Mullins: Simmonds fully deserves PL2 nomination

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The under-21s face Crystal Palace in Premier League 2 on Saturday.

Charlie Hanson

2024-10-05T06:00+01:00

Jamie Mullins has been nominated for the Premier League 2 Player of the Month for September. 📷 by Simon Roe.

Under-21s midfielder Jamie Mullins believes his teammate Freddie Simmonds is fully deserving of his nomination for the Premier League 2 Player of the Month award for September.

The Irishman is also on the shortlist for the award, but the former Bohemians man has been delighted with Simmonds’s start to life with the under-21s.

“Since last year, Freddie and Harry [Howell] have been around the group and then this year, you wouldn't even think about how young they are when you watch them play.

“They're both important to how we want to play and Freddie definitely deserves his Player of the Month nomination.

Freddie Symonds has also been shortlisted for the Premier League 2 Player of the Month. 📷 by Paul Hazlewood.

“It's tough making the step up to the under-21s, especially coming into a new group, an older group – it could maybe be a bit intimidating.

“But Freddie and Harry have both shown their quality as soon as they started training and all the lads know how good they are, so we trust them on the pitch and they've definitely helped us so far this season.”

Mullins’s own performances have been impressive, playing an important role in the under-21s winning their two league games at Nottingham Forest and Middlesbrough in September.

The under-21s drew 2-2 with Woking, before defeating them on penalties in the National League Cup. 📷 by Paul Hazlewood.

“I've probably been unlucky not to get a couple of assists and goals. Overall though my play has been quite good – that's the main focus as a midfielder, trying to just play well for the team and show my attributes in the game.

“If you get a goal or an assist it's a nice bonus. But the most important thing is just making sure the overall performance is to a high level.

“I wasn’t expecting the nomination, considering I didn't get the stats that I wanted! But I suppose when you look at the performances, it can hopefully be justified.”

Goals from Josh Duffus and Ruairi McConville put us 2-0 up, but a late rally from the Cardinals saw the game finish level and force a penalty shootout.

Shannon Ruth’s team face Crystal Palace in PL2 on Saturday, as they look to bounce back from their midweek draw with Woking in the National League Cup, where Albion threw away a two-goal lead.

“It was definitely a learning curve. When you play that well as a group and you score two goals, you can't afford to give away two goals in the last few minutes, no matter who you play against.

“It’s something that we will look to put right and have the right reaction in training. We're looking forward to the game at the weekend to try and put everything right."