Forest Green ran out 2-1 winners against Scott Lindsey’s Crawley Town, on Saturday.
FGR fan Chris Gardner had his say on the vital win.
What an emotional post-match interview by David Horseman.
He’s had rotten luck with injuries and exceptionally poor finishing by his team. You could see the strain, relief and many other emotions in his face.
His honesty and lucidity does him great credit. I really hope our season recovers and that he, Louis Carey and Allan Steele are with us long term as we need to rebuild gradually using their talents.
To have Jordan Moore-Taylor and Callum Jones back for twenty minutes or so was a real bonus, and when Reece Brown, Holland, Johnson and others join them, we will look a decent squad
An extraordinary game. For the first 20 minutes, it looked like we were playing Ipswich again. We were poor but Crawley swarmed and passed quicker than we could think and with accuracy. Both full backs were being left for dead, Robbo the most tortured, and the game could have been lost inside half an hour, but for heroics from Belshaw. Chaotic defending and suicidal passes in the final third made it grim watching
What was impressive was the collective resolve. Coolest head on the pitch was Harvey Bunker, an increasingly mature midfielder despite his mere 20 years.
He just went about his business, settled the team down and with Maddox, led some destructive in the Crawley half. They showed that Crawley’s defence was as vulnerable as ours and the visitors became nervous and less fluent. And finally, good finishing by the improving Callum Morton. The second period was scrappy but determined. Robbo went from villain to hero and everyone backed each other up and put themselves on the line. More goals could have come at either end, but today, you felt Rovers would not yield.
A word too for our supporters. TNL used to be a library; no more. Crowds have probably been better than our relegation and appalling litany of home defeats deserve, away numbers too. 1,900 really got behind their struggling team and created an irresistible din. Good to see the players engage with everyone as well, before, during and after the game. No more false dawns please, let’s trust to FGR pulling the season around.
Watching FGR has always been a test of nerve. Never more so than this season and last. If David Horseman overflowed with emotion, I was drained. The Pinnocks are still with us though. Karl was ecstatic with Ethan’s winner at Chelsea and equally delighted that FGR had won.