Antony Sweeney admitted Pools had not been at their best
during their FA Cup tie with Brackley Town but praised the players for finding
Ryan Donaldson's deflected second half strike was enough to
settle the encounter with The Saints but there were plenty of nervous moments
for Pools on a day when keeper Ben Killip was once again in top form.However, Sweeney's men will be in the hat for Monday evening's
First Round draw and that comes as a big relief to the caretaker boss who
conceded it was a frustrating afternoon at times.“It's job done,” Sweeney told Pools TV.
“Have we played well? No. Have we played better and lost?
Yes. But in cup competitions you've just got to find a way of getting through
to the next round and that's what we've done.“I was demanding a fast start but we didn't get that and, I'll
be honest, there were a few choice words said at half-time and it got a bit
heated.“I've no problem with that because the game needed a spark
and someone to take it by the scruff of the neck so when you see some passion in
the dressing room it can be a way to kick-start it and I thought we were better
in the second half.“I think it's important if you're going to have a good
season that you win games when you're not at your best – we've had two games
where we weren't at our best but we've won twice and kept two clean sheets so
we take the positives.“Ben Killip has been unbelievable in the two games for me
and he's been a big part of why we got three points and got through to the next
round of the cup - though I don't really want my keeper to be Man of the Match in
home games!“Someone told me you can get a bye in Monday's draw so hopefully our number is last out and we can progress to the next round – but whoever we get, we'll need to perform better than we did today.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrSlIwwGLM8