Martin Wild spoke to Town keeper Glyn Garner after the final whistle at the Racecourse to get his thoughts on the game
Town goalkeeper Glyn Garner was happy that the winless run had ended at the Racecourse after yesterdays 1-0 derby win over Wrexham, but seemed oblivious to the fact the run had lasted seven games.
"One win in eight? Is that what it is? I didn't realise that," said the Town number one. "After a good start to the season the Rochdale game put us back a bit. Today we got ourselves back on track in a pressure situation. It's a local derby we want to do well; the fans want to do well. It was a glue pot of a pitch. It looks tidy but it was a bit sticky. We looked solid and came out the other side. Michael (Symes) took his goal really well and we're happy to take three points."
In a tense affair that never looked likely to provide more than one goal, the 30 year-old was well aware of the importance of scoring the opening goal.
"Oh it was a one-niller all the way really. I was stood in the back of my net thinking 'if we can just nick a goal here' we can lay down the seeds from there and that's what we did at the end of the day."
I wondered if perhaps the trade jargon to sum up the afternoon's work was an ugly one-nil win but enquired whether such a thing existed after the poor run of results finally came to an end.
"I dunno really. The first half especially, every time I've played here Wrexham have a good go at you down the slopey bit towards our fans and we sort of withstood that - they didn't create too much. In the second half I thought we controlled it and pushed them back. They had the odd attack but we played some good football and got lucky with the ricochet for Michael's goal.
"Sometimes you make your own luck and I thought we deserved that today. We've been in their half and looked after the ball so therefore the luck has been with us cos the percentages were with us. Michael did well up top for us today and I'm glad he's come back into the team and got us the goal."
Garner was certainly the busier of the two keepers and two smart saves in quick succession preserved Salop's precious but slender advantage.
"I'm there to do a job and if you can help out, you help out," he said. "I thought myself and Colin (Murdoch) controlled the line really well at the back today. I thought he was man-of-the-match. He was a rock at the back and got us through it."
Was the result all the sweeter because it came against one of Town's biggest rivals - albeit in a logistical sense?
"Well three points is three points really, it doesn't matter who you pick them up against. The fans enjoy three points when they come across the border; I'm a Welshman so I know how they'll feel. I felt a bit sorry for Wrexham cos they're going through a sticky patch themselves. But we had a little bit more quality today and it showed. It was a generally good three points to get"
The atmosphere at the near deserted Racecourse Ground (boosted only by 1200 visiting fans) was hardly what you'd describe as crackling; I wondered whether the tension from the stands had made its way onto the pitch.
"The atmosphere was a little bit tense but you have to deal with that, that's football. When you get bad runs in football sometimes you can go into your shell a bit but people were pulling out of their shells today. We played above ourselves. The atmosphere didn't really bother me - I just love playing."
Next up for Gary Peters' men is a long trip to Darlington although the side have the luxury of a two night stay in the North East after facing two games in a little over 48 hours. After a 1-5 reverse at Edgar Street on Saturday, the Town stopper knew the Quakers would be out for revenge.
"I couldn't believe their result yesterday. They'd only conceded five goals I think all season and then they let in five at Hereford. It's always nice to go somewhere when you've won a game. We've won away from home now and if we can go there and get a point or maybe even three who knows? If we can just keep the back door shut, keep it nice and tight. Keep a clean sheet, it's so important to defend well it gives you something to build on.
"If you can look after the ball up front and build a platform you're in any game then. A bit of luck here and a bit of good play there, and you've got a couple of goals. Darlo's a big pitch; they'll try to open us up. But we have to be solid all over and if we can go there and put a shift in maybe we'll come back with a result."
One final question to the Shrews custodian: three games unbeaten, we're on a roll aren't we?
"You'd think so wouldn't you? I mean the lads were saying the ball wasn't quite behind the line at Bury for their goal (when the teams drew 1-1) so we felt a bit hard done by there. But yeah, three games now we're building through. You need to go on runs. I think after the Walsall game last season we went unbeaten for fifteen games or something and got ourselves in the play-offs. Hopefully this is the start of a nice run and you can start to lay foundations again."
What Town fans wouldn't give now for a run like that to help the club get back amongst the early season pace setters.
