Humphrys targeting league goals
STEPHEN Humphrys said scoring at Wembley Stadium for Rochdale meant the world to him.
The on-loan striker equalised for Dale against Tottenham Hotspur in Wednesday night’s Emirates FA Cup fifth round replay.
And the frontman is hoping to make an impression on Dale’s bid for League One survival.
The striker, on-loan from Fulham until the end of the season, is enjoying his spell with Dale, and hopes he can continue his impressive performances.
“I want to get more first team experience,” he said.
“I was playing in Fulham’s under-23s at the start of the season, which is a great level, but to be playing in front of a crowd for a first team is definitely what I need, and to get goals under my belt as well.”
Humphrys commented: “I can’t really explain the goal – I can’t remember what happened! I’ve watched the replay of it, but first hand I can’t remember it.
“I’m delighted. The crowd were fantastic. I sprinted over and got a cheer. It meant the world to me.
“We’re all proud of ourselves for getting this far, and to get to Wembley it’s a dream come true, and I’m grateful to be a part of it.”
Dale more than matched their opponents for the first 45 minutes, and could have gone into half-time 2-1 up after Andy Cannon struck the woodwork.
However, a 12-minute hat-trick from Fernando Llorente took the game away from Dale, but Humphrys says the players can be proud of themselves.
“We said in the changing room that we’re proud of ourselves. We got this far against a World Class team.
“First-half performance we can take a lot of things from, it was very positive and we’re really proud of ourselves.
“They’re a World Class team, I admire them very much. As we got tired, they got stronger, fitter and faster.
“We gave everything that we could, but they were just better on the night.
“Financially it helps the club, and it has given us a confidence boost.
“The way we played in the first-half shows we can match any team, so it does give us a confidence boost in that respect.
“Hopefully we can take that first-half form into the league.”