‘We showed character’ - Lancaster City boss reacts as Dolly Blues produce late heroics
Lancaster City manager Jimmy Marshall was full of credit for his players after the Dolly Blues secured a dramatic 3-2 victory over Hebburn Town on Saturday.
Marshall’s men were 2-1 down in second-half stoppage time against Hebburn, after goals from Gary Martin and Ethan Wood had the Hornets two up, with Nic Evangelinos halving the deficit just before half-time.
Lancaster were staring down the barrel of a third straight defeat to start the season, but Evangelinos’ second levelled things on 92 minutes, then Dylan Thompson bagged the winner with 95 minutes on the clock.
Speaking post-match, Marshall admitted that he didn’t plan for his side’s first points of the season to come in such dramatic fashion, but he praised his players for showing their never-say-die attitude.
Photo credit: Michael Porter Photography
“It showed character and how much we wanted to win the game,” he said.
“We were on top for the first 15, and then for a 20-minute period we were miles off it collectively. But once that happened, fair play to the lads, they showed a lot of character.
“They dug themselves a bit of a hole in the first half, but then we scored a good goal and went a little direct.
“That gave us a bit of a platform, and we knew that, with half an hour to go, we could step on it.”
Marshall commended his substitutes for helping them kick on and maintain the intensity needed to complete the late turnaround.
The three goals were Lancaster’s first of the campaign, and they now sit 13th, having picked up their first three points of the Northern Premier League season.
“It was important that we got off the mark today,” Marshall added.
“I wasn’t planning on it being in such dramatic fashion, but I’ll give all the credit to the players who kept going, kept knocking on the door.
“It’s a relief because you start to wonder, after having a good pre-season, a good second 45 against Hyde United where we didn’t score, and parts of the performance on Tuesday [during their 2-0 defeat against FC United of Manchester] were good as well, and you have that thought in the back of the mind, ‘What are we doing wrong?’”.
The Dolly Blues’ momentum is high currently, and they don’t have to wait long to try and record successive wins as they take on Morpeth Town on Tuesday - with the Highwaymen themselves looking to pick up their first points of the new season.
Photo credit: Michael Porter Photography
On what needs to be taken into the midweek battle, Marshall said plainly: “The positives.
“It’s important that we perform consistently over the 90 minutes and not think that we can turn up in this league and play in fits and starts.
“If we turn up with the intensity we showed for 70 minutes today, then we can cause anyone problems. But if we drop the levels, then we’ll get hurt.
“We know it’ll be a tough game, it’s a long travel. Hopefully we can go there, build on the positives and get a good result.”