Moloney delight as he makes playing return in reserve team win over Luton Town

Brendan Moloney says it was a '˜brilliant' feeling to get out on the pitch again as he played 60 minutes of the Cobblers reserve team's 1-0 friendly win over Luton Town at Sixfields on Tuesday.
Brendan MoloneyBrendan Moloney
Brendan Moloney

The Irishman hasn’t played since undergoing a knee operation in November, and he was delighted to make his playing return against the Hatters.

“It was brilliant,” said the right-back, who was an unused substitute for the Cobblers’ 2-1 win over Charlton on Saturday.

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“It has been a frustrating three months, not being out there, but it’s all feeling good now.

“It’s great to get my first 60 minutes under my belt, and it felt good. Hopefully now I can end the season strong and crack on.”

The 28-year-old also spoke of his frustration at his long injury lay-off.

“I had a cartilage in my knee that got nicked. It is a small injury but one of those you have to take your time when doing your rehab,” said the former Yeovil Town man.

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“You have to make sure you get it right so it doesn’t happen again, and I was told it would probably take 10 to 12 weeks, and it this is the 12th week now.

“But it is all good, everything’s recovered and I am raring to go.”

Moloney’s return to fitness has given Town boss Justin Edinburgh a headache, as he now has three right-backs to select from, with the others being Neal Eardley and Aaron Phillips, who turned in a man-of-the-match performance at the weekend.

Moloney welcomes the competition, and said: “We have competition all over the pitch, and I think that’s what you need to be successful.

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“We got a great win on Saturday and we have 10 games to go now and build on that and get a lot more points on the table.

“The aim now is to play as much as I can and hopefully we can end the season strongly, and on a positive note.”

Moloney was part of a reasonably strong Cobblers reserve team agaist Luton that also featured David Cornell, Rod McDonald, Jak McCourt, Harry Beautyman and Paul Anderson, who scored the only goal of the game in the 42nd-minute, tapping home from close range after an Emmanuel Sonupe shot had hit the post.