After the match, Andy Gowens gave his reaction to Whitley’s 6-1 victory over Barnoldswick Town. “I think 6-1 probably flattered us a little bit. Particularly the first half I thought they did really well. They actually started better than we did and at times they cut us open with their passing, but they didn’t take their chances. We broke a few times and took our chances which I think was the big difference especially early in the game. Then once it’s three or four it’s a lot easier.
“At half time I wasn’t very happy at all because we stood off them and let them play, which made them look a lot better than they are. But I think they couldn’t cope with our pace down the sides and behind with Jack, Olly and Luke, and then Peter in the second half breaking from midfield. So all in all a great result and that’s all people will see, but there’s still lots to do. It’s still a work in progress. We took our chances today and that’s the big thing. We were under the cosh then broke forward, that’s a massive plus and the goals as well, they’re coming from around the park, not just Jack, and Dan so that’s great. Olly had a really good game, he showed the qualities that we saw in him and he just needs to keep going and keep building confidence. Being so young he perhaps lacks a bit of confidence to show what he can do but today we saw what he’s capable of for sure. With the squad we’ve got now, there’s competition as well and that’s driving people on because they need to perform or they won’t play in the next game. But that in itself is difficult to manage, keeping people happy; they don’t just want to be sat on the bench. It gives us the depth to revolve the squad and gives people a rest when they need it to get over knocks.”
As for his preferences in Tuesday’s draw for the next round he commented “Obviously a home draw, I’d love to get hopefully someone not in our league, that would be good but if we get a home draw we can’t ask for any more. Having said that it’s good to have a bus trip as well! The money is also a big thing; it’s massive for the club. In this next draw the money’s ramped up a bit as well. It’s a great opportunity for the lads maybe to play Evo-Stik opposition and to go a bit further and also for the club to get some more money.”
