Debutant says there's more to come after full game against Shrews
Frustration might have reigned over Kenilworth Road following last Thursday’s goalless draw with Shrewsbury, but for Jayden Stockley the 90 minutes came as a welcome relief.
The Town’s new loan signing from Bournemouth impressed on his debut, going close in both halves in the stalemate with the Shrews.
It was the 21-year-old’s first competitive 90 minutes since last March and the striker welcomed the chance to play the full game against Micky Mellon’s side.
“You can play as many development games as you like but you miss the buzz of the crowd,” Stockley told Hatters Player.
“The crowd here is better than I’ve ever experienced and to get 90 minutes under my belt is important. I feel once I find my feet and get used to the way we play I can turn in great performances for this club.”
His debut, however, might not have lasted as long as it did after coming off worse for wear in a challenge in the opening 15 minutes that left Stockley grimacing in pain.
“I thought I was off, I thought ‘game over’,” he said. “I knew I had to get a touch on the ball to get it to my team-mate. I knew it was going to hurt and was bracing myself for the impact.
“It caught my knee and it killed for a bit but thankfully I was okay to continue.
“The crowd definitely helped, too. Towards the end I was shattered but they lifted me.”
On the game itself, Stockley believed the Town did enough to win against their promotion rivals, especially after seeing Jake Howells hit the post with a shot just five minutes in.
“I was behind him and thought it was in,” said the striker. “It would have been a great start for us, but the lads kept going and worked really hard.
“We deserved the win and it would have been great to score that goal for the crowd as they were lifting us the whole game.
“The lads had worked extremely hard and not to make the breakthrough was tough.
“Sometimes when a team goes down to 10 men, they can sit back and defend what they’ve got.
“Shrewsbury were only looking for a draw, but I thought we’d done more than enough to get the win.
“We were creating enough chances and, I know it’s a cliché, but it was one of them days.
“I was desperate for us to score because I wanted to hear the fans erupt.
“It’s still early days and I think we can take heart from that performance against one of the better sides in the division.”