Reaction as United progress in the EFL Cup
Matchwinner Liam Sercombe left it late, but was delighted that his goal decided the game in extra time rather than Oxford United and Birmingham City needing penalties in last night’s EFL Cup game. There were just six seconds left on the clock when Sercombe stole in at the far post to send the U’s through at St Andrews and after the game Liam told Yellow Player HD that, like most people in the ground, he was already preparing for penalties.
“I kept saying to Lunny that I didn’t need extra time!” he joked. “It’s a big pitch and it was a tough game because they were a good side. But I thought we had the better chances and were on top of a lot of the game and definitely deserved the win.
“Like everyone else I was looking at penalties and was thinking about when I would have to step up and what number I was going to be! So it was good to get the late goal and not need to go through that. Penalty shoot-outs are sometimes down to that bit of luck but we didn’t need it and it was great to go through.”
Sercombe was quick to praise the 1,155 away fans in the Yellow Army who gave the team such fantastic backing.
“It was fantastic to celebrate with them” Liam said after scoring right in front of the celebrating fans. “We saw last year how great the travelling fans are and I thought they were excellent at home on Saturday as well so we do genuinely appreciate all the support we get and if they can cheer us on like that very time then we know we have a good season coming.”
United go into tonight’s seeded second round draw, which takes place at roughly 10pm. Last season saw United gather pace as cup victories helped get the ball rolling for a memorable year.
“Again, if you look back at last year we saw what a good cup run or two can do for momentum and confidence” Liam said. “We want to go as far as we can in every competition. We will definitely go into every game looking for a win. It was great to have our name in the draw for the next round and now we’ll just see who we get.”
See the full interview plus the thoughts of Michael Appleton and fantastic extended highlights, all in Yellow Player HD