With the clock ticking towards the full time whistle and Spartans looking to making an early exit from the FA Cup, midfielder Tom Berj picked the perfect moment to pop up with his first goal in the green and white shirt. The diminutive midfielder revealed his delight post-match and was given a great reception as he left the ground by Spartans faithful. He said “I’m absolutely buzzing. They were in control first half and had us all over the place but we came out second half and give it all we have. We deserved an equaliser on our second half performance and deserve another shot at them on Tuesday night”
Having been a bit part player so far this season, Berj was delighted to have got the goal but was even more happy and proud of the efforts his side had made. “I’m proud of the lads for what we did second half and earning that replay. We dug in second half and we deserved our equaliser and I’m over the moon to have got it but it could have been anyone the way we played.”
A noted difference could be seen in the performance and makeup of the Spartans side after half time and Berj revealed it was a change made by management duo Tommy Cassidy and Paddy Atkinson that made the difference. He said “They were running the show first half but we played higher up the pitch after being told to at half time. We started playing in their half and squeezed them into their own box. The gap between the forwards and the rest of the team was too much and we couldn’t get out but we earned that replay and need to make the most of it on Tuesday”