an interview with goalkeeper tony pennock
19 September 1998: Martin Baker (aka Badger) conducted this interview with Tony Pennock after the away league match at Woking.
An edited verson appeared in the match programme for the home league game against Doncaster Rovers, 26th September 1998.
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What were your thoughts on the Woking game? From a fan’s point of view it wasn’t that entertaining!
No, it wasn’t. The heat had a lot to do with that. The game was very fast in the first half, but I think they got very tired, and our boys got very tired in the heat. Both teams were a bit knackered in the end because of the heat. As the game went on, I think we were happy with the result, and as it happens Woking just ran out of ideas. It certainly wasn’t an entertaining game, especially in the second half and the boys said it was hotter than any pre-season game they played in.
Is there a general feeling that we want to stay unbeaten away from home, and so we are happy in situations like that?
We wanted to win the game at half time. We probably had the best chance of the first half. Although Wazza had the chance and just about put it wide, it was probably better than any chances they had. So we still thought we could win the game 1-0. But as the game went on, we were more concentrating on not giving anything away, because 0-0 is far better than losing 1-0 in the last five minutes, especially away from home.
This was your first clean sheet of the season. Do you think the defence is firming up a little bit now?
We had to make yet another change today, all due to Rob Smith’s injury, which was very bad luck for him. The gaffa brought in a new centre-half and he’s had a great game. It’s Steve McGrath’s first game for a couple of months, by all accounts, he was very strong, and he’s given us a new dimension at the back, and on set pieces for ourselves as well. He looked very good.
Have you got any theories on what has been going wrong at home, such as why we aren’t picking up the results at the moment?
I really couldn’t say. If we knew then we would put it right. If we could score the first goal at home early on, then I think we’d go on and beat someone four or five to nil, with no problems at all. As the games have gone on, we’ve been missing chances, and the later the game goes, an away team has always got a chance of sneaking a goal, as we’ve done a few times this year. I think we’re going to turn it round, we are confident we will do, and next Saturday at Doncaster will be the time to get three points at home [in fact Yeovil went behind again against Doncaster, but fough back to draw 2-2 - Ed]
Do you think there’s anything psychological in what’s happening there, or has it not got to that stage yet?
I don’t think it’s got to that stage. But the longer a game goes on, it’s always going to put us on the back foot, and people start to get a bit edgy and things like that. That’s how we’ve been punished a few times this year.
Last season, you played for an English FA XI. This caused us a bit of amusement with your Welsh origins. How did you qualify for England?
I played for the English FA team, but I couldn’t be selected for the full England side because I am Welsh. If my grandparents were English then I’d be OK, but I’m Welsh through and through, so I can’t play for England. I can’t play for the Welsh FA team either, because I don’t play in the League of Wales. But it was a big honour, and I was chuffed to do it. It was good experience.
We’ve just signed Pat Mountain. It’s probably the first time that you’ve had serious backup to your position. Have you met Pat yet?
Yes, I know Pat well. I pick him up when we come training, if we’re training at the same time, or if we’re playing games at the same time. I’ve known Pat for a few years from when he was at Cardiff, and he only lives half an hour from me. It’s all good for the club really. No-one should have a divine right to be in the team, and if I’m not playing well then I don’t deserve to be in the side. It’s as simple as that, and although we’ve never had a second keeper in the past, I’ve never felt like that anyway. You can’t rest on your laurels, because I remember that in the past, when I didn’t play, Graham, the ex-manager, went out and signed someone from a league club, and there’s nothing stopping Colin now from doing that anyway.
Do you think having Pat there makes you try that little bit harder?
Yes, it’s always good to have competition for places, and it’s probably the first time since I’ve been here, that we’ve had two decent goalkeepers at the club. It’s got to be good for the club, it’s certainly good for me, it keeps me on my toes, and it’s good for the Screwfix team as well. I won’t call them the reserves, because they’re not the reserves, they’re part of the first team in their own right anyway. Pat’s a very good goalkeeper, but I knew that before he came to the club anyway.
Some of your critics have said that on recent games you’ve struggled on crosses, yet when it’s come to the point blank shots you’ve done alright. Do you agree with them, and if so is there anything you are doing to sort that out?
If you judge a goalkeeper, then every good goalkeeper is good on his crosses. I know that if I have got a weak point then crosses is my weak point. There’s been a couple of occasions this year where I’ve lost out in an aerial battle but to be honest I think I’ve on the whole improved this year from where I was before. I’m coming for a lot more crosses, and by the law of averages, the more crosses you come for, the chances are that you will drop one. I don’t stay on my line, I do come for my crosses, and I try not to drop them.
So you feel that in going for these balls, you’re trying to be positive in what you are doing?
Yes, I always try and be a positive keeper. There are times when I think maybe I could have come for a cross, but I like to think that I come for the majority that I should do, and whether I hold them cleanly is down to me in each situation.
On the other hand, in the second half up at Welling, most supporters were about 70 yards away from the ball, you made one of the best saves I’ve seen you make. Do you remember that?
Yes, that save was particularly pleasing. The ball was a cross, but it was not one I could have come for and the way it was positioned, their lad had an open goal, and just luckily enough I dived the right way and I managed to save it. Having said that, today was one of the hardest games I’ve had this season, especially the first half, they put us under a lot of pressure, and it’s always nice to keep a clean sheet whether you’re busy or quiet.
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