PETER CLARKE cracked home the last-gasp goal which kept Town in the League I promotion zone then revealed he played through the pain barrier as Brentford were beaten 1-0 at Griffin Park.
"I felt a sharp twinge in my back when going in for a tackle early on, and I was no good to anyone for 10 minutes after that," said Town’s skipper, whose performance was hailed by boss Lee Clark after his side sealed their third straight win and fourth in five games.
"I wanted to stay on at least until half-time and get the chance of some treatment, then I thought I’d give it a go in the second half as well, and I’m glad I did. It was quite painful but manageable."
Having headed on Gary Roberts’ corner in the first minute of time added on, Clarke cracked home the rebound to make sure after substitute Danny Cadamarteri claimed his effort had already crossed the line.
"It’s my goal!" quipped Clarke, who now has four for the season. "Cads’ effort was blocked and fell just right for me. I got a good connection, and it was great to see it fly in.
"We were well aware it was going to be a tough night. For the most part we defended well, and when called upon Alex Smithies made some very good saves."
It was a second successive clean sheet, and Clarke, whose goal came in front of the 633 travelling Town fans in a 4,402 crowd in West London, added: "If we can keep it tight at the back, we always believe we can score goals to get the points.
"We’re sharing the goals out among ourselves as well, which is all to the good."
Boss Clark handed new loan signing Danny Ward, the Bolton winger, a debut as a half-time substitute and predicted: "He’ll play a big part for us over the nine remaining games."
Town’s allocation of 894 tickets for their penultimate match of the season at Brighton on April 30 have been sold out.
