Rovers U18s captain Jak Whiting was delighted to have returned to the starting eleven and mark the occasion with a goal in a thrilling 3-2 win over Lincoln City in the EFL Youth Alliance League.
The Imps went two goals to the good on the Eco-Power Stadium’s 3G before the second-year scholar started a turnaround victory as Will Flint and Jack Goodman also got on the scoresheet.
The youth team dominated large parts of the game and despite falling behind in the first half, Whiting was happy to see his side back in the winner’s circle.
He said: “I thought we played really well against Lincoln and we started the game brilliantly, probably in the best manner that we have done all season.
“Unfortunately, after that, we hit a bit of a rough patch, they took a two goal lead and then we had a little period where I felt like we struggled to react.
“Once we did get back into the swing of things, I thought we were the better team by quite a large margin, playing some really good football and because of that we got three really deserved goals.
“After last week’s disappointment, it was just really nice to get the three points and return to winning ways.”
The defender’s goal against Lincoln was his second in just three weeks and, with it having taken seven months for the first to arrive, Whiting admitted it’s not usually something associated with his name.
He added: “Scoring goals isn’t something that happens too often with me but they were all claiming an offside so I’ll have to watch that one back but if I can help the team out with a goal, I’m more than willing to.
“The wider credit has to go to the team though because they were the ones who got into good positions and got me on the ball to score.
“Thankfully we’ve got another goal to equalise and it’s a great finish from Jack Goodman to give us a fully warranted win.”
After taking yet another league victory on home soil, the youth team’s captain paid credit to his teammates resilience in recent weeks.
“We’ve got a brilliant bunch of lads here, both on and off the pitch, and we’re all really resilient but we have got to look at that aspect of the game.
“We can’t be going behind too often, but it is good to know that if we do, we’ve got a group of players that are going to give their all to come together and try to win games of football from any position.
“As captain, and just part of the team, I’m really proud of what we’ve done recently.”