Mark Bowen said he was ‘proud’ of his side after a young Royals team fought from a goal down to earn an FA Cup fourth-round replay against Cardiff City.
On earning a replay…
“Neil is the same as me, I understand that lower league clubs get a result and they get revenue and I understand that. For teams like us and others where you’re fighting for play-offs or against relegation, it does stretch you.
“I’m like every fan, I want to be listening to the draw for the next round and feel your team is in there and we’ve done that. We’re not through the tie but we are in the hat still and we look forward to the draw on Monday night.”
On the game…
“We had a young side out there and they did fantastically well. We tried to get it down and play and create chances. I looked at the goal that was disallowed and I thought he was onside. In fairness, someone asked if Yakou’s first goal wass offside and I replied that I didn’t see that one.
“When Matt went off and we went down to 10, you expect the worst. The young players stood up to the challenge and Charlie organised them and got through the 95 minutes and dictated the play when he could and galvanised the players around him.”
Matt Miazga injury…
“He heard a loud crack when he landed awkwardly, he was fearing the worst. He will be leaving the ground on crutches but until you get a scan, you just don’t know. the feeling is that its not a bone situation, but something to do with the ligaments.”
Sone Aluko’s performance…
“Sone was excellent in the first half, he looked really sharp and he looked bright. he hasnt had a lot of football so as the game went on it was harder for him as he is still trying to gt up to speed with his match fitness.
Tannoy announcement about ‘homophobic and racist’ chanting in away end…
“I was told after the game about it, and it’s unfortunate. Apparently there were two small isolated incidents. You just hope and pray that it is not creeping back into football so you just hope that it can be stamped out.”
Last week of the transfer window…
“We’re hopeful of doing something, but it is difficult for loads of different reasons. I don’t want to bring somebody in for the sake of it.
“I hope it will be a busy week, not in terms of players leaving, but making sure that if we do things, that it is the right decision.”
Michael Olise…
“He played very well at Forest. Yet again this academy is producing. He is the future of this club. He is a special talent. We know what he can do on the ball, the intelligence he showed off the ball married with that.”
Yakou Meite…
“He lost his dad this time last week, its been a brutal week for him. He has a great bunch of teammates around him and I’ve kept in contact with him all week. He made it clear to me that he wanted to play. I’m hopeful that today’s game will help him in that recovery because he got a goal and his dad was very close to him. We will give him all the support we can.
“He always has a smile on his face and gets on with everyone. He mixes well with the group and is a special character. He showed his character and what he is all about this week.”
