Centre-half looks back on Newport draw
Following the 1-1 draw away at Newport County AFC, Grecians centre-half Jordan Moore-Taylor gave his verdict on the game.
City had the lead for all of a minute when Harry Worley turned into his own net, because Lee Minshull prodded in soon after at the other end. In the eyes of the teenage defender, it was frustrating to let a lead slip but also a point won against a tough team on an even tougher surface.
“Obviously we’re disappointed not to pick up all three points today, as it was in our hands when we went ahead,” he explained. “So to drop two points is a shame – but it’s also a point gained. We’re still pushing on and there’s a lot of football left to be played this season.
“The half of the field that we defended in the first half was terrible – it was probably the worst surface we have played on all year. But you have to deal with the surface and the weather and try and grind out points wherever you go.
“Every game is a big one now because we’re fighting to stay up and teams around us are picking up points. We have to get a win at home sooner or later and hopefully that’s next week against Fleetwood.”
City’s goal came with a touch of fortune as Tom Nichols’ cross was diverted in by Worley, and Moore-Taylor felt that the lucky break was merited from the endeavour of the hard-working striker.
But he was also under no illusions that City should have executed the basics better when Minshull turned in for the equaliser.
“Tommy works so hard up there that he deserves every little deflection or piece of luck that goes his way,” continued Jordan. “But it’s one of those things again – we conceded as soon as we scored. It’s not the first time that we haven’t been able to keep as tight as we want to for the first five or ten minutes after we’ve scored.
“We started off too deep for their goal – we didn’t deal with the first ball well enough and then we had a couple of chances to get the ball off the line before they managed to toe it in.”
Jordan’s start at Rodney Parade was his fifth on the bounce, during which time he has been one of the Grecians’ best performers. Manager Paul Tisdale picked the youngster out for praise for his display against Newport, which saw him get the better of wily experienced strikers Chris Zebroski and Danny Crow on plenty of occasions – including not being drawn into conceding any cheap penalties.
The centre-half is enjoying another spell in his position of choice, and says he is just happy to be contributing towards the goal of securing League football for the following season.
“It becomes easier to command the defence when you play a few matches on the bounce – I’m just playing my own game as I always have done,” said Jordan.
“In this league, teams like to just knock it forward and go direct, and strikers tend to be bigger and stronger. But it’s all about timing – for example Scot Bennett is probably the best header of the ball in the team, and that’s just about his timing which gives him the upper hand.
“Centre-half is my preferred position, but I’m just happy to play for the team and try to grind out those points we need to stay up. I’m happy to play wherever and at the moment that’s in centre-half, and it’s going well.”