Goal-den duo

KNACK FOR GOALS . . . Danny Philliskirk displayed his scoring penchant again during last nights victory over Mansfield.

Dunn’s praise for marksmen in replay win

DAVID Dunn saluted his dangerous duo after another pair of goals from Athletic's men of the moment helped put the club into round two. on the FA Cup.

Danny Philliskirk and Dominic Poleon – both on target in the previous win at Chesterfield – set up a round-two tie at their former club Sheffield United last night, as Mansfield felt the force of a two-goal blast in a replay played out in terrible conditions at SportsDirect.com Park.

With the special competition ball behaving strangely in constant rain and a heavy wind, Athletic boss Dunn was also grateful to his back-four for keeping a clean sheet against the League Two outfit, as the home side made it back-to-back victories in front of a paltry crowd of only 1,893 supporters.

“Danny has got a knack and anticipates things in the box. It is no surprise. He does it every day in training,” said Dunn of his six-goal top scorer.

“It was a great finish from Dominic and the build-up play was good, too.

“Mark Yeates was a threat and he managed to get his head up and pull the ball back.

“When people were probably thinking 'have a shot', Philly lays it off with that bit of quality and the finish was very good, too.

“We look forward to going to Bramall Lane (in the second round). It is a really big club and all our players should be excited about going there and trying to perform in front of a lot of people.

“Of course, I am happy with the win and the two goals. But I am as happy with the clean sheet.

“The more clean sheets you get, being hard to beat, the more wins will follow. That is what I have tried to do from day one.”

The Blades tie will be played on the weekend of Saturday, December 5.

Before that, Athletic face home outings against Barnsley on Saturday – Tykes manager Lee Johnson was at the tie last night – and Southend next Tuesday, before a trip to Crewe on Saturday, November 28.

Dunn, who mentioned Joseph Mills and James Wilson as defenders particularly worthy of praise last night, will be seeking similar adherence to his pre-match plans for those fixtures as was on show last night.

“They were such difficult conditions, but the lads stuck to the game plan very well,” Dunn added.

“The first half was very tight and Mansfield will have quite fancied coming up here and giving us a really good game.

“We had a lot of possession in the first half, but didn't really penetrate. Our build-up play was ok but it was a bit slow – and when a team comes and sits back you have to move the ball quickly.

“We didn't do that too well in the first half, but the second half was much better. We were a bit more direct and looked a threat all over the pitch.

“I don't think people realise how bad those conditions can be. Not just the wind and rain, but even the new ball we were playing with. It is difficult – it's like a balloon out there.

“We handled it very well.”

Jay Fulton will be back in the squad for the Barnsley match, as will Cameron Dummigan, who played the full game yesterday for Northern Ireland's under-21s as they slipped to a 2-1 home loss to Ukraine in a UEFA Championship qualifier.