Striker Hallam Hope scored his 14th goal of the season against Bury on Saturday and we caught up with him shortly after full-time to get his thoughts on what had been a fantastic way to win the game.
“It meant a lot to us to pick up the three points,” he told us. “At half time we knew it was going to be an uphill battle, but we all stuck together and did it in the end. I think you could tell by our celebrations how much it meant.
“I did feel a bit of relief when I got the goal because I’d had two chances before that, even though I did always think I would get another one. Thankfully I put it away.
"I’ve got 14 for the season so far and hopefully I can get a few more in the last few games. That’s my best return of goals in a season so far in my career and it would be great if I could get a few more and help the team."
“When you start the game as well as we did, but go into half time a goal and a man down, it is a bit disheartening," he admitted. "We all stuck together, and we knew we could do it. We were positive and we went out with belief that we could do it.
“There wasn’t any doubt within the group that we could get the points. We know each other really well, we know what we’re all capable of. We just needed to make sure we took the chances when they cam along, and thnakfully that's what we did."
“We knew how important it was to get three points and they’re a massive three points for us," he continued. "Even though we were a goal down and a man down we still came away with the win, so we’re all buzzing with it.
“To get a goal so early in the game helps ease the tension a bit. We haven’t scored the first goal in a game for a while, so it was good to get that. We’ve been playing ok, even though the wins haven’t been there of late, but we know if we keep putting in the performances the wins will follow.
On the effort put in to see the result over the line, he told us: “Everyone worked really hard and the subs came on and did well. We stuck to the plan and come away with the three points, which is really pleasing.
"We’ve got some really good players who can create chances as well as score, and for me personally they’re a joy to play with. We’ve got the likes of Dev [Jamie Devitt], Callum [O’Hare] and Nathan [Thomas] who can all handle the ball and find passes, as well as being a goal threat."
“Connor [Simpson] did really well for my goal," he told us. "When I saw it come back across I did think he was going to get on the end of it, which he did, and thankfully I was there to put it in. The first cross went over my head and as I turned around I could see he was going to reach it and send it back.
"It was a fantastic feeling to see it go in because that was a massive win for us. You could see how much it meant to us on the pitch, and to the staff and the fans. Everyone was together, and we all believe we can get into those top seven places.
“There wasn’t any extra satisfaction with the goal coming against my former club, I had good times at Bury and got promoted with them. My celebrations were just for us because it was great to get the three points.
"A win like that can give us massive momentum going into the last five games of the season. We’re all looking forward and we know we can get the job done.
“The Stevenage game next week will probably be a different sort of game but we’ll just listen to the instructions the manager gives us and put in the performance that will hopefully bring us another three points."
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