Layton Stewart felt Preston North End were “absolutely brilliant” in the 1-0 away victory over Plymouth Argyle.
The striker got an opportunity perhaps earlier than he expected at Home Park, having come off the bench in the 19th minute for the injured Brad Potts.
Heading up top to partner Will Keane, Layton played a big part in North End’s win, which came courtesy of Liam Millar’s strike late in the first half.
Layton said: “We’re delighted to go home with three points. When I got the call to come on I just had to get with the momentum of the game fast and I thought I did that, and I thought the team were excellent.
“Towards the end it got quite tough for us, but I thought we defended excellently.
“We lost a few lads early on and that stopped our momentum a bit, but I think when you’re coming on you’ve just got to get the speed of the game as fast as you can.
“I thought the lads who came on did that brilliantly, and we got the win in the end so it was brilliant.”
At times this season, Layton has had to be patient and wait for his chances, having made seven appearances off the bench prior to the trip to Home Park.
His 71 minutes in Devon were the longest he’s been on the pitch for in a senior match, and he was pleased with what he did, as well as thankful for the opportunity.
“I thought I did really well,” Layton added. “I’ve been waiting for that long opportunity to get more minutes. Today I got on and I thought I did well. I thought I was unfortunate not to score.
“The gaffer’s bided his time with me and given me chances here and there, but I think today was good of him to put me in so soon in the game.
“I thought I just had to impress and show what I can do, and I thought I did that today.”
After a battling performance against the Pilgrims, Layton and his teammates were then able to head over to the away end, which was packed with over 1,000 PNE fans who had made the long journey to the South West.
Layton said: “The fans were absolutely brilliant today. It’s such a long journey and I’ve seen someone on Twitter getting up at 4am this morning so it was magnificent to see them be here.
“I thought they were brilliant from start to finish and to send them home with three points is all you want to do, and today we did that.”
