Mansfield Town

Midfielder Jack Thomas was honoured to have scored his first senior goal in a Man of the Match display, despite a 2-1 loss to Portsmouth in this afternoon’s Sky Bet League Two match at One Call Stadium. 

Speaking in his post-match interview, Thomas said he was pleased to get off the mark on the goalscoring front: “It's a dream come true. I've waited a long time for it so for it to happen means everything. I don’t score many so I didn’t know what to do.

“With 10 men in the end I thought we did really well,” he said.

The 18-year-old said he was looking forward to taking the advice of his team-mates when presented with opportunities in front of goal: “I was talking to Lee Beevers after training and he told me to shoot more.

“I can’t really believe it. When I went out on loan I thought I was maybe getting chucked out a little bit, but I couldn’t have been more wrong.

“Looking back at it now I probably wasn’t ready then, but I feel ready now."

Thomas was humble after he received a number of supporters’ club awards prior to the match.

He added: "I don’t really know if I should have got them, but I'd like to thank everyone who voted for me. I won’t get big headed or anything. I haven’t achieved anything yet but it can only be a good thing for the club with the young players we have coming through."