Rusk praises his players' attitude

A Teddy Jenks strike and a Nathanael Ogbeta own goal, either side of Felix Nmecha’s equaliser, was enough to claim all three points and move Rusk’s team up to third in the Premier League 2 Division 1 table.

He said, “I thought we were good in the first half, and were a bit disappointed at half-time to come in at 1-1.

“That was a moment of quality from them and a lack of discipline from us. We created plenty of chances and in the second half we had to be a bit more resilient.

“I’m delighted with the attitude and performance, along with what was a really good win.”

The under-23 coach explained what the message was at the break after conceding so soon before the interval, and felt his players deserved their element of luck from Ogbeta’s own goal.

“The message at half-time was that the second half was going to be about having the right mentality. We unfortunately allowed them back into the game, so it was about resetting the clock back to zero and being hard to break down, while hoping that we still create some opportunities of our own. That’s what got us the win.

“Ultimately we managed to see their threat out. We got a bit of fortune with the own goal, but I believe you earn your own luck.”

That win means Albion have 28 points from 17 games, leaving them just four points behind league leaders Leicester City, and Rusk feels that is just reward for his players’ hard work.

He added, “It’s nice that we’re sitting in a positive place in the league table, and we’ve got five games to go so hopefully we can finish the season as strongly as possible.

“Credit goes to the players because they want to do everything as well as possible, and their approach to the game was excellent. I was very pleased with their attitude.”