Crawley Town won 2-1 at Charlton Athletic in League One thanks to goals from Tola Showunmi and Max Anderson. Here is Rob Elliot's full post-match press conference
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00:00Rob, congratulations. Your side have just won at the Valley. What do you make of that performance?
00:05It's our side, Sal. It's our side.
00:08No, it was brilliant. I mean, it's always going to be tough because of the way Cholton are.
00:12They're direct and they're physical and they put the ball in the box from everywhere.
00:15We had to stand up to it and obviously, on paper, losing Toby with the suspension,
00:19you'd think our biggest, most dominant centre-half, but the lads stood up to it so well.
00:22Switched off once, conceded a really poor goal, but the reaction to come back from that,
00:27that was my proudest thing today. I think maybe before we might have thought it,
00:31but we didn't and we stood up to it and we went on to win the game.
00:34I think that's fair play to Louis. He was on the side and he wanted to be really proactive with the substitutions
00:39and he was and I think that helped us win the game. Rushy and Ty and Rosie and Brad coming on,
00:45they helped to stem the flow and they also gave us that attacking option.
00:48Really, really pleased. Really, really proud. Really, so pleased for the club.
00:51You can see what it meant. It was incredible, the amount of fans we had on a Tuesday night
00:55and the noise at the end. It was fantastic and never get too high. It's one win, which is great,
00:59but we need to get ready for Stevenage now. But as a club, we've got to enjoy those moments
01:03because that's what everyone's done over the last two and a half years, to come to a place like this and enjoy those times.
01:08Yes, it's so often seen in football, isn't it?
01:10There's, I think, over 10,000 here tonight. Pull it back to one all out of nowhere.
01:14All of a sudden, the momentum completely shifts onto the home team.
01:17It's very loud here at the Valley this evening, but credit to the lads.
01:20Unbelievable character to sort of turn it around and Max with a poachers finish as well.
01:24Yes, do you know what? I think Max is an attacking player and he's probably played deeper,
01:28but I think he's got a great instinct. He receives the ball so well in tight areas
01:31and I really like to see him higher up the pitch, but he's doing a job for us at the moment.
01:35Again, I'll go through everyone, but I can't, but they were just all exceptional.
01:39From Tollers, brilliance, individual. I mean, we'll remember that for a long time.
01:43And then obviously the build-up to the goal, it's not just the finish,
01:45but it's the actual whole goal from start to finish, from what I can remember anyway,
01:49was just tremendous play and I think that's the thing.
01:52We have to have that bravery to play for the team, to be aggressive.
01:54You know it might go wrong and that's fine, but to come to the Valley,
01:5710,000 plus people, ex-Premier League club, my home club,
02:00I know how important the football is to the fans here and how hard it is to come here and win.
02:06So to do that just tops off a great night.
02:08But all eyes on Stevenage now, recovery, rest, look at ourselves,
02:13what can we do better, what have we done well and continue from there.
02:16The players of this side are growing game by game, aren't they?
02:19I mean, you can probably go through the whole of them,
02:21that was probably Benjamin's best game in a career shirt,
02:23Paton's grown in confidence with every game.
02:25You can see Swanee's thriving with having Tyler up there with him.
02:28This is a side that is growing and starting to show what they're really capable of, isn't it?
02:31100% and I think it's not just the team, it's the squad game.
02:35Like you mentioned there, lads who maybe, you know, Brad would be disappointed at the start,
02:38but he's come on and helped us win the game.
02:40Benji's been in and out and he's adapting to English football,
02:42he's adapting to English life and he's such a great guy.
02:46And obviously Toles as well, you know, he's his first real learning.
02:49We're getting there, we're working hard and we just need to make sure that we continue that momentum.
02:53Like I said, you can get humbled in this league very quickly.
02:56So, I got a bit carried away with the fans there, which is hard not to do.
02:59But we've got to enjoy these moments because we work hard for them.
03:02We do work hard behind the scenes and I'm so pleased for the staff,
03:07not just the players, I'm pleased for the staff.
03:10People mucking in left, right and centre, Ben, the groundsman,
03:13you have been driving things down and I think that a club of our stature in this league,
03:17it takes every single person in the club and I think that's the thing I've been so pleased with.
03:21Yeah, you do have to enjoy these moments so much.
03:24But also, we have to look at the bigger picture as well.
03:26Since Northampton, where it's probably our worst performance in recent times,
03:29we're unbeaten in the league.
03:30That was at the start of, end of October.
03:32We've gone through November unbeaten in the league.
03:34Yes, obviously we lost in the FA Cup on Saturday, but we're starting to pick up some real momentum.
03:38And, you know, as we've shown in the last couple, one point will turn into threes.
03:41You know, just like the Rotherham game and tonight as well.
03:43Yeah, definitely.
03:44And that comes with belief and mentality.
03:46So the lads have the belief that they will get the results.
03:48They are able to do it.
03:49And, you know, when we come in, we had issues with scoring.
03:51We started scoring, then we had issues with conceding from set-pieces and whatnot.
03:54And we're slowly fixing that.
03:55But we just need to make sure we keep doing what we're doing because it's working.
03:59We're doing well.
04:00But let's also realise there's some very, very good teams at the top of the table,
04:04which we have to play soon.
04:05So it's going to be a completely different battle and a completely different game.
04:07But you can only win the games you're in front of you.
04:11It's a great little run.
04:12It's something to be proud of.
04:13It's something to want to hold on to and not allow to get away from us.
04:15And, yeah, I was genuinely so proud of the lads.
04:17As I said, I was a little bit emotional at 2-1 because it wasn't just because we went 2-1 up.
04:22It was because I saw a team that wanted to fight for each other, fight for the club.
04:25And that was probably my proudest moments, Ian, just for that two, three minutes.
04:29Yeah, and we spoke about it a lot over the past few weeks.
04:32And, you know, as the season's progressed, it's hard for a relatively new squad to the fan base
04:37to sort of even gel between the squad and the fans.
04:40But wins like this are going to do the world of good, aren't they?
04:42I mean, it was over 600 Crawley fans here this evening and every single player going over,
04:46giving the fist bumps, including yourself, obviously.
04:48So wins like this are going to build that relationship even more, aren't they?
04:51I think so. And, yeah, the fist bumps don't come up very often for me.
04:54But, yeah, you've got to win in Rome.
04:56But, like, no, it is. And the connection with the club has been brilliant.
04:59And I think the one thing we're starting to see now, and I think the reason probably the fans,
05:01and the results are coming, by the way,
05:03but also the fans can get behind these teams because the work rate is immense and it's proper.
05:09And I think if you've given everything, if you fall short
05:12because your quality isn't there or another team's better than you, like Saturday,
05:14because Lincoln were better than us Saturday, you can accept that.
05:17As much as it's disappointing, you regroup, you go again.
05:20And then we come into Chorlton and we do the exact same thing, probably with a bit more
05:23Nelson, you know, we've had a few players back in the squad to help and you get a victory.
05:27So it's about staying consistent and not getting carried away.
05:30It's also about making sure that when we're on the pitch, we give absolutely everything.
05:33We push ourselves to the limit and we tag out when someone needs to come on.
05:36And I think we did that really well today as a squad and as a group.
05:39Perfect. Mark?
05:40Yeah, I heard sitting up there, you could hear the frustration within the Chorlton fans.
05:45Do you think that was down to your side's performance and how you frustrated them
05:49and sort of tempered Chorlton's performance?
05:52Yeah, look, I think obviously whatever's happening with Chorlton at the moment,
05:56the fans and the frustrations, it's not really our business or my business, especially.
06:00But I think, yeah, when you come to places like this, you know, big crowds, big clubs
06:03and you can get the crowd sort of frustrated.
06:06You know, you're doing something right.
06:08And I think that's what we did well.
06:09And I think we need to make sure that when we are in these occasions again,
06:12you know, the Birminghams, the Boltons, the Blackpool, all the big clubs.
06:17We need to take that and understand if you can stay in the game for the first 10, 15 minutes,
06:21which we did really well.
06:23It was very direct and we got through the first 10, 15,
06:25then the game set was down and then we got into it.
06:27So, no, I think it's a learning curve for us to understand how to win at places like this
06:31because Reading, we were excellent, but didn't win.
06:34And then tonight we've learnt from that and adapted again, evolved again.
06:37So, yeah, really pleased.
06:39Yeah, and although there was a lot of bombardment at times from Chorlton,
06:43Jojo didn't have a lot to do, did he really?
06:45And the defence, I thought, were absolutely magnificent tonight.
06:48Tremendous to a man and Jojo as well, organising in start positions
06:51and his decisions with his kicking, when to pass, when to go longer.
06:55And, yeah, and I think for all that, probably all the areas the ball was in,
07:00it was never too clean.
07:01It was always second balls, balls dropping down, but that's what Chorlton do
07:03and that's what they're very good at.
07:04And we managed to negate that really well.
07:05We got to put our bodies on the line, we won headers and we put our foot in.
07:09I think we could have probably been a bit more physical at times
07:11and I think that will come with belief.
07:12We're physically better than we realise.
07:15But, yeah, overall, I think the way we turned the ball over when the ball did break
07:18and we made good passes and we played through the lines,
07:20that was so pleasing because it can't always be clean against a team like Chorlton
07:23when they go man for man.
07:24When the ball breaks and transition and we play forward quick,
07:27we get runners and then we get our combinations.
07:28We transitioned from the edge of our box to the edge of theirs
07:32within three or four passes and that was just good play and winning us the run.
07:35Yeah, and how did that feel at the end?
07:38It's the first time we've seen that sort of proper big celebration from you
07:41with the Crawley fans.
07:42How did that feel?
07:43Yeah, it's weird I'm doing it at Chorlton, so it's a bit weird for me.
07:47Obviously, I wouldn't mean to have any offence to the Chorlton fans,
07:50but when you see that many fans there and obviously the reaction,
07:53and even when we were 1-1 down, I thought the big thing for me,
07:56I looked over, the fans were singing for the team because they knew
07:58there was one lapse and it was always going to happen,
08:00but they galvanised us and we went again.
08:02And I think when you've got the fans and the players that are willing to work for each other
08:06and for the club and back each other in tough times,
08:09that's when you do have nights like this because it could have easily gone 1-1, 2-1.
08:12It could have been a, oh, we did okay and then lost
08:14and maybe we would have done previously, but now we've learnt from it
08:17and we've got there to the point where we go on and we get the win
08:19and not just settle for the draw, we go and get the win.
08:21Brilliant. Good luck Saturday.
08:22Cheers.