tonight and worked on looking for those moments and we’ve come out on top. That’s a real strength of depth of tactical knowledge by the guys. To have that at 16, 17 and 18 is a tremendous thing. It sets us up well and is really pleasing for me.”
“It’s a great feeling, but it’s just another team that we’ve come here to beat,” said Kai. ”We’ll beat anyone here. We knew it was going to be tight and we knew they could play, but we can play as well. We didn’t play them as if they were a level above us – we played them as any other team.
“Hopefully I can be involved with the first team again soon, but I’ve got to concentrate on the under-18s first as that’s my age level. If I can push on that’s good, but I’ve just got to work hard and keep going.”
Photos: Ian Stephen (Pro Sports Images).