Attacker Jordan Gibson helped to raise the roof a few inches at Brunton Park on Tuesday night when he sent a last-minute volley into the bottom corner, a strike which earned his side a deserved draw following what had been another good performance.
We caught up with him on Thursday morning to talk about the moment, and about his own current run of strong form.
“It was a good feeling [when it went in],” he said. “I think I needed a goal. I’ve been playing quite well this season but I’ve had a bit of misfortune with hitting the bar and what not.
“I knew it was the last kick of the game and so obviously the celebration was quite wild, but it was a good point.”
Explaining his thinking on taking the shot on, he told us: “When the ball was headed out it was in the air for a while, but I knew it was all or nothing.
“I thought, if it goes over the bar it goes over the bar, but I wanted to hit it low, on target, and I knew when it goes through bodies it could take a nick. Thankfully it went in.
“It’s a point, it’s not a win, but I feel like it’s a point against a good team who came and passed the ball well. We know we need to start winning games now because that’s what it’s about.
“Draws aren’t going to be enough through the season so if we could pick up a few wins this month it could prove to be a very good point.”
His second official man of the match award for the season comes off the back of him having challenged himself ahead of the campaign – he now has 111 appearances in all competitions for the Blues racked up – to be more consistent in his overall play.
“I am challenging myself and I think there’s a lot more to come as well,” he commented. “I’ve been playing in a few positions and on Tuesday I was over on the left wing.
“I felt comfortable with that. I’ve just got to keep building on my performances and try to get a few more goals and assists.
“With the position I’m playing at the moment, and with the change of roles when it’s needed, it’s more difficult to find the fluidity in my game, but I feel like I can contribute with more goals and assists and creating chances.
“You can perform well but what it comes down to is that contributing to goals or getting goals has to be the main part of my game.
“The man of the match things are good. If you’re getting recognised for your performances and work rate it helps to build confidence. I do feel good at the moment but, as I said, there is still a lot more to come.”
A frustrating factor for all concerned this term has been the fact that the points return hasn’t matched the performances, with the Blues definitely shy of the tally they perhaps deserve.
“That’s why getting that point on Tuesday was massive,” he said. “I think we’ve played well this season, in patches.
“This league is a step up, we’ve seen that in terms of quality and the way teams move and rotate, and we’ve found it to be quite tricky at times. I feel like we’re coming to terms with how teams play and how we can affect games, and on Tuesday we rode the wave a little bit.
“In the second half we put our stamp on the game and deservedly got something from it, especially with none of the penalty shouts going our way when we think they should have.
“There have been games this season where we’ve come in after full time and we’ve been disappointed that we haven’t got the points that we deserve. I feel like Tuesday was a good point where we got something for the work we put in from the game.
“We covered the ground, ran a lot, stuck to the game plan, so it’s good to get something from it.”
“The change of formation we had shows that we’re a very adaptable bunch of lads,” he continued. “There are a lot of players who can play in different positions and do their bit for the team.
“Whatever shape we play we’re well accustomed to it, we know what to do and we know each other’s roles and responsibilities within that.
“We go onto the pitch and nobody is having to think about what’s going on, we’re ready for whatever position or shape we play.”
Saturday takes United to Bolton, and another game against one of the fancied clubs.
“It’s massive,” he agreed. “It’s one to look forward to, big crowd, big following from us, so it’s a good one. Hopefully we’ll do well and get something from it.
“Games like this are what Wembley was all about. That was a celebration, but playing these teams – Bolton, Wigan, Derby – you get the big crowds and it’s a great platform to go out and perform.
“We know we’ve already got over 4,200 and I don’t know what it’ll be like to walk out and see them. Just imagining it is good, it’s a massive following, great support, as it has been all season – in fact, ever seen I’ve been at the club, to be fair.
“The home and away support has been magnificent so we’re looking forward to seeing them all at the weekend, and hopefully we’ll give them something to cheer about.”
