LOWESTOFT Town joint-manager Ady Gallagher hailed his players for keeping their cool in cup classic full of incident.“At this stage of the competition it is all about keeping your head,” said Gallagher.

Stuart Watson

LOWESTOFT Town joint-manager Ady Gallagher hailed his players for keeping their cool in cup classic full of incident.

“At this stage of the competition it is all about keeping your head,” said Gallagher. “They threw enough at us today for us to have maybe lost ours, but we didn't and we got our reward.

“We kept playing and believing in ourselves. I'm so proud of the boys. This comeback performance speaks volumes about the spirit within this camp. We hung in there and got what I thought we deserved.”

And Gallagher reserved praise for both hat-trick hero Russell Stock, as well as the army of over 1,000 Trawler Boys fans. He said: “Russell Stock has been top class for us this season. He has had to work incredibly hard on his fitness and it has rejuvenated him as a player. He is probably the best hold up player and target man in our league and I'm glad that he has been able to get those goals in a game like this.

“We've always said that if you come to Crown Meadow you get value for money. This town has got a football team it can be proud of and the fans are playing their part. They sung throughout today and, to us, they are world class.”

Meanwhile, captain Darren Cockrill hopes that Lowestoft's impressive record at Crown Meadow will strike fear into all those that come to the ground. He said: “We've got a home draw against another quality side (Bideford), but we haven't lost at home all season and any team that comes here will know that.

“We really didn't want to go out of this competition. We stuck together and I always felt we would score.”

Gallagher added: “Getting to Wembley has been a reality for us, while for others it is simply a dream. Hopefully we can use some of that experience from these games to keep getting us through.”