Wallace happy with seasonal League debut at Brighton
Murray Wallace was delighted to play a part in keeping Town’s fifth clean sheet of the season in the battling goalless draw at Brighton & Hove Albion.
The 20 year-old Scotsman made his first League appearance of the 2013/14 campaign, replacing the suspended Joel Lynch at centre back, and was a candidate for Town’s ‘Man of the Match’ with a strong, composed performance.
“Obviously it was tough, so we’re delighted to come away with a point,” Murray told htafc.com after the full-time whistle. “It’s a long journey down here, so we didn’t want to come and get nothing. I’m delighted with the clean sheet and the point.
“Everyone knows Brighton are a good footballing team – probably one of the best in the League in terms of passing. They try and play in a similar fashion to us and it was good to come up against a good footballing team that try to do things in the right way.
“We looked at their strengths and weaknesses, but at the end of the day it comes down to how we play. We didn’t quite find our top gear today – we were restricted – but we’ve done well to contain them in the end.”
The former Falkirk man has had to be patient this season due to the form of his fellow defenders and the emergence of Tommy Smith, but explained that he has kept his head down and kept himself ready for today’s opportunity.
“I’m happy with my performance, but this is just one game and I don’t want to get carried away. I’ve been waiting for my chance and whenever I play I will try my best. Fortunately I’ve done alright today.
“You can’t get frustrated; if you let things get the better of you, you’ll get down, stop working hard and lose focus on what you want to do. Last year I didn’t make an appearance until Boxing Day, so I’m looking at it and thinking I’ve come in a wee bit earlier! I’ve also already played in the Capital One Cup against Hull and Bradford so there is progression, albeit slow.”
As has become the norm, Manager Mark Robins switched the shape of the side to good effect throughout the game at the Amex Stadium – a ploy Murray believes works well.
“The Manager changes the formation during games as it forces the opposition to change how they pick us up. It is worth tweaking things to see if we can break the opposition down.
“We initially setup in a 3-5-2, so it was a straight swap – me in for ‘Lynchy’. As the game went on it wasn’t quite happening for us, so we changed to a back four and I came in a wee bit more centrally. When Calum (Woods) came on we went back to a three just to mix it up and see if we could break them down, but it wasn’t to be.”
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