Robbie Rock reflects on a stunning 3-2 win over Moyola Park

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Q - It's a big 3-2 win against Moyola Park at home here at Crystal Park. In a game where we were excellent this evening, thoroughly executing our game plan. Was this evening's performance and score line a sign of what's potentially to come for the town?

A - Yep, 100%. I think we've been building up to that um the last couple of months.

We've had some good good performance and games where um we didn't get anything out of and um yeah definitely that's a sign of what's to come. That's the way I want my teams to play football like our wing back has scored two goals today at the back post arriving the way he's meant to do was excellent. Couldn't the way of the way the game plan was put in my head the way I put it out to the players the lads executed it excellent.

Q - Can you just talk us through the game plan that set your team out? So, we've watched video of them over the la the last couple of games. We've got a couple of videos of them and um we knew that obviously David Parkhouse is one player of the year this year.

He's excellent. He was going to be that threat. He likes to drop in between the lines and then when he drops in between the lines, someone goes in behind.

So, it's just nullifying that. They are quite narrow in the transition. So whichever side you win the ball on, the other side of the pitch tends to be open, especially if you move the ball to the uh down our left there, right?

It was definitely their left back was just took in and we just we thought that very similar to possibly how we're playing against Dollingstown that might have been the best game plan to go with and uh it worked today.

Q - So just in terms of the first half, we started off very aggressively, moving the ball forward well and all of a sudden uh we go two up. Talk us through how you felt there.

A - It was nice to see everyone jumping around and all. They're the moments as the manager you want to celebrate and let the big scream out, but um you have to stand there and be the cool one.

It was delight to go two. Kian scored off a cross right arriving the back post. Kian kept the ball alive in the second phase off a free kick or a corner and Ebuka is taking a touch and finished it excellently. Then to be two nil up against them going into halftime. It was just going in and saying to the players that uh just keep doing what we're doing.

Don't sit back. Don't invite them on. Don't don't change what we're doing.

We're in this position because of the way we're playing and just to kind of really go out and just keep doing what we're doing.

Q - Fortunately, we did concede just 2 minutes after we went two. Do you put that down to maybe a little bit of elation perhaps?

A - Um yeah, I think the players is just again like I said although we're a young group we are. I don't think the players know what to do up. We've been winning a couple of times where we've been one nil up, but o go 2-0 up against a team like Moyola.

I think the players just they just kind of got to run it themselves. But yeah, we conceded early um after the second goal but we um we've done well to go in level at halftime and it was just about regrouping and going again.

Q - Just in terms of the second half early on in the second half we did conceded from David Parkhouse scoring a goal.

A - It presented an opportunity there where Moyola were piling on the pressure and they were looking to they were looking to capitalise and go ahead. Of course, we know that they could have secured promotion if they had won the game tonight.

Q - Are you proud of the players hanging on for the win particularly when they were piling on the pressure?

A - Yeah, we knew we knew that the transitions were going to be a big thing here tonight. We know how to sit in. It's something that we've learned how to do over the season.

To sit in play possession football in better parts of the field. At the start of the season, we were probably a little bit too open when we were playing. So, we're trying to move the ball into the opposition half before we start playing.

Now, we knew, like I said, we knew that there were we could catch them in transitions, especially with our speed, bringing Victor on in the second half to hold the ball up to link the players in. We get young Ryan Niblock on to use his energy. uh to get Benji on to use his experience and uh yeah, we just knew that if we could dig in and get a couple of counterattacks, a couple of transitions to go away and um yeah, I was delighted delighted the way the lads played in the second half.

Q - In our last interview, you commented on how our players have gotten used to going up against very strong, powerful teams, particularly up top. I thought something that stood out to me was that was perhaps the defining feature of our game tonight where we match them for every pass, every move forward.

A - Yeah, we did, we knew if we give them time the quality they have if we give them time on the ball they're just going to pick us apart. So we tried to press at the right time. Definitely when the ball went in at times we were doubling up on David Parkhouse.

We just stuck to a game plan, you know, without over complicating it. We just wanted to keep it basic at times and sometimes the basics is make sure that your man doesn't out beat you and that's what the lads done at the back line.

Q - It's hard to pick out individual performance tonight because the entire team were fantastic this evening. But Matthew McLoughlin had a very strong start of the game. He was moving the ball about spreading it well throughout the evening. Marcus Francisco was excellent as well.

He won the ball uh a lot and Luke Povell coming back into the team tonight as well, did very well.

A - Yeah, I thought Marcus was excellent today. He moved the ball well. He great at turning the ball over his drive with the ball.

Matty is just a technically gifted player. To have somebody like him stand in the middle of the pitch and knock the football around the way he does and was excellent. And Luke Povell was going to play this game because he originally traveled out to my park for the first game and his transfer had gone through a minute late. So he wasn't able to actually play in the game.

So he stood there and watched the game and he was saying that this was the game he was hoping he was back for. For someone that didn't play last week, he's been out with a face injury h to come back and to play against a team like that. I thought he was excellent today.

Q - And just the last one, perfect result score line heading into big game against Portstewart on Saturday.

A - Yeah. It's about just carrying on what we were doing.

It was great to be on the right side of the score line finally this season and we just need to keep going. All I ask is that the supporters come down and support us the way they did tonight because, that roar when the third goal went in, everyone enjoyed it. We all deserved that and hopefully we can just build on that now and that's the main thing for us.

If we stand still and be happy with one win, we're not going to go anywhere. This is just the start of us and I'm delighted to happen tonight.