Sean O'Hanlon on the Pompey game
Defender Sean O’Hanlon gave us his reaction to the weekend visit to Portsmouth.
“The first half wasn’t too pretty on the eye but I thought we were the better side after the break,” he said.
“We needed the second goal just to secure it and I thought we looked quite comfortable. It was disappointing for us to concede with the way we’d played but overall it was a good performance from us.”
“You know you’re going to get a physical game against a team like this,” he continued. “They brought Akinde on as a substitute and Patrick Agyemang will always cause problems with his strength.
“It was a difficult afternoon and I suppose we’re being a little bit greedy by wanting all three points. I prefer the physical side of it to having a little, nippy short man running around because it’s good to put yourself up against it.
“They’re fighting for their lives down here and you really have to earn whatever you go away with. We do feel we were the better side but we have to be happy with what we’ve done at what is a very tough place.”
“It was important for us that we built on what we did in the second half at Scunthorpe,” he added. “We played well in that one but the result went against us. You want to make sure you don’t lose again and we did the work to make sure that didn’t happen.”
“I thought the lad could have stayed on his feet for the penalty,” he insisted. “Mark [Gillespie] said he pulled his hands away and it was Akinde who kicked him. If he’d stayed on his feet he’d have scored so it didn’t make much difference either way.”
“I’m really enjoying my football at the moment,” he said. “Hopefully I’m showing people what I can do. I haven’t played for a while so to get a week like this, with three games one after the other, has been really good for me. I actually felt fresh in the second half but I still want to improve and hopefully keep my place.
“Danny Livesey is a good talker and we seem to be working well together. I’ve only lost one game since I’ve been here so it seems to be going quite well. The aim is for us all to push on up the table together and that’s what we’re working towards.
“This is a really good club and I’d certainly like to explore the option of staying once we get to the end of the season. It’s a club that can push for the play-offs in the future and it’s the ambition of every player at this level to get into the Championship. I’d love to be involved with that.
“The fans have been really good to me since I got here and it’d be good if I could chip in with a few goals for them between now and the end of the season.”
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