It's a happy return for Willmoth

The midfielder was making his competitive return after 17-months out

HUNGERFORD Town midfielder Callum Willmoth admitted it was a special moment for him as he made his competitive return after 17-months out injured.

The 27-year-old ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in an FA Cup clash with Billericay Town in November 2017.

After a lengthy spell on the sidelines, Willmoth made his first National League South appearance of the season in Saturday’s 5-0 win against St Albans City.

“It felt amazing to be back out there playing after so long out,” he admitted. “To be back out on the pitch finally playing was a very happy and special moment for me.”

Willmoth replaced Alfy Whittingham in Saturday’s crucial win and the midfielder believes it was a well-deserved result.

“It was nothing more than we deserved,” Willmoth admitted. “The boys have been quality all season and a performance like that has been well overdue and we’ve set the standard of how good we can be.

“Now we must match the performance and attitude of this result and carry it on into the remaining games of the season.”

Willmoth was also full of praise for manager Ian Herring and coach Kevin Watson.

“The gaffer and Kev have been great with me since I’ve been back,” he said. “The gaffer has always been very supportive since I first got injured and he knows I’m chomping at the bit to be back, but he’s easing me in bit by bit.

“Kev has also been great, his training is always high quality and always gets you thinking and he has tinkered with a few sessions to allow me to be more involved.”

Hungerford travel to Chippenham Town on Saturday and Willmoth hopes they can build on last weekend’s result.

“There’s a lot of big games coming up for us,” he said. “We must fight for our lives in every match to get a result from now till the end of the season.

“Last Saturday may be a turning point in our season and we’ll look to build on that performance this week.”