Swindon's Jack Smith On The Game

Last updated : 08 December 2008 By Thetashkentterror

Jack Smith
Town right-back Jack Smith spoke to BBC Radio Swindon after the 1-1 draw against Carlisle at the County Ground, Smith understandably frustrated about Paul Thirlwell's late United equaliser :


" It is just so annoying and so frustrating, we thought that we defended really well and then it is just a kick in the teeth again. It keeps happening and that is six points that we have given away in the last minute in the three out of the last four games. So if we had given ourselves six points we would be pushing up the table and looking forward.

" You could say that their goal was lucky, you could say that it was poor defending from us, you could say any number of things but the thing is that it has gone in and that is all that matters. For us we hit the post a couple of times, that just seems to be how it is going at the moment. You just can't explain the feeling when their goal went in, you just feel terrible. You are looking comfortable and then you have thrown away two points.

" Definitely in the last few games we have turned wins into draws, last week we probably should have got at least a point if not three. So if you are adding up the points we maybe have given away, or certainly should have had, then we would obviously be a lot higher up the table.

" We have been working hard this week, every day we have been doing the defending and back four work. Hopefully it showed today, I thought that we looked a lot more solid and we felt a lot more solid on the pitch. It is just a set-piece and it has dropped to their guy (Paul Thirlwell) on the edge of the box and he has somehow scored through six or seven bodies.

" When you look at the table all that you see is us near the bottom really, everyone will see us at the bottom and see that we are struggling. We feel that we have been playing really well though, it is just trying to get the wins, we have lost in one in seven or eight now and we haven't seemed to push up the league. So it something that we have got to look at and try to turn the draws into wins.

" Callum Kennedy, your debut is always very nerve-wracking, obviously everyone has been there that has played and you want to do your best and show the fans that you should be playing and that you deserve to be playing. He definitely did that and it was nice to see Jerel (Ifil) back as well, I think that me and him play well together, we know each other's games obviously, I have played three-quarters of my games with him so we know each other's games. I think that we looked a lot more solid.

" We have got to look at this as a kick-start now, we will probably look at the video of this one and see what we could have done. Defensively though there probably wasn't a lot more that we could have done. I think that Budge (David Byrne) said that that was their only shot in the whole game. You are just looking at it and hoping that next week hopefully we are in the lead and can hang on. "