Wilson praises youngsters – Kids are Alright

A two-all draw won’t be something Swindon chief Danny Wilson will end up being pleased with at most home games this season, but following Alan Sheehan’s sending off, his ten man side fought back twice and he said:

“I have to say that if anyone asks any questions about the character of the team and players, that was on show today. They were absolutely fantastic. You can’t ask for any more than that for commitment and to come back like they did on both occasions was a fantastic credit to them.

It was a very young side that was out there. A very young side. But they’ve shown a lot of maturity today.”

On Rose being put on the bench at the start of the game, Wilson admitted:

“I’m sure he will feel aggrieved, but that’s football. That’s life. You make a decision and that’s it. I just felt it was a home game that was possibly set up for Alan, but it wasn’t to be in the end and it turned out to be Michael’s day with a great delivery for the goal (Austin’s) and a fantastic free kick. Terrific. He’s come off the bench and made an impact and that’s what you hope your substitutes will do.

For their second goal (former Swindon loanee Revell) in particular from Alex it’s Sod’s Law isn’t it? From our point of view we could have done better in that situation, but you have to remember that we were getting very stretched then. The lads aren’t on empty tanks as such, but they are starting to stretch it in wide areas and the length of the pitch as well and so it’ difficult to cover the whole ground with a man less as we did. So you can’t be too critical in that respect. They were trying to get to the ball and scampering a bit, but Alex has got into the near post and just beat us to it.

Even then I would have thought the game was over, but fair credit to the boys to come back as they did really.”

Wilson was especially pleased with the two Swindon goals and said:

“There were two bits of quality and the finishes in both cases. Charlie’s header was terrific . Crikey he got the man-of-the-match today and fully deserved it. Without a doubt he’s worked his tail off today on his own up there. He showed terrific appetite for what we needed at that time and showed great responsibility up there on his own. It was never easy against two uncompromising centre backs and he was rewarded for it. It doesn’t always happen.

The second goal was a definite foul, but you’ve still got to execute it. It’s a good position to be in, but you need the exponent of it and Rosey’s come in and planted bang in the top corner and the keeper’s got no chance.”

The Robins’ boss admitted it hadn’t been a great spectacle to start with and said:

“The first half was a poor first half for both teams. There was nothing much to write home about that to be honest. It was a poor game, but it livened up second half. From the way they’ve set themselves up they’ve come to get a decent result. This result might not be what they expected after we went a man down and they’ve been up twice. So really we can take the confidence from that. The fans want to see players run their socks off and they ran themselves to a stand still. No-one’s in a position to say they didn’t do that today.”

Man-of-the match Austin, 21, netted his 6th goal in ten games and was full of praise for Rose. He said: and the work ethic he’s shown today – he’s be

“He’s the sort of player you want on your side. It was a cracking delivery for my goal and then a great free kick. It’s the sort of thing he does all the time in training.”