Following the Iron’s 2-1 victory in the opening game of the season against Coventry City, debutant and striker Stephen Humphrys was delighted to get off the mark in his new colours.
Speaking to iFollow Iron about the away success, he said: “We started off not as well as we would have liked. They got the first goal which was disappointing, but we didn’t let it affect us. We reacted positively and got a goal back quite early.
“I also think that the substitutes made a massive impact as well. Duane (Holmes) and Funso (Ojo) coming on gave us that calmness in midfield and Duane’s energy is very hard to defend against. He showed it with his assist, that it was a big impact.
“We managed to get the win in the end so that’s fantastic for us.”
After over a month of hard work on the training pitch, all the players were excited to get back to playing competitive football again for the first time in 2018/19.
The striker said: “The lads were itching to go and to get the proper football underway again against a proper team in a stadium like this (the Ricoh Arena), it’s great.
“The travelling fans created a really good atmosphere. It’s proper football and we’re all delighted to have it back!"
Getting points on the board early on in the season is vital and Humphrys agreed, saying: “It’s very important. It’s a massive confidence boost and everyone is coming in and high-fiving. If we took a draw that would have still been a positive result coming to a team like Coventry on the first game of the season."
He added: “To get the win, it sets the tone and the standard for the rest of the year and if we can keep getting results like that, who knows what will happen."
Reacting to scoring a goal on his competitive debut for the Iron, the 20-year-old said: “It’s fantastic. As any forward, you want to get off the mark as quickly as possible and thankfully, I did that today.
“Sometimes it can be a little bit of a hold on you and in the back of your mind you’re thinking you don’t want to be selfish, but you do want to score because that’s your job and what you get paid to do.”
In terms of his own aims for this season, Humphrys went on to say: “I want to get into double figures. That’s massively important for me. Whether that’s in the teens or in the twenties, who knows but I think the team will create a lot of chances this year so hopefully I can finish them like I did today."
The Scunthorpe faithful travelled in numbers to the Ricoh Arena, bringing over 700 fans and the striker was really happy to be able to celebrate in front of them with the rest of his teammates.
He said: “It’s massive for the team. Everyone sprinted over to the fans who travelled in numbers and created a great atmosphere, backing us for the full 90 minutes.
“We could feel as soon as we got that first goal back that we could score again, and I think the fans thought that too. They were the twelfth man today and to be able to score right in front of them was a great feeling.”
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