Interim manager Nick Daws praised the performance of the Iron in the 1-1 draw at Oxford, but says there was disappointment it didn’t result in three points.
Ivan Toney struck the Iron into an early lead during a first-half they dominated, but James Henry’s penalty kick not long after half-time restored parity.
After the game at the Kassam Stadium, Daws spoke to iFollow Iron.
ON THE MATCH…
ND: I thought we played incredibly well. In the first-half, we were outstanding in both sides of the game. We passed the ball, caused them problems and forced them into changing their shape two or three times. The players did everything they asked us to do in the two and a bit days we’ve had to work with them. From that perspective, I’m pleased. It’s not the result we wanted by any stretch of the imagination because we came here to win, and that was clear in how the players played, but it’s a point. We’re disappointed with the result but we’re pleased with the performance.
ON THE PENALTY SHOUTS…
ND: We have to move on from it, because we’re not going to get any of those back. There are things we’ll work on with the players on Sunday ahead of Monday’s game, because we could still be a bit more ruthless in the final part of the pitch.
ON THE CHANCES…
ND: It was nearly a perfect storm because we knew those players in particular (Josh Morris, Hakeeb Adelakun and Duane Holmes supporting Ivan Toney), if we got it right, would hopefully score us goals. We came close on a number of occasions, hit the woodwork, had shots cleared off the line and could have been two or three goals ahead at half-time. I didn’t expect that we could have played for the 90 minutes and keep that going, because they were also committed to the defensive side of the game as well. They showed grit and determination and stuck at it. We’re really pleased with everyone.
ON JORDAN CLARKE COMING OFF…
ND: We took Jordan off because we knew we would get 60 minutes from Jordan at best. He’s probably got through a little bit on adrenaline, and the advice from Michael (McBride, Head of Medical Services) was that we needed to take him off. We had Marnick (Vermijl) ready to come on though.
ON THE EASTER MONDAY CLASH...
ND: We played Plymouth early on in the season and came away with a handsome scoreline after a sending-off. We’re looking forward to it, they’re in good form and it’s a great challenge for us. We’re looking for three points. They’ve turned their performances around but, as it was back then, they have a good group of players and a way of playing that’s proved consistent and achieved results. We will have around 4,000 there and it’s important they support and get behind the team. The supporters are massive to us and they need to be as loud as they can be.
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