Rhodes on his goal and the Forest draw
Town’s goalscorer Jordan Rhodes is delighted the team are off the mark points-wise after the 1-1 draw in the home Championship opener against Nottingham Forest.
The Scotland international netted a last ditch goal in added time and admitted that the visitors were stern opposition on the evening.
“It was a really tough evening for us,” Jordan told htafc.com.
“I thought Nottingham Forest were a real classy outfit and passed the ball around really well; at times we just had to stay in the game. I thought Alex made some terrific saves – one in particular off Guedioura’s turn and volley.
“It was just a matter of staying in the game and that will happen at times this season. The other night at Cardiff I thought we played really well and didn’t get the rub of the green, so tonight we got that little bit of fortune at the end after being largely second best – that’s football for you.”
Jordan’s goal came via the penalty spot, with right back Jack Hunt being brought down by Dan Harding after a typically buccaneering run forward.
“It was a great run by Jack and it resulted in us getting a point. It shows it only takes a second to score, so we have to keep plugging away and working hard. It would have been tough to come away with nothing.
“It’s nice to have two in two at the start of the season – I can’t complain at that!” Rhodes admitted, referencing his goal for Scotland earlier this month.
“I was just delighted to see it go in. I didn’t have many chances tonight, but it was a game with some quite good chances for our team actually; Novak, Keith and Ollie all had decent chances. We kept plugging away and fortunately we managed to squeeze one in.”
Rhodes took the headlines due to his goal, but he credited the entire team for their ‘never say die’ attitude.
“A few times the defenders chucked their bodies on the line. The chance in the first half for Dexter Blackstock; first Alex saved it and his second chance only hit the bar because Adam Clayton slung his body at it and deflected it for a corner.
“We’d like to think we’ve shown people we can compete over these two games. Over the course of the season we’ll put in better and worse performances than tonight, but at times we’ll have to show grit and stay in there and I’m sure the fans, home or away, will appreciate the effort we’re putting in.”
Jordan also praised the Town faithful for backing the team until the final whistle.
“Forest were playing some good football and at times it must have been a bit frustrating for our fans, but we stuck to our game plan against a good side and I thought we were on top for the last ten minutes. The fans got behind us and gave us a bit of a lift – a bit of energy and momentum – and we got our just rewards.”
The prolific striker has been the at the centre of frenzied speculation in the press all summer, but he explained that he simply focusses on the job at hand; scoring goals for Town.
“I try to let it go over my head. It’s quite easy when you have matches to concentrate on, combined with training and the lads around you. I don’t really pay attention to the papers or watch too much Sky Sports News – I just live life as normal.
“This is a tremendous football club; I have many friends here and it’s a great changing room, which makes it so much easier. I think the new lads that have come in would agree with that and we’ve tried to make them feel very welcome.
Next up for Jordan and co. is an equally tough test at home to Burnley on Saturday; 3pm kick-off.
“It would be nice to get the win on Saturday; a win, a loss and a draw would sum up the start to the season. It would be great to get off the mark for wins and hopefully we’ll have a really good crowd for the first home Saturday game. It should be a good, competitive game against a tough Burnley side and I’m sure the fans will be right behind us, so we’d like to reward them.”
Get your ticket for Saturday’s game against Burnley online and print it at home – click HERE!
