Midfielder describes extra motivation to help earn a point.
James Coppinger said that his scintillating injury time equaliser against Oldham Athletic was for teammate Andy Butler.Butler’s slip in the first half allowed the hosts to notch their first goal of the afternoon and the task got even harder when the Latics went in to a two-goal lead shortly after the break.
However, following a red card and Nathan Tyson’s tap-in, Coppinger’s last gasp finish underlined the team’s desire to help their colleague recover from his blip.
“We didn’t really play that well in the first half and we were disappointed at half time but we came out in the second half and we’ve dug deep and done well for each other,” said Coppinger.
“We hit the bar, we hit the post and yes Butts [Andy Butler] has made a mistake but he’s held his hands up and we wanted to get him out of it, which we did at the end.
“The way the game went, with the conditions and being two nil down, it’s a good point. When they had a man sent off it provided a massive opportunity, got the goal and looked favourites to get another goal and the longer it went on, the harder it got, but we got there in the end.”
The 34 year old winger is now on five goals for the season and revelled in the moment before focussing on Tuesday’s important FA Cup replay against Bristol City at Ashton Gate.
“Its always nice to score, especially goals like that in front of the fans in the last minute so I’m delighted, we’re on a good run and need to keep it going.
“Tuesday’s a big game for everybody and it would be fantastic for the fans to get through to the next round. It’s a tough one because you want to take your form in to it, and while it’s not the league it’s a fantastic cup competition where we were unlucky not to win the initial game.
“It’d be nice to potentially get through and perhaps fill the Keepmoat.”