By James Burgoyne
Brian Stock was “pleased” with his side’s response in the second half as the Terras drew 1-1 with Dagenham & Redbridge.
Jake McCarthy’s acrobatic injury-time goal secured a valuable National League point on the road at the Chigwell Construction Stadium.
Stock was happy with the reaction he got from his players, following Liam Gordon’s Daggers goal on the stroke of half time which led to some tactical changes at the break.
He said: “I’m really pleased with the reaction from the players. I felt the first 45 minutes was below our usual standard.
“At half-time, all I was asking from the players was for a reaction, more desire, intensity to our game and to be braver on the ball.
“I felt that for the next 45 minutes, we did that and kept on going to the end, and it was a great finish from Jake McCarthy to draw the game.”
Stock was also pleased with his half-time substitute Ben Thomson, who impressed with his performance in the second-half in East London.
He added: “He’s done exactly what I asked from him. He’s come on, and he’s put himself about in the channels to stretch the defence.
“Although Andy (Dallas) dropped into the 10, and then later went up as a two with Ben Thomson, I thought they linked up quite well.
“So really pleased with his impact. The fact that we’ve won the second-half and got a draw after two tough away games, after a lot of travelling and no contact time to work on anything on the training field.”
Thomson wasn’t the only player who had impressed Stock, as he liked the honesty of skipper Josh McQuoid but believes he should have been awarded a penalty.
Stock said: “It was quite a constant theme for the first-half of that the referee was very poor. If Josh McQuoid goes down, I think is a penalty.
“I liked the honesty from Josh, but the one in the second-half, that was a blatant, blatant penalty. If you look at the state of Josh’s ankle after that challenge, you’ll see he’s been hurt. On the replay, you’ll see it as a blatant foul.
“In the first-half incident, if there was more contact, I think the referee would have given it.”