Danny Potter helped to keep Kidderminster Harriers at bay during Saturday's 2-0 home win, but he singled out midfielder Jai Reason for special praise after the midfielder's influential performance.

There was an early scare when Potter needed attention from physio Greg Reid before continuing, but the U's keeper showed no ill effects when helping to resist a spell of second half pressure from the visitors and was happy to confirm that there are no lasting effects.

"The pitch was a bit heavy in patches so I tried to change my studs before the game but the referee hit the buzzer early so there wasn't time, and when I went to throw the ball out my foot gave way and I went down on my ankle," he explained.

"We've checked it out and there's nothing to worry about. Mind you, it would happen when Laurie Walker isn't sitting on the bench! It was a bit painful but the more I went on the more it eased."

Reflecting on a welcome return to winning ways in the league following the 3-0 defeat at Hayes & Yeading two weeks ago, Danny commented, "We are pleased with the win and particularly the first half performance when we put a lot of pressure on their keeper.

"He's only a young lad and had to bide his time behind Adam Bartlett, but this year he's taken his chance and from what I've heard he's done very well. So it's credit to the lads up front that he looked shaky at times.

"Of course defending the Newmarket Road End in that first half didn't help," he added. "Every time the ball was hit back to him I could hear the roar getting louder and louder even though I was at the other end. I felt sorry for him but that's football."

Headed goals by Chris Holroyd and Wayne Hatswell put United 2-0 ahead by the interval, but former U's loanee Darryl Knights and Matthew Barnes-Homer both spurned good chances for Harriers while Knights also drew a smart save from Potter. Afterwards, like visiting manager Mark Yates, the U's keeper praised the back line for standing firm.

"They came and had a go at us and Darryl Knights showed us what he could do but I felt our back four held firm throughout," he said. "There's a lot of experience out there with the amount of games they've all played over the years.

"It's nice to keep that clean sheet - we haven't had one of late and it's important that we get back to shutting the opposition out. The understanding between us all is very important," added the 30-year-old.

Potter reserved special praise for Jai Reason, whose good work and cross set up a simple header for Holroyd to score the important first goal and continued to cause problems for the visitors with his passing and vision.

"Jai had a great match - his attitude is fantastic and he's been brought up well at Ipswich. Possibly there's a lot of expectation on him this year after what he did for us last season, but it's hard to keep to such a high standard week in week out, as much as he tries every game.

"He's a fantastic lad, he's got a great attitude, he's teetotal and after training everyday he's doing extra work," revealed Potter.

"By his own admission he's probably had a couple of games when he's not been on par with the expectations that he's set himself, but he's shown again today what a fantastic player he is. That's why the old manager brought him here and what a great asset he is to the club."

United return to the FA Cup on Saturday when Blue Square North side Ilkeston Town are the visitors, and Potter is looking forward to another home game after three away games last month.

"It's always a nice distraction to be in the cup and nice to play here again in front of the fans," he said. "It's normally good to have a break from the league but after this win we would have liked to kick on and keep the momentum going. But we'll be going out to get through to round two and give the fans a performance on the way."

Interview by David Gray

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