Alex’ manager Steve Davis spoke to his club’s official website after his side’s 2-1 League One win over Carlisle at Gresty Road, Davis saying it took the Railwaymen a while to get going in the game:
“We didn’t start particularly well, I thought the first 10 or 15 minutes was quite similar to Colchester, it took us a bit of a while to get going. But, I thought we worked our way into the game well and created a few good chances, Bradden Inman had a great chance at the end of the first-half to be 1-0 up at half-time.
“But, we were more than happy with how we were playing in the last 25 minutes of the first-half and hoping that we could continue with that sort of effort second-half, which I think we did for the best part but we just had a few anxious moments towards the end. So, I thought it was a good all-round performance and we worked very, very hard today.
“I was pleased with the goals, the one from Chuks Aneke was a terrific strike, the two combined again, the cross from the right and then cushioned nicely by Tom Hitchcock and he has instinctively hit it with the outside of his right foot right into the top right-hand corner. So, it was a fantastic goal and we know he can do that don’t we, we have seen it before.
“Then with Brad we have been encouraging him to go on the outside of the full-back and he did that at Colchester and we scored and he has done it today and we have scored with Mesca getting in at the back-post. We have this season found chances hard to get and defences have been very, very well drilled and disciplined and hard to break down.
“Again, it was the same today, we found it very hard to break them down, it was going to take a piece of individual skill from somebody or a little bit of good play to break them down. We produced that which was good and it changed the course of the game a little bit, the second goal was then a little cushion but it was a good piece of individual play from Brad and a nice finish. That is what the game needed, it needed that little bit of quality to liven it up a bit, it was a well contested game, both teams really worked hard and went at it.
“You can see why they have picked up some results, they kept going and kept going. But, over the last two games that is what we have been doing, we have been able to keep going. I can’t be disappointed with the Christmas period, we have lost to Wolves away, drawn with Shrewsbury and we have won two games, one away and one at home, so it has been a good four games for us.
“Mesca can be a bit frustrating at times, when you look at his final ball he needs to improve on that but he is only 20 and he has got a lot to learn still. He has got a lot to do, we have enjoyed having him, he has enjoyed his loan while he has been here, he has worked very, very hard for the cause and for the team.
“He gets us up the pitch very, very quickly with the darting pace he has got, but he just needs to be a little bit cleverer, especially if he is going to be one of Fulham’s players, in the final third to beat defenders and catch them out. But, fair play to him today, he got in at the back-post, which we always encourage our wingers to do and he had a little tap-in at the back, which was great.
“I think the lads have only had the one day off over Christmas, we were in Christmas Day and have worked very, very hard to get the best return we could from the games over Christmas. I didn’t think we got dealt great games, a difficult game at Wolves which was very enjoyable but we got beat. A long, long trip to Colchester on a real muddy pitch and another muddy game today with a swirling wind.
“So, they haven’t been easy and a team in form at the moment who have just beaten Peterborough, so we have got to be satisfied with what we have done. But, we have got to keep that going, it is no good working hard and getting the results over Christmas, we have got to now build that momentum and keep that confidence high and keep working.
“For their goal I always thought the wall had to be 10 yards and not 15, that is the rules as I understand. I wasn’t sure it was a free-kick anyway, I thought there were two or three times where their lads were diving looking for free-kicks. One or two that were given were correct, but I thought there were two or three where they were looking for something in and around the box to try to get something and the referee [Darren Drysdale] got conned with those dives.
“But, it was a good free-kick, he [Tom Lawrence] did a bit of a Ronaldo and bent it and hit it high over the wall and it dipped into the corner. We will have a look at Ben Garratt’s position where perhaps he could have done a bit better, but the wall looked so far away that they were never going to stop it from where it was. You are relying on the referee to get that right, the decision in the first place and then going 10 yards, I think the crowd were counting back the 10 yards the next time he gave a free-kick for them, maybe they helped him today.”