Part one of our Peter Murphy interview
Defender Peter Murphy spoke to the official website on Wednesday afternoon about a range of issues, including the amazing ending to last Saturday’s home game against Yeovil.
“When we were coming to 90 minutes and we were 3-1 down it was looking like a very bad performance,” he said.
“Suddenly we pulled it back and that means that everyone can concentrate on the positive aspects of the game. That makes what we did even more important.”
“I think we showed great character to do what we did,” he told us. “Manny [Mathieu Manset] came on and he gave everyone a huge lift. That type of ending to the game is the kind of thing we need because we have to give the crowd something back and something to cheer about. We just haven’t been doing it enough.
“We scored our second goal and I think I heard it was being described as a consolation. Just a minute later we’ve got another ... and I can’t believe Manny is still trying to claim it by the way! It was obviously an own goal.”
“I can only vaguely remember something like this happening once before,” he added. “It was very exciting but I have to admit that I did feel sorry for Luke Ayling. He was nearly crying after the game and that shows you how important results are to everyone.
“We were in a situation where we weren’t going to give it up. It was a game where we had a bit of momentum and, when it’s like that, you do feel that you can still get something, however late in the day it is. It was just fantastic for everyone that we did manage to get the goals to go along with it this time.”
“It felt like a win in the dressing room,” he admitted. “We even felt at half time that we’d done enough to be in a better position than we were in, and we decided to go a bit more direct and get at them for the second half. It probably wasn’t the best of matches to watch but it was effective, and that’s what matters at this stage of the season.”
“It’s a massive point for us and the table shows us that we haven’t had enough of them this year,” he continued. “Your home form is so important and we just didn’t have it at the start of the season. We’ve turned that round and now the away form has suffered, so the key for us is to marry the two together. It’s something we know we have to address for next season and hopefully it will be a lot better for us.
“I think everyone knows that the situation we are in means we aren’t looking at the type of performance as much as we’re concentrating on the points we need to make sure we are in this league next season,” he said. “We always want to play well but we need results first and foremost.”
And on the impact new arrival Mathieu Manset could have, he said: “He has given the squad a lift because he’s a different kind of player. He isn’t the same as Francois Zoko, with the tricks and the skill, but he is really awkward and strong. I think we saw that he has an eye for a goal as well and he gets his shots on target more often than not. He’s definitely going to be a positive for us.
“I think the good thing for us last weekend was that we had Mark Beck on a high, because of what he had done with Scotland, and we had Lee Miller coming back from suspension. He was another who was determined to do well. Then we had me coming back into the team and there was Manny who was absolutely buzzing because of his international clearance.
“That was effectively four players who were chomping at the bit and I think you could see that. Hopefully we’ll take the energy from that whole game into what we do on Friday against Shrewsbury.”
Click HERE to read part two of the interview.
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