Club captain Callum Guy delivered one of his most important assists at Boundary Park when he clipped a free kick – deep into time added on – onto the head of defender Morgan Feeney who, as we know, did the rest.
Referee Sam Allison had, however, taken an age to sort things out, and the set-piece taker admitted that a number of options were considered prior to the ball being kicked.
“There were quite a few, to be fair,” he admitted. “I didn’t realise it was the actual last kick of the game, but I was having a conversation with Joe [Riley] and Gibbo [Jordan Gibson] where we talked about potentially shooting.
“Obviously that wasn’t the decision, so I put it into an area and Morgs did what Morgs has been doing best in terms of heading the ball really hard. Thankfully he’s got his head onto one attacking wise, it’s gone in, and it was an amazing feeling.
“It was really tempting to take the shot, with it being so late in the game, it could have been worth trying that, but I thought that especially with my goal scoring record it was probably best to just stick it in an area. Like I say, thankfully it paid off.”
“The scenes after it went were unbelievable,” he agreed. “All of the lads were talking about it after the game and we said that it’s one of the best feelings in football.
“To share that with the 1,300 or so travelling fans was incredible, and in such an important game as well.
“The support we’ve been shown over the past few games has been unreal and it’s good that we’re starting to repay them for the faith that they’re still showing in us.
“It hasn’t been a season that we wanted, but there were 15 games left when the gaffer first came in, now there’s 12, and luckily we’re now on the back of three wins.”
The three wins mentioned brought an end to a run of eight games without a victory, and a much-needed lift in the mood around the club.
“We understood the frustration and we all felt responsible, because we’re the ones who go out on the pitch,” he told us. “We weren’t winning games or performing to the standard we know we can, but I feel like we’ve shown what we can do again in the last three games.
“Defensively the back five have been absolutely outstanding, along with the keeper, but it starts from the front. The amount of work the two strikers have put in has given us a solid base to work from.
“With what we went through we know how frustrated the fans were and we can only thank them for sticking with us. The good things is it feels like we’re giving them something back.”
Having worked so closely with the previous manager, with himself and other senior players having put changes in place to try to galvanise the squad, he admitted that the week the change was made had come as a shock to the squad.
“A manager getting sacked is always a shock, and a few of us took it upon ourselves to try to bring more of a feeling of togetherness in the group,” he revealed.
“It was nothing too big, just a few little things here and there, in the hope that it would all add up. You never expect what happened to happen hat week, but we just got on with it, we got our heads down and we worked really hard.
“With the new manager coming in we knew we had to try to turn things round and we did what we could through the rest of the week to make sure the spirit was still there in the dressing room.
“Training was sharp and intense and we went into the game feeling really confident. We got the early goal and the defensive display we put on for the rest of the game was incredible.
“Getting the win from that game was massive, wasn’t it. I’ve always believed that winning is a habit in football and once you get on you go on to get two or three. We did it at Christmas where we got a few, but we dropped off again, and that’s why it’s important that we now keep pushing.”
The change in dynamic around the place has brought renewed feelings optimism, with positivity the order of the day at almost every turn.
“There was a big lift before the Orient game, it felt different in the changing room, so we’ve obviously fed off that and to get three wins in a week is fantastic,” he said. “I can’t say enough, it’s just important now that we keep going and get more wins and points on the board.
“Winning the game against Oldham the way we did - it might not have happened a few weeks ago - it’s a massive trait to have and it shows that we believe if we keep going we can make things happen.
“Football is having the ability to win a game when something has gone against you. We went behind so late in the half and that’s a real kick in the teeth when you think you’re going into the break level having not played that well.
“We spoke about soring it out and what it would mean to the fans, so to get the goal as early as we did, it felt like there was only going to be one team that was going to win the game.”
“And the celebrations at the end, it’s just what it’s all about,” he added. “Morgs has been outstanding these last few weeks and obviously he’s got his song from the crowd, which he loves.
“We were singing that in the dressing room as well and I think it’s just nice to have that between the players. It shows a good togetherness and that’s something else we want to keep building on.”
A huge part of the current wave of optimism has been fuelled by social media, with the online supporters giving their backing to the players and the club at every turn.
“Football comes with ups and downs, you’re going to go through that every season, wherever you are in the league, but the fans have been outstanding,” he commented.
“To come in their numbers, as they have been doing, it only helps the players and it’s nice to repay them for the support they keep showing us.
“It’s fantastic from the club to cut the ticket prices to get as many people in the stadium as we can. The Rochdale game was a Tuesday night but it was a bigger crowd and the noise was fantastic.
“We fed off it, we got the goal and then another late on, and being able to see the fans so happy is a nice feeling for us.
“Everyone knows the situation we’re in, we’re not hiding from that fact, but you can’t dwell on it too much. As everyone says you focus on the next game, which is true, because that’s the only thing you can affect next.
“If you keep winning games everything else takes care of itself. The next two games are a test but being at home can work in our favour, but they’re teams that are fighting for promotion, so it won’t be easy.
“But with the confidence that’s in the dressing room at the moment we feel like we can beat anybody. Hopefully the fans can get down if they’re available, it’s a huge help for the lads when they do.
“We’re hoping for a win so that they’ll come again to support us in the games to come.”
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