Rory Loy on his goal against Tranmere
Striker Rory Loy brought an end to thirteen months of personal frustration when he swivelled to bag the only goal of the game against table-toppers Tranmere in what was only his second start since his return from a complicated broken leg injury sustained as far back as Boxing Day 2011.
And it was smiles all round in the dressing room following the game as the popular front man accepted pats on the back and some good natured ribbing as acknowledgement for a successful end to what had been a long and often tortuous journey.
“It's been a long time coming,” Loy said about his goal. “I've waited a long time to have that feeling again and I'm obviously delighted. I think the win was well deserved after our first half performance and I think we were well on top even before they had their man sent off.”
“I feel like I've got my reward for all the hard work I've put in over the last year,” he continued. “Going in the gym every day wasn't easy but I've just had to stay focused and keep thinking about the day when I would score my first goal. Thankfully today was that day. I'm just absolutely delighted.”
“When the ball came to me I was always thinking about shooting,” he admitted. “I think I've got quite a decent finish on me so I was just concentrating on getting it down so I could hit it. Thankfully it went in even though it felt like it took an eternity to hit the back of the net. It wasn't the cleanest of strikes but I went across the keeper and it paid off for me.
“I think it was important to get the goal when we did and especially because they'd had a man sent off. Sometimes when that happens you can get a bit of a backlash, because they'll all work even harder, but we got the goal and that probably deflated them even more.”
On his progress over the last few weeks, he said: “I felt a little bit off the pace when I played at Swindon but I thought I was much sharper today.
“I've had a couple more weeks training and it's just unfortunate that I got back to fitness around the Christmas period when there isn't many reserve games. That meant I had to build up my fitness in training and in the gym.”
“I'm delighted for the lads because the defence has been excellent over the past few games,” he said on the win over the league’s surprise package. “I think this sort of result was coming. Everything seemed to click and it was a great team performance.
“I thought the lads showed a lot of togetherness and we deserved the win in the end. We were first to every second ball and we ground out the result.”
“The gaffer wanted me to drop a bit deeper at times so I could get on to the ball more and I think I did that,” he said. “To be selected when the gaffer wanted a more experienced team is a bit of a pat on the back.
“I wasn't expecting to play, to be honest, but when these chances come along you have to take them. This is a really competitive squad and I was determined to give the manager a tough decision for next week.
“Like I say, I'm a great believer in my own ability but that performance has done my confidence the world of good. It's just been a great day for me and for the whole team. I don't think it's a fluke that Tranmere are right up there. We've played around 30 games already this season and they're still leading the pack. They're a hard team to beat but I thought the better team won today.”
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