Akwasi Asante was pleased with the comeback win over Notts County on Tuesday night, with the striker bagging a late penalty to seal off the victory.
Speaking to the media, he said: “I thought the lads were brilliant today. We went a goal down; I think it was against the run of play because we played really well in the first half, but it was a great finish from the lad [Elisha Sam].
“At half-time, the manager said, ‘Just relax, we’re making chances, we’ll get back into this game’ and that’s what we did.”
Laurence Maguire scored twice to turn the game around and Asante admits that the defender’s two-goal contribution surprised many.
He joked: “No one was expecting that! The lads were saying he probably should have taken the penalty for the hat-trick.
“It was a brilliant performance from Laurence, and two good goals to go with it.”
The penalty was Asante’s fifth goal of the season, and his third in five games. Asante spoke about the decision to take the penalty and the team’s confidence.
“As a striker, I have always believed that you have to take them. It’s our job to score and I was confident I would, so no one was taking it off me,” he said. “I’m half-way to double figures now, not bad.
“You have to win your home games. I’m sure people doubted us when we had a little bad spell, but every team has a rough patch.
“We’ve shown today that we’re back to winning ways, back-to-back wins. We need to keep that up for the weekend because Southend United is a must-win game too.
“It’s a long way to go, but we’re second for a reason. Everyone will be aware of our qualities.
“We won’t give up until the final game of the season. We’re going for it.”
