Scott Ruscoe hails The New Saints' fighting spirit
Scott Ruscoe praised his side’s belief as The New Saints progressed in the Champions League with a thrilling 3-1 extra time win over FC Europa in the second leg at Estadio Algarve.
Trailing 2-1 from the first leg at Park Hall, the Saints turned it around against the men from Gibraltar in a eventful tie to progress 4-3 on aggregate, with Scott Quigley scoring two of the goals.
It was another famous night on the European stage for the Saints who now turn their thoughts to next Tuesday’s challenging trip to Croatian champions HNK Rijeka in the second qualifying round.
“Every single player played their part,” said delighted interim manager Ruscoe.
“A lot of people had written us off, but we kept believing in what we do.
“We changed our shape and I thought we were brilliant in the first half. We stifled them, had good chances, and to go in a half time 2-0 up was a fantastic effort.
“We were a little disrupted in the second half when they went down to nine men, but I always felt we would score again.”
