Striker Jabo Ibehre on his first goal for the club
It was a dream debut for summer signing Jabo Ibehre as his late first half strike ultimately earned his side a point from their opening day away day journey to Mansfield.
We spoke to him about his first goal for the club ahead of the Monday morning training session.
“It was fantastic that it happened,” he said. “I was really pleased with that and I’m also pleased that we kept going after their goal to get our equaliser.
“It meant we got something out of the game and we almost went on to get the three points as well. The boys showed good character and we’re just ready to crack on and put it to good use for the next game.”
“It was a good flick on by Tom [Miller] and Derek [Asamoah] did well,” he explained. “I pulled off my man so I could leave a bit of space for myself and Derek put me through.
“I tried to play a one-two with him and he was trying to play it back to me, to be fair, and I think you can see that in the replay. He tried to let it run on and an alarm bell went off in my head, so I just took the shot. It was nice to see it go in.
“I was in a good position in the box, I knew where I was and I just tried to get it round the keeper. When you get a good connection like that you just hope for the best.”
“It was a good time to score,” he agreed. “It gave us the impetus to come out in the second half and push on to try to get the win. I’m sure it changed both team talks but it was a tough first game for us, because everyone has a few nerves with it being the new season.
“It was a good point and we can take some positives from the way we played. From my own point of view it’s a start. I think there’s still lots to come from me, that’s for sure, but it was pleasing to get out there and get the cobwebs off.
“It’s obviously good to get off the mark with a goal along with a good, strong performance from the team. Pre-season was tough, I can definitely vouch for that with what we did at Cassius Camps, but it was good to take the confidence we built up into the game. We got a good point away from home and hopefully we can continue it.
“It always seems to be a hot day for the first game and you do wonder where you’re at with your fitness. You find your feet for the first 15 or 20 minutes and I think the real quality will start to come out once we have a few games under our belts.”
And on the support from the 722 band of travelling Blues, he said: “The fans made a fantastic noise, you could really hear them.
“It would have been really nice to get something for them, especially in the second half when we were shooting into the goal they were behind. They’re fantastic supporters and so far, so good. Hopefully we’ll give them more to cheer about in the future.
“We go again now for two home games this week. The pitch is fantastic for us and we’re going to try to be strong and play the type of football we want to play on it. Tuesday night is the first home game of the season so it’ll be exciting, and hopefully we’ll do well.”
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