Emotional Liam Moore opens up on 'heartbreaking' two years as former Reading man makes his first Cobblers start

An emotional Liam Moore admitted it was a ‘huge relief’ to come through his first 90 minutes in over two years after he made his full debut for the Cobblers against Cambridge United on Saturday.

The 31-year-old defender, who joined Northampton on a free transfer last month, has endured a torrid time of it due to injury but finally made his first competitive start in nearly a year when selected at the Abbey Stadium.

Moore was delighted to last the full distance during the 1-1 draw, playing the full 101 minutes, and whilst he accepted the blame for Cambridge’s 16th minute goal, he was generally pleased with his performance level.

"I'm feeling good and I'm feeling relieved,” said Moore. “That was my first 90 minutes in 739 days so you can imagine all of the doubts and the down days I've had.

"It's a relief that I've managed to get through the game and I'm really pleased about that. How did it go? In the first half I put their goal down to myself. I'm an experienced pro, it's a cutback and the guy has pulled off my shoulder. It doesn't matter how long I've been out, that's a mark against my name.

"I aim for perfection but it doesn't always work like that. I'm disappointed about the goal but this team has a never say die attitude and we got ourselves back in the game and we tried to push on for the winner but we'll take the point.”

Asked how he felt when he found out he was starting, Moore added: "There were some nerves. I started a game a year and seven days ago and only lasted 15 minutes and it broke my heart. I couldn't play for a long time after that.

"I worked really hard last summer and I was desperate for an opportunity and now is a really good time for me to say how grateful I am to this club add the gaffer for showing faith in me and bringing me in. It's just a huge relief that I got out there and completed 100 odd minutes.”