Striker Richie Bennett scored his third goal of the season at Cambridge on Saturday with his header just before half time bringing the Blues right back into the game.
Speaking about the fifth win in six games shortly after full time, he said: “It was a big win for us. The way we did it shows a lot about the belief and courage we have in the changing room.
“It wasn’t the greatest start from us and I thought we were way off it for the first 20 minutes. We probably started the same way we had at Mansfield, so it was good to get a positive result at the end of it.
“There’s a few important games coming up at home now so hopefully we’ll get ourselves on a good run.”
With the Abbeymen grabbing an early lead on the day the big forward admitted that it had taken the wind out of the sails as the away struggled to get going.
“Cambridge are always going to have a lot of the ball because they’ve got some good players,” he told us. “Their goal allowed their fans to get right behind them and it became a big test for us.
“Thankfully we came out on top, but we still feel we can be better all over the pitch, both individually and collectively as a team. We just need to keep concentrating on our performances and keep doing the basics well.
“We’re up at the top of the table with some good teams so it means we’re mostly doing things right, but the important thing is for us to keep our heads down and to keep it going.”
On his headed goal, which looped into the net leaving keeper David Forde stranded, he commented: “I knew the ball was coming in because Jamie Devitt has that quality in him. As soon as he got on it I knew it would be hung up at the back stick, and he knew I was going to be there.
“It was nice to score the goal that gave us a chance in the game. If we’d gone into the changing room a goal down it could have been totally different, so we needed it to help to give us a lift. It’s the type of goal I probably don’t score enough of, so I am looking to get a few more like it.
“Being honest, we hadn’t played that well during the first half so to go in at 1-1 meant we had a chance. We knew ourselves that we had a lot more in the locker to give, and we also felt they were probably playing at their best.”
“In the end it’s a game we could have won by a bigger margin,” he added. “Adam [Campbell] had a great chance and he told us afterwards that it had skimmed the post.
“The good thing is that the back four and midfield handled their strikers really well, so credit to everybody for the way we took control of the game. We probably shouldn’t have been on the back foot as much in the last five minutes or so, but it was a great finish from Nads [Ashley Nadesan] which had put us in a winning position.
“With players like Ash Nadesan, Jerry Yates and Jamie Devitt, and the other lads, there are people who can win us games, and that’s even without Hallam Hope being here. It’s all looking really good at the moment and it’s down to us to keep it going.”
With that third goal under his belt he still refused to be drawn on his overall goal scoring target.
“Start holding the ball up better is my immediate target,” he said. “I know myself what I need to get better at and I know if I get it right it helps the team massively.
“It helps the back four if I’m doing my job because they aren’t constantly having their backs to goal. I know what I need to do, and the gaffer is putting those demands on me.
“I know I’ve got to get better at protecting the ball, so I’ll be working hard to do that, and hopefully the goals will follow.
“Everybody at this club wants me to do well and that’s really good. The better we all do the happier the fans are, and I’m fully aware that the way we play has an impact on everybody. It’s our aim to keep getting the results.
“We’re at home again at the weekend and doing the home games properly will really give our fans something to talk about. That’s what we want more than anything.”
So, with the club sat in fourth spot we wondered if the healthy viewing that is currently the league table was a topic of much conversation within the dressing room ranks?
“I tend not to take much notice of the table until around Christmas time,” he insisted. “As nice as it is, it doesn’t really mean a lot at the moment.
“You see at the end of the season that teams get into the play-offs when they haven’t even been in the top ten for the first half of the season. That’s why we can all enjoy it, but the work has to be done to keep it going so that it does end up meaning something.”
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