After returning to action in our win at Fleetwood Town, we spoke to Terell Thomas.
Speaking to CUTV, the defender said: ”It was a good game all round, everyone put in a really good shift. We battled where we needed to, we knew that there were a team that were going to try and put the ball long on us and then try to win second balls and win the battle.
“We came in with that mindset straight away, that we're going to have to win the battle and earn the right to play.
“I think in the first-half we did that a lot, we controlled the majority of the ball in the first-half. They had maybe a few sniffs here and there, but I thought it was a good performance all round.
“Second-half, obviously they changed their shape and the game gets a bit hectic every time it gets to 60 minutes. But we did well to dig in again when conceding.”
Terell was named in a matchday squad for the first time since our victory at Salford City back in early November after returning from injury, and was called into action off the bench much sooner than anticipated after Paul Dummett was forced off on five minutes.
“A bit of a joke, I left my shorts inside so I was like, oh God, I'm going to have to come on now. It worked out well, but hopefully the injury isn't too bad to Dummy and we can move forward.”
Following his spell on the sidelines, it was recommended that Thomas would only feature for a maximum of 60 minutes and he went on to complete 85-plus providing a solid showing at the back.
“Well, yeah, you know more than me about that, so I didn't know that. But yeah, it's good to be out there boys again, be in front of the fans and most importantly get the win.”
Speaking on Cedwyn Scott’s opener, the centre-back said: “It was nice to see stuff that we work on coming to fruition and score from a series of plays that we constantly work on during the week. Yeah, it was a good goal.”
The Blues entered the break in the ascendancy, when asked what the gaffer’s message was, Terell responded: “Mainly just keep doing what we're doing and be prepared for a bit more energy from them in the second-half.
“Obviously if you're the one coming in at half-time losing, then you know you're going to get a bit of a rollicking from the manager. So that was the main thing, just don't be surprised by their extra bit of energy.”
And if they change it, if they go too up top or if they change it somehow, which they did, and it sort of flustered us a bit. But we got our heads around it and we came out with three points. Dealt with that pressure that you said they would come out with in the second half.
On 70 minutes, Ronan Coughlan lashed a powerful effort into the back of Gabe Breeze’s net to level the contest.
When asked what was going through the lads’ minds on the pitch at that moment, Thomas said: “Just to stay calm, really, because I didn't want to get into their type of game, which is battle, second balls. So that's where we continually try to work the patterns, which we do.
“It's frustrating that from something that we tried to work on, they scored off, but that's something that we can work on more in the training ground. So that's a big thing for us. And we battled through that period of pressure after the goal.”
Sam Lavelle then stepped up on 85 minutes to secure an essential three points on the road, eventually scrambling the ball into the back of Fleetwood’s net.
“Somehow it went in, I don't know if it was him, he's going to claim it 100%, isn't he?
“It was a fantastic ball from Sean. He crossed it in. It was a good ball in.
“Sam's always a predator in the box, to be fair, with his head. So good for him that he was there and he was attacking well. I was just behind him if he missed it.”
Speaking on the Blues’ faithful that made the trip south, Terell said: “I know sometimes it's been a bit tough throughout the season, but the support's fantastic.
“When we go away, we know we're going to get a decent backing wherever we go.
“It gives us that sort of energy on the pitch to run around. It helps when you've got a full away end, and also at the home games as well, it helps a lot.
“It's just a step in the right direction, isn't it? We don't want to go too crazy, we don't want to be too high on highs and too low on lows.
“It's something to build on. We'll see a quick turnaround for the game on Tuesday, another away game, and hopefully we can get some good points in this week.”
