Huddersfield Town

After five appearances as a substitute, the January recruit from Kidderminster was given a first start in the team by Mark Robins and responded with a goal and two assists in the thumping 4-1 win at Vicarage Road. 

“The day has been brilliant; things have gone well. I’ll be watching the Football League Show tonight!” Joe told htafc.com. 

“First and foremost it was a great win; it’s good to get the three points even if there wasn’t much riding on the game, as it’s good to get the win to finish the season and give our fans something to travel back with.  

“The Manager told me to go out and express myself in the way I did at Kidderminster. He wanted me to work hard when we didn’t have the ball and show what I can do when we did, which hopefully I did today. 

“The defensive side of things is something I haven’t been used to doing for a long time now, so at times during the game it felt a bit new and I had to really think about things. I think I did alright on that front too.”

Lolley opened the scoring just 23 seconds into the second-half, turning past Marco Cassetti before firing low past Jonathan Bond on his right foot.

“I can’t remember much about the goal! I got a little lucky when I cut the ball back onto my right foot and fortunately the shot went in. I got piled on after the game, so perhaps I lost my memory then! 

“I was delighted I could score my first goal in front of the travelling fans. I thought they were brilliant today; they sang their hearts out. It was good to give them a win, as it’s something to be positive about going into the summer.

“Hopefully next season we can kick-on and push up the League. I don’t think we’ve performed as we can do since January, but we’ve had a good couple of away wins to finish the season. I hope the fans are looking forward to next year.”

The Birmingham-born player was also full of praise for Danny Ward, who netted a hat-trick after replacing Nahki Wells (knock to the hip) in the first-half. 

“Danny did brilliantly to come on a substitute and score a hat-trick; it’s a brilliant achievement. I played a part in two of his goals and to play my part in a 4-1 win away from home is a great feeling.” 

The day capped a superb rise for the attacker, who was plying his trade for Midland Combination side Littleton just 12 months ago. 

Joe continued: “12 months ago I was playing in level 12 of the football pyramid in front of about 40 people, so to come from there to today is great. 

“I’ve got a programme given by the staff. I’m taking on board everything they’re telling me, as I want to come back into pre-season fitter than ever. I can then build on that and hopefully make myself a fixture in the team.

“Huddersfield paid decent money for me, but I knew it would be difficult to break into the team this season coming from where I have done. I’m sure that after the next pre-season the Club will be looking for me to come in and perform for the team; hopefully I can do that.”

The stresses of full-time football have been tough on the 21 year-old, who has suffered with shin splints – leading to a trip to Dublin to get to the bottom of the issue. 

“I’m trying to change the biomechanics of how I run. It’s quite difficult to do and people probably won’t notice, but I’m working on it step by step. If I practise enough, the change should come naturally. 

“My running style has put a lot of stress and pressure on my shins and I’m trying to distribute that evenly throughout my core and hips. It’s only really come to be an issue when I’ve stepped up to the Championship, because the training is quite demanding. Hopefully I am over that now.”