Grimsby Town joint boss Paul Hurst gives his post-match reaction following Saturday's 3-0 FA Trophy semi-final first leg victory over Dartford ...
On the performance ...
"We didn't wake up for 15-20 minutes and once we did I thought we played really well in the first half. That was the best we've played in a while and we looked like we could get that second goal. In the second half, the longer it went on and we hadn't got that second goal, that's when you just wonder if it's going to come back and bite you. After the first 10-15 minutes of that half I didn't think we were great – we didn't play the correct balls and we didn't clear our lines far enough to turn them around. It was almost like a league game where the closer it gets to the 90 minutes you're almost happy to hold onto what you've got. That was a little frustrating because at half-time I gathered some of the more experienced players on the pitch and said 'if it gets to that point where it is still 1-0, I don't want us sitting back because it's a 180 minute game. It's a different scenario. It's not three points for winning 1-0 and we wanted us to get that second goal. Thankfully, we did – although I'm not sure it's because they were particularly listening to me! I think it was a better performance. We were resilient enough to hold out at 1-0 but there were also certain periods of the game where it was an improvement and we'll try to do that more as we move forward."
On James McKeown's wonder save ...
" It wasn't a bad save, but I think it was one for the cameras! He's hit it from a long way out and it was a great strike, and in all seriousness, it was a great save. He's not had a lot to do except come for a few crosses, but that's the life of a keeper, and the concentration required. Thankfully he's kept it as a clean sheet for us, along with the help in front of him which he will be the first to acknowledge. But that save, in particular, was their 'real' chance."
On a winning mentality ...
" The attitude and work ethic within the squad and the team is second-to-none, and that's why we enjoy working with them. We're always going to ask for more and we said that to them after the game, that we think they can be better. They said it themselves at half-time and mentioned that they hadn't started well – they were also saying they had to be better in the second half. If we're winning games 3-0 and we're still having gripes and groans then that can only be a good sign for us, because you're always striving to be better. It will be very rare that I will say that we've been brilliant and that's it. There are always things to do better and work on. It's again credit to the type of characters we've got. It's not a case of telling them that and they go away thinking 'what do we have to do to get a bit of praise?' They still get the praise, and rightly so because they deserve it. There are a lot of people in our dressing room who want to be better still, and if we can keep that attitude then we won't go far wrong."
On the preparations ...
" Leading up to the first leg, I got asked a lot of questions about whether the players were over-excited for the game. I never once got that feeling and, if anything, it was the other way where we were thinking 'do they realise it's a semi-final?' I will take that, though, because it shows how balanced they are at the moment. They realise that every game is a big game and this was just another one where they produced the goods."
On links with Derby defender Tom Naylor...
" As far as I'm aware, I think he might be joining another club in our league."
On Richard Brodie ...
" Without a doubt, Brodes was better all-round. He held the ball up better for us and won more headers. But maybe that's just him playing more games, getting more comfortable and knowing how his team-mates play as well."
On playing Braintree tomorrow evening...
" We know their pitch isn't going to be the best and the most conducive to slick passing. That's something we'll have to look at in terms of team selection perhaps. There may be one or two changes."
