The honesty and commitment within the Newport County AFC dressing room means the squad will not get too down hearted after failing to pick up three points from a game they thought they should have won, according to midfielder Robbie Willmott.
Willmott was involved in Padraig Amond’s opener after just 19 seconds, crossing the ball for Jamille Matt who saw his shot saved spectacularly by Barry Roche, before Amond scored a header with the rebound.
The chances kept on coming for the Exiles, Antoine Semenyo and Tyler Forbes both denied by a combination of Roche and right-back Zak Mills, but County just couldn’t put the game beyond Morecambe.
To make matters worse, Kevin Ellison popped up from the substitutes bench to grab their equaliser with 13 minutes remaining, getting his sixth goal against County with a well-taken finish into the centre of the goal.
That meant honours even at Rodney Parade and here, you can read what Willmott exclusively told iFollow Exiles following the conclusion of the game.
On the draw with Morecambe…
“It was a great start and I’m sure any team would take a start like that. It’s more about seeing it out, we gave them an opportunity in the first-half and they seemed to grow into the game from there.
“It’s a big blow for us because we see it as two points dropped in the position that we’re in. We felt really confident going into the game, scored early and I personally thought we were on for a three or four nil result.
“We looked really positive going forward, Benno picked up an injury which forced us to reshuffle then Mark O’Brien picked up an injury, so we had to reshuffle again.
“I just don’t think we were good enough in certain areas and we let ourselves down. We’ve got to rectify certain mistakes and put them right at Carlisle United.”
On having to play with a makeshift central-defensive unit come the end of the game…
“We’ve got an honest team here and in terms of myself, central midfield is not my natural role but I’m always going to put everything into my performance. I’m going to get kicked in the air but I'll keep getting back up for the team and that’s the same as all the other lads.
“Dan Butler filled in at centre-back, Pringy went in at left wing back so that shows you there is no problems at this club. No one ever says they won’t fill in because we’re such a tight-knit group.
“People like myself and Pipey try to instil what this club means to the people and what it means to us. We’ve got a promotion here so we’re probably closer to the fans than what most are here.
“For us, it’s all about putting the shirt on with pride, giving 100% and all the lads are doing that here.”
On the goals scored by both sides at Rodney Parade…
“Podge is a proper fox in the box. He can score spectacular goals, but his best work is when he’s in and around the 18-yard box. For me as a wide player, he’s very easy to pick out in the box because he’s always on the move. It’s the perfect match really.
“With Podge, you forgive him for not scoring in a couple of games because of the work rate he puts in. The lads see that, the manager sees that, and we always know that he’s going to score. I’m really happy for him.
“Morecambe never really looked like troubling us and we said that the only way they would score would be from our own mistake. And that’s unfortunately what happened.
“Kevin Ellison’s a problem. I don’t think you can take his age into consideration because he seems to always get 10+ a season so he’s obviously doing something right.
“It was just a mistake from ourselves, we’ve said that, but Kevin Ellison was clinical to be fair to him. We’ll rectify the mistake and hopefully give the travelling fans to Carlisle something to cheer about.”
On next weekend’s long trip to Carlisle United…
“This week, we’ll probably do our analysis on Carlisle United to work on different things and work on the system the gaffer chooses.
“If he decides to change up personnel, if he decides to leave me out even then I won’t sulk because I’m a player that will get behind the team and help people to get the best out of themselves.
“We’re a strong group and that’s what we’ll do – get behind each other and hopefully get three points.
“Personally, a week before the game I like to watch videos on YouTube to see the other team’s highlights. I’ll do that this week because I can take things about Carlisle United from that.
“I got an assist their last season, it was the last game of the season but really, unless you have something to play for then it’s a really different atmosphere. I think Clint Hill retired that day, Keith Curle had his last game as manager, so that slowed the game down as well and it petered out.
“It’ll be a six or seven hour journey each way, but we’ll occupy ourselves. We’re a tight-knit group so it will fly by I’m sure – it’s just the way back that might kill you.
“The confidence will still be there. One thing we say is no moping around and our heads will be back up. I’m probably one of the experienced players now so it’s my job to try and pick a few players up. We’ll be back in on Monday, smile on everyone’s face and start getting our minds focused on Carlisle United.”
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