Funso Ojo had his first experience of an English derby match, as he started Sunday’s game against Doncaster Rovers.
The 26-year-old moved to the UK this summer to join the Iron and has since attracted a lot of praise from supporters for his performances.
The midfielder discussed the feeling of a derby day, the fans’ impact and previewed the Portsmouth game in an interview with iFollow Iron.
ON HIS FIRST ENGLISH DERBY DAY EXPERIENCE…
FO: It wasn’t what I expected, as there were quite a lot of away fans. At the end of the match, I had to ask myself whether we had just played a home or away match! There were more fans than I expected but it was nice to see as they were really loud. That helped to make it sound and feel like a home game.
ON THE FANS’ IMPACT…
FO: I feel as if the fans gave us an extra boost to keep us 1-0 up. It was a tough game with a lot of duels, balls in the air and headers. It wasn’t really the kind of football that we wanted to be playing and we needed a clean sheet. That’s where the fans came in. They gave us that extra boost to help keep it.
"It wasn’t what I expected, as there were quite a lot of away fans. At the end of the match, I had to ask myself whether we had just played a home or away match!"
ON THE WAY THE GAME PLAYED OUT…
FO: I should have known that derby days don’t always play out how you would like them to. Straight from kick-off I realised that it was going to be one of those games. I don’t really like to play those games but if we still get three points then I’m still a happy player.
ON PORTSMOUTH…
FO: I’m sure they will try and play some good football. It’s a home game in our stadium and we need to try and play like we want to play, which is on the ground.
ON THE FANS' INFLUENCE THIS SATURDAY…
FO: If we had nearly 2,000 fans at Doncaster Rovers, then I would like to see at least double that at Glanford Park. It needs to sound like a good home crowd to spur us on.
See much more from Funso Ojo on iFollow Iron. Click here to sign-up.