Bondz N’Gala said that he was delighted to be cast in the unlikely role of match winner after his stoppage time header secured a dramatic late win for Barnet.
Speaking immediately after the game the central defender said:
“It is a great feeling to score the goal but more importantly to win the game. It was a great delivery by Togs from the corner and I was happy to get on the end of it.
“It is good to get off the mark and it takes a whole lot of pressure off of other people’s shoulders. It is good for other positions to chip in and not just leave it to the strikers to score the goals, in the same way that everybody contributes to clean sheets and not just the defenders.”
Having faced a barrage of pressure from a direct and physical Forest Green team, N’Gala admitted that it had been a challenging afternoon, particularly when the team were forced to bounce back from an 88th minute equaliser for the home side:
“It is the sort of game that I relish and enjoy. I like the physical battle so it was a game that I really enjoyed. It was a tough ask but I think we dealt with it quite well and won the majority of the aerial battles and did well as a team.
“We were very disappointed to concede so late on, especially as the team have been doing well with clean sheets as well. But we are happy that we went all the way to the end and got the win in the end.
“It says a lot about the team’s character. The gaffer is always talking about us staying strong and going all the way until the end. We work on it in training and do certain things to promote that. The gaffer has got the message across and we are all glad to repay his faith.
“We’re relentless and we don’t stop. We have been quite ruthless with teams and always go all the way until the end and always give 100%. That is just the sort of squad that we have.”
N’Gala’s first goal for Barnet meant that the Bees stretched their lead at the top of the table to four points, but Bondz is refusing to get carried away and staying focused on both his personal targets and those of the team:
“I do set myself some [goal] targets but I like to keep them to myself so when I do get there I’ll be the first to let you know!
“We take each game as it comes and try to win every game that we play. We are happy that we have got a little bit of a cushion but it is time to push on now.
“We have got to enjoy the win while we can but we have got to get our heads back on ahead of the game on Tuesday.”
