Bart: Wigan Game Quiet But Not Easy
Friday, 6th Feb 2015 06:00

It may have been one of the quietest 90 minutes of his entire career but last week’s goalless Portman Road stalemate with struggling Wigan still took its toll on Town goalkeeper Bartosz Bialkowski.

The 27-year-old Pole explained: “It was probably the least busy I have ever been in a game because I had so few saves to make.

“When you are making saves every few minutes you are flying and feeling good but when you have so little to do you must stay focused because you never know when you might have to make a wonder save.

“I wasn’t busy against Wigan, just cold. These are the hardest games because you need to keep your focus and fully concentrate right to the very end.

"You might not have very much to do for 89 minutes and then in the 90th minute you might have a shot to save to make sure you don’t lose the game.

“After the game I said to Malcolm [Webster], the goalkeeping coach, that physically I was alright but mentally I was tired and I think that said everything.”

Bialkowski has also lifted the lid on his pre-match ritual when he crosses himself and points his arms to the heavens and looks into back of his net.

He added: “It’s a personal thing for me but basically I believe in God and that He is helping me in every aspect of my game and my life. I pray for a good game and that’s it really. I am doing it for me and my family. I have been doing it for 10 or more years.”

On a less serious note Bialkowski added his thanks to the many Town fans whose votes helped him to second place in the Beard Liberation Front’s Beard of the Year poll for 2014, just behind Eurovision winner Conchita Wurst.

He laughed: “That was quite funny. Someone tweeted it and I know it was the Ipswich fans who voted for me.

“I didn’t mind where I finished but it was good of the fans. Other players also have beards but I still think mine is the best one and at the moment it is definitely staying on.”

Photo: Action Images

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