Following his opening goal in a crucial away victory, we spoke to attacker Stephen Wearne after Carlisle United’s win over Forest Green Rovers at The New Lawn.
Speaking to CUTV, Wearne discussed his goal, the team’s intensity, belief within the squad and the focus moving forward.
Here is everything we learnt:
1. Job done
“It wasn't pretty, but we got the job done, so yeah, everyone's happy.
"We've had a good week, two wins against two decent sides, so yeah, successful. Successful week.”
2. A week’s work done well
“We want to win as many games as we can. Obviously, we beat Scunthorpe the other day, but to be honest, I think both games Tuesday and today, we were the better side.
"We’ve got some ground to gain on York and Rochdale, but for me, these are still two of the best teams in the league, Forest Green and Scunthorpe. We’ve beaten both this week, so yeah, happy.”
3. Back on the scoresheet
“It's been a long time coming this season. It's been a frustrating one, but it was nice to score and then in front of the away fans that have travelled a long way, so yeah, it was nice. Pass it in along the floor, please, that's what I was thinking, and yeah, he did. I knew he was going to square it; he's unselfish, and I see the work he puts in.
"As soon as he squares it, I just thought make good contact, hit it into the ground and bounce it over the keeper, so yeah, over the moon.”
4. Defending from the front
“I hope people can see that's what me and Luke (Armstrong) enjoy doing. We enjoy not giving the defenders a minute to breathe, and we rat about, we put our bodies on the line, we fly into things and don't give them a minute.
"When you win a ball back like Luke did there and get a goal from it, it's really pleasing. We probably got carried away a little bit with the press, but we ended up sitting in and just seeing the game out.”
5. Taking opportunities
“I just want to play football. We're all footballers, we all want to play football, and it's part of the game, being out of the team, injuries.
"It’s been nice being back on the pitch the past few weeks, and I just try and leave everything out there because you never know when your next opportunity is going to be, so I just try and leave everything on the pitch, and hopefully the rest takes care of itself.”
6. Blistering start
“When you go 1-0 up, it's sometimes a little bit shaky. When you go 2-0, 3-0 up, you get comfortable, and obviously, we got the goal back, and we went under the cosh a little bit in the second half.
"I thought the boys saw the game out really well. Defence was top drawer and Gabe (Breeze) coming for crosses and everything, so yeah, really happy.”
7. David Ajiboye’s stunner
“I think I made a run, and then I made a run to open up a space for Luke on the other side, and I thought he was going to pass it to Luke. He just kept going, and I thought, surely pass it now, Dave (Ajiboye), and then he just didn't pass it and just kept going and kept going. He put it through the last defender's legs, and I thought, oh my God, he's going to score and then yeah, put it in.
"One of the best goals I've seen at this level, definitely. He deserves it. He's worked really hard, he's got his opportunities recently, and he's definitely taken them.”
8. Teamwork makes the difference
“We've got a real good team cohesion, a good group of lads in there.
"When lads are putting bodies on the line, it gets a bit nitty gritty, and I think they're the ones that you enjoy the most, when you get put under pressure towards the end of the game, and lads are just flying in to block things and put tackles in.”
9. Staying focused
“We just want to pick up win after win after win, keep ticking them off, and we’ve done that this week and every game is as big as each other in this league, so next week we will be raring to go.”
10. For the travelling Blues
“It was a monster journey we had yesterday, so I can only imagine what they've got today going back home as well. A huge thank you to them. I really appreciate their support, especially on days like this.”
