'Really made the football club proud' - Cowan salutes 10-man Brackley Town
Gavin Cowan praised his players for the way they handled going down to 10 men inside just seven minutes against Gateshead Town last Saturday.
Zak Lilly saw red, leaving Brackley up against it in their National League North encounter at St James Park.
But the Saints batted bravely and eventually claimed a goalless draw as Gateshead failed to find a way through the resilient home defence.
And Cowan said: “It was a difficult one to take because we do feel like the lad was coming back from an offside position and I think our skipper slips trying to get out of his way.
"We're really confused as to why it wasn't given offside but the lad goes through and Zak just gets his legs tangled and if it's not offside then it's the correct decision.
"We then had to rip up our game strategy, all the hard work done in the week had to go out of the window and we had to very quickly try to adjust. Credit to the players - they did.
"The players did the football club, themselves and the management and the staff credit.
"They've really made the football club proud.
"It's hard to bring subs on because they’ve got to get up to speed with the game. It’s never nice coming on when you're a man down.
"Credit to the staff because we came up with a new game strategy very quickly, but the players always know to trust our process.
"Their focus, their attitude and their application was there.
"The team you don’t want to go down to 10 men against is Gateshead because they move the ball constantly, they’re very comfortable in possession and you get very few chances to enjoy the ball yourself.
"Ironically, we probably had a few chances in the first half and could have been ahead.
"Jonny (Maxted) had a couple of saves to make in the second half but defensively we looked incredible, really organised and solid.
"When you’re getting fatigued, it’s a tough place to be.
"I just can’t speak highly enough of the players with a real hearty performance like that.”