Tyler glad to be back between the posts for Town

Recalled Town stopper Mark Tyler was delighted to be back in the starting line-up for Tuesday night’s 2-0 FA Cup first round replay win at Nuneaton Town, writes Mike Simmonds.

The 35-year-old had missed the last four games after originally suffering a back injury, before Town boss Paul Buckle opted to keep faith with number two Dean Brill.

Tyler said: “It’s tough being on the bench, I want to play every game, Brilly does too, so you’ve got to be strong mentally.

“It’s a team game and we’ve done well, so I had to be patient.”

Tyler is now feeling no ill effects of his back complaint and believes the competition is making sure both keepers are at the top of their game.

He said: “The back is fine, no problem. When I was on the bench against these (Nuneaton) in the FA Cup it was fine then, the gaffer just wanted to give me a few more days rest.

“Brilly’s done nothing wrong and he’s a great friend, we’ll back each other whoever plays, so no problems there. There’s competition for places in every area of the pitch, it keeps us on our toes and that’s why the club have brought him.

“Lewis (Kidd) is in the background as well and is doing well, so the GK union’s all right at the moment.”

Tyler kept his second successive clean sheet in midweek, as his last game came in the 2-0 FA Cup win at Cambridge, and he felt it had been a relatively comfortable return.

He said: “I thought the boys did well. There were a few dodgy moments, they hit the post, but we defended a lot better than we did Saturday and I’m delighted with the clean sheet.”

On his decision to pick Tyler, Buckle added: “I wanted it to work for Brilly in terms of coming in and doing well and it has.

“The biggest thing was I had the opportunity to bring Mark back and if you look at Mark’s last game, it was Cambridge in the FA Cup and he was fabulous, so I felt he’d had a long enough rest.

“It’s nothing against Dean Brill at all. I pulled both goalkeepers before the game, spoke to them, had both of their eyes. They’re good lads and they understand.

“It wouldn’t have mattered who I play, I trust both my goalkeepers.”

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