AFC Liverpool manager Chris Anderson was happy with his sides display after showing the “ugly” side of the game to beat Vauxhall Motors.
Dan Cockerline’s brace helped secure the 2-1 win away at Rivacre Park on the opening day of the North West Counties Premier Division.
Anderson was pleased with not only the match-winners attitude but the character his side showed as well.
AFC were one of the teams who saw their upward movement application accepted and as a result moved into the Counties top division.
Vauxhall, too, saw their application accepted and the mouth-watering curtain raiser was declared.
Anderson told Off The Park: “I don’t think we had a good first half, I don’t think we did anything we had done in pre-season that we’d normally do, but going into the break at 1-1 we knew we were still in the game.
“Then to see the reaction of the players coming out in the second because they all knew that they’d hadn’t performed to levels they do in games, so it was good to see the character and the attitude of the players in getting what they need to.
“It’s about winning ugly as well, we can’t always play pretty football, it’s going to be physical so we need to win the individual battles, the team battle hopefully we were able to show our ability that way.”
Cockerline, who arrived for another stint with AFC in the summer, steered his side in front with a brilliant turn before finishing into the bottom right after they initially fell behind.
“His work rate, attitude, experience ability, obviously I’ve known Dan a long time, when I had the opportunity to bring him back and I couldn’t not,” Anderson said.
“He played really well, held the ball up well but it was difficult because I don’t think we played particularly well but his attitude was spot on.
“He always wants to drive the team on and do what he could obviously he was in the right place and the right time and got the goals we needed.”
(Featured image via Paul Moran)
