Ian Dawes praised Tranmere Rovers’ collective display in Tuesday evening’s 1-0 victory versus Harrogate Town.
Otis Khan scored the game’s only goal eleven minutes from time, earning the Whites a first away triumph of the Sky Bet League Two campaign in the process.
Enjoying an equal share of possession and fashioning the majority of final-third chances during proceedings, Dawes felt three points were richly deserved for Tranmere on the night.
“I thought from start to finish, the lads worked as a team today. They worked hard on and off the ball,” he said. “With the results that have been and the manager going on Saturday, we knew that it was always going to be tough at the start of the game because of what’s happened. They kept going and doing the things we’ve been asking of them and got better and better as it went on.
“We knew what the game was going to look like: they [Harrogate] were going to cross the ball, run hard and play for set-pieces. The lads stayed strong and defended them well throughout the game.”
Rovers’ win marked a first league start of the season for Corey Blackett-Taylor, who bolstered Tranmere’s attacking options heading into this encounter.
It was Khan, however, who decided the contest having only being on the field for a total of four minutes.
“This is what the group have got to understand: after 60 or 70 minutes, we are going to need some of the squad to come on and give that extra lift to go and win the game, expressed Dawes. “I’m made up for Otis, he’s a great character and works hard at what he does.”
Attention now turns to Saturday’s FA Cup first-round tie with Accrington Stanley as John Coleman’s side make the nearby trip to Prenton Park.
“The big thing now is momentum. We’ve got to get back on the training ground, hopefully take this result and performance into Saturday and go and take the game to Accrington,” concluded Dawes.