on a night like that, so it was about proving to the fans how
good you are and making them feel proud of you.
Leighton: I wouldn’t say we expected to win, but everyone
of us had belief. We were all confident going into the game
because we’ve been playing well with the Under-23s since
we’ve been promoted to that squad. We just saw it as a shot
for us, an opportunity, and we had belief – especially going
into the second half – that we could nick a goal.
SHREWSBURY SCORED AN OWN-GOAL TO PUT YOU AHEAD
WITH 15 MINUTES TO PLAY. ARE YOU THINKING AT THAT
POINT ‘WE’VE GOT THESE’ AND WHAT WAS IT LIKE AT FULL-
TIME?
Jake: The crowd were going wild when the goal went in and
I just thought to myself ‘this is unbelievable, I want more of
it!’ It was an unbelievable feeling when the goal went in and it
just spurred us on to keep going and defend with all we had.
Luckily it paid off.
Leighton: The final whistle going was the best moment, the
best moment so far of my career. Just everything about it was
great. There were positive feelings everywhere. A lot of people
had come to watch me from back home, and a lot of Jake’s
family were there too. A lot of people who had helped me
since I was young were also there, so knowing I had played
well, we had won the game and they were all there was even
better. I was trying to pick some of them out in the crowd in
the warm up, but I couldn’t see them. When we were walking
around clapping the fans at the end, and then walking back to
the tunnel, I could just see my mum waving her hand. Then I
could see everyone and our families were sat together.
NEIL CRITCHLEY LED THE TEAM THAT NIGHT, AS HE DID AT
VILLA. HE HAS SINCE TAKEN CHARGE AT BLACKPOOL, BUT
HOW INFLUENTIAL HAS HE BEEN ON YOUR CAREERS?
Jake: He was very supportive and the big thing is that he gave
us trust. He trusted us in that Shrewsbury game and he gave
us the right tools – clips and video analysis of the other team
- to go out there and counter what they can do. It was an
unbelievable night for Critch as well, winning his first first-
THE CROWD WERE GOING WILD
WHEN THE GOAL WENT IN AND
I JUST THOUGHT TO MYSELF
‘THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE, I WANT
MORE OF IT!’