CRITCHLEY: THE BEST RESULT OF OUR SEASON

Neil Critchley commended his team for their winning attitude versus Bristol Rovers.

Pool produced a resilient and strong display to win 2-1 just three days after losing to Nottingham Forest in the Emirates FA Cup extra time. Critchley called it an unforgettable afternoon.

“Considering the schedule that we’ve been on recently, and with 120 minutes against a Premier League side on Wednesday, I think this is the best result of our season,” he stated.

“I believe our performance clears up some of the doubts that have been raised about our team’s composition away from home this season. We faced a formidable team that has only lost once at home this season, so we had to battle, scrap, and give it our all. In the second half, especially, we played excellent defense and didn’t give them many opportunities to score.

“This outcome was incredibly pleasing, and it made up for the travelling supporters who suffered a little bit at several away games this season. They were heard, and we put on a fantastic, cohesive team show. All of us together, I believe, had some influence. I believe our team was deserving of the victory because of our outstanding effort and dedication throughout the game.”

After analyzing the two game-winning goals, Critchley believed that CJ Hamilton and Karamoko Dembele’s goals were both deserving of victories.

He declared, “They were both excellent goals.”

“For the first, Jordan Rhodes did so well out wide and Kyle Joseph broke forward to then cut it back to CJ who hit it really well. I was right behind it and could see it flying in – it was a brilliant strike.

“Kyle did well again with the second goal to go in behind and showed composure to slide it across to Kaddy who finished it well.

“We know we can play good football, but today we had to show a different side to our game, and we did that well.”

After what has been such a busy schedule over recent weeks, the squad now have a free week on the training pitch to prepare for Saturday’s fixture at home to Charlton – something which Critchley is pleased to see.

“We’ll use this week to freshen the group up and for recovery,” he said.

“It has been a busy schedule. We need this week and we can recover and train and prepare for Saturday’s game, which we head into in a good run of form.”