Emile Smith Rowe ran the full gamut of emotions in the space of about half an hour during our FA Cup win over Newcastle.
In the last minute of normal time he was shown a straight red card for an apparent lunge on Sean Longstaff, with referee Chris Kavanagh judging it to be dangerous play.
However replays showed there was no contact, and after the ref consulted the VAR monitor, he changed his decision and Smith Rowe stayed on.
Then, ten minutes from time, the 20 year old scored the all-important opening goal, continuing his rich vein of recent form, with a crisp finish in off the post.
After the game our academy product was understandably all smiles.
Here’s what he said:
on his goal...
I was really happy. It was a bit of a relief for me because of what had happened before with the sending off. It definitely wasn't intentional, so I'm happy to get the goal and go through to the next round.
on the sending off...
I was very scared at the time. I've never been in this position before and I've never been sent off before so I couldn't believe it. It definitely wasn't intentional, so I'm just happy I didn't get sent off and was able to come on.
on what changed in extra-time...
I think the manager just told us to keep going and to keep believing at the end of 90 minutes. We knew the chances would come for us, so that really pushed us on in extra-time. It showed in how we pushed on.
on how hard Newcastle were to break down...
Very difficult. We knew coming into the game how tough it was going to be. We know they're strong opponents. It was just about breaking them down and in the end we got there.
on how much he's enjoying being a part of our revival...
It's great. From a young kid, I've always wanted to play for this club. All the young players, it's good for us to get opportunities. I'm really happy to be playing for the club.
on grinding out the result...
I think it just shows how together we are. We've been working off the pitch and it's starting to show on the pitch. As a group we're so excited to keep it going.
on how far we can go in the competition...
We're in it to win it, like last year. We want to keep the trophy so we're just going to move on to the next game and keep pushing as a team.
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