SPIRIT’S KEY
KHAN REFLECTS ON GRIMSBY’S FA CUP GIANTKILLING ACT
OTIS Khan admitted that scoring both goals for Grimsby Town in their 2-1 win at Cambridge United in the FA Cup second round will be a hard moment to beat.
Looking back on both a crucial individual and team performance, Khan reflected on his two goals which secured the Mariners’ progress to the Third Round.
The 27-year-old is slowly hitting his stride after recovering from a pre-season injury that kept him out for the first couple of months and shared the thought process that went behind each of his goals against Cambridge.
“It doesn’t get much better than that,” admitted Khan. “Scoring in a competition like the FA Cup is something you dream about as a kid but to score two in front of our fans, who turned out in their numbers again, is hard to beat.
“With the first goal, I saw a lot of people running towards the front post so I thought if I just held my position something could drop to me, so I got in the right position and it did.
“I said to Harry Clifton 10 minutes prior to the second one, that we were going to catch them on the break as they were committing men forward, especially the right-back, so I knew the gap would be there.
“As soon as Keke [ Simmonds] turned there was space to run into, and with the ball at my feet, one-onone with the keeper I felt confident of scoring. I did think I was onside, but it is nice to see one of those decisions go for us for a change.”
Having been a part of the Town group, Khan has come to witness first-hand and be involved with a team that has mental resilience.
They had to show that late on again to conquer League One opposition for the second time in the cup this season.
He added: “I wasn’t here last season but I’ve been told this team never gives up, and it’s been the same this season when games have gone to the wire. We knew we would get another chance [after Holohan’s miss].
“It just shows the spirit of the team, we knew it was going to be tough, especially after we scored the first, and we were defending for our lives.
“At 1-1, we had to dig in to get the winner and for the last couple of minutes, everyone was behind the ball defending. Everyone was committing themselves to the cause to make sure we didn’t concede again, so the team spirit was key to the victory.”