Exeter City striker Jayden Stockley was full of delight as the Grecians confirmed a 3-2 win over Oldham Athletic thanks to his hat-trick at Boundary Park.
The Grecians had fallen behind on two occasions, but some good attacking play involving the likes of Lee Holmes, Nicky Law and Jayden himself, saw to it that City would return to Devon with all three points.
After the win, Jayden said: “They came at us really fast in the first half and they’ve got good players that get it into the box fast, so credit to the boys for standing up and getting the three points, it was great to be a part of, when that final whistle went that’s the happiest, I’ve been on a football pitch.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling, it’s a strange one because I was talking to Jonno (Jonathan Forte) before the game about how I’ve never had a hat-trick and I normally miss a sitter when I’m on two goals.
“I’m so happy, the fact that we won, and it was 3-2, we got back into the game. It was a great feeling when that final whistle went and to contribute to such a good performance in the second half where we showed what sort of team we are. Lots of teams would cave in when we conceded straight away, it was a poor start from us, but we dug so deep and we started to pass.”
The City striker was full of praise for his teammates for creating the chances for him, as well as their ability to dig in and battle back for the win.
He continued: “Archie (Collins) was brilliant, Chio when he came on was fantastic and gave us that stability and his defensive work was brilliant. I’m just so proud of the boys, happy for Holmesy (Lee Holmes) for his two assists and Nicky’s cross to get onto it. I wouldn’t be able to finish it off if they didn’t put the hard work in.”
The result gives City their second successive win in League Two, and after coming through a tough patch of form, Jayden felt that they had been unlucky away from home at times but is pleased to see results changing for the better.
“We’ve played good away from home," explained Jayden. "It was sloppy from me at Bury where I was annoyed with myself for missing that penalty and I missed another couple of chances and could’ve had a hat-trick that day.
“We’ve gone places and stayed in the game whether it be Colchester, Bury, or today against some good teams away and we should’ve got more out of them but today we showed our quality, especially towards the end of the game to dig in.
“Towards the end we were quite tired but in that last 20 minutes we put so many passing moves together, you’re half thinking about taking the ball in the corner when you’re up there or going for the kill and try and get a fourth goal, which we nearly got. It showed how much quality we’ve got in abundance, even the players that didn’t get on or still at home with injuries."