Ben Godfrey impressed on his debut. (Image: PA).Not to mention our starting XI. Apart from Connor Townsend and Ben Godfrey’s debut, the other nine have been consistent starters/squad players for the past year. Our depth was well-represented in this type of game. I know some of our fans dislike playing in cup competitions, but when else do some of those starters get game time? We now have a squad capable of progressing in the first two or three rounds, as seen by our performance. Next up is Coventry City. The majority of our cup drawings are boring. It would be good to play with other teams.

It was only five seasons ago that we met the Sky Blues in this competition. We were also drawn away early in the season. Will Keane’s goal put Town ahead 1-0, but Coventry equalised in the 90th minute. They outplayed us in the replay, winning 2-1 in front of only 6,515 cold and bored fans. I repeat: 6,515! It was nice to see George Hirst return on Sunday; fingers crossed that he remains injury-free for the rest of the season. We’ll certainly need him. Town are actively seeking an addition to their attacking roster during the current transfer window. To be honest, I’m not persuaded Ali Al-Hamadi will still be here when the window closes. I am certainly not going to write him off. His leap from League Two to Premier League in the space of a year is huge.

He requires game time while on loan in the Championship. At this point, I wouldn’t rule out him signing with a League One club. How he may have benefited from scoring that penalty on Sunday. It would have bolstered his confidence tremendously. Hirst’s comeback is more than opportune, given that we have lost another attacking player for the foreseeable future. Sammie Szmodics has joined the list of casualties, which is a major blow for me. Sammie stands out from the rest of the squad. His strengths have shone on the road, and we hope he will not be missing for long.

Jaden Philogene appears to be a viable addition to the squad in an offensive role. Who knows what will happen by the time this is printed. But we could be in the midst of a second saga with this potential signing. Who can forget the summer shenanigans, when we appeared to have clinched the deal with Hull City for Philogene and Jacob Greaves? We know what happened there, and let’s hope that this one is resolved as soon as possible – if it hasn’t already! I know it took some time to get used to the concept, but Janoi Donacien said his final farewell last week.

Any footballer who finds their career on a downward trajectory would do well to learn from Janoi. His resolve and spirit to keep chipping away when cast aside was immense.

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