Striker Richie Bennett was handed an important task on the pitch on Saturday as he played a as a lone striker, with two big centre backs in his shadow almost every step of the way.
We caught up with him to talk about the game, and his current form, ahead of the Tuesday afternoon training session.
“I think we deserved at least the draw in the end,” he told us. “We knew they were an in-form team and I think our first job was to make sure we stayed in the hat. The most important thing was to go down there and make sure we didn’t lose.
“When you consider that we went one down early in the game, and that got the crowd behind their team, we did well to get them back up here for the replay. Being honest, it was probably the worst start to the game we could have had.
“Out on the pitch you just have to forget about it and get on with your game plan. To be fair, our preparation was good, with us getting down there two days earlier, and the gaffer had made of all our roles and responsibilities really clear.
“We all knew what we had to do, and I think we did it well on the day. I was up front on my own and that’s a different role, in terms of how much I have to get involved. I enjoy it, because I see a lot more of the ball, and I like being involved as much as possible.
“It’s a hard role and there are a lot more responsibilities when you’re doing it, but it’s good to get your teeth into it when you know others are relying on you. I thrive off having more responsibility and doing that job against a League One team meant I had a lot to prove as well.”
With the not-so-small matter of the replay still to deal with, Monday night’s third round draw brought a home game against Championship outfit Sheffield Wednesday for the eventual victors.
“With the balls that were left in the bowl I was hoping it would be Chelsea,” he admitted. “I know the lads have been up against Liverpool and Everton recently, but I haven’t personally played a Premier League team before.
“That would be good, but none of it means anything if we don’t beat Gillingham next Tuesday. We obviously played Sunderland not so long ago, so it will be another good test if we do manage to win the replay. First and foremost we need to put a performance on against Gillingham and then we can think about what comes next.”
Speaking about his own form, as he works hard to establish himself at his new club, he told us: “I’ve always said that the minimum you can do is work hard for your team and that’s something I’ll always do.
“I haven’t scored as many goals as I wanted but I’m hoping that they’ll come along with the work I’m doing. I’m not too worried - as long as we keep getting good results and getting where we want to be, then I’ll be happy.
“I also know that if the other lads keep playing as well as they are now then it helps me as well. The wingers and the centre mids support me and it helps what I’m able to do.”
Next up for the Blues is another long trip, this time to South Wales and a meeting with Newport County – another side currently flirting with the play-off places.
“They’re another club picking up good results, so it’ll be a very hard game,” he said. “It isn’t an easy place to go, but it’ll be nice to get back to the bread and butter of doing well in the league.
“We’re looking for consistency in our results now and if we perform anything like we did on Saturday I know we’ll be bringing the three points back with us.”
Click HERE to watch an interview with Richie Bennett on iFollow United now.
