Miles Storey: Swindon striker reveals play-off penalty 'grief'

Swindon striker Miles Storey has revealed his anguish at missing a penalty in their League One play-off semi-final with Brentford.

The game finished 4-4 on aggregate after extra-time, meaning a place in the final would be decided by a penalty shoot-out, which the Bees won 5-4.

Storey stepped up to take Town's fourth kick and it was saved by Simon Moore.

"I haven't been sleeping much since it happened," the 19-year-old forward told BBC Wiltshire.

"That's not down to personal pride, it's down to the weight of expectation that was on me.

"To be man enough to take it you've got to be man enough to accept the consequences should you fail. I'm not really accepting it."

Storey, who came through Swindon's academy, was the youngest of the 10 penalty takers on Monday and had only been introduced to the game in the 78th minute - as a substitute for Simon Ferry.

"Nobody forced me in to it," continued Storey. "I felt confident beforehand and I even had a little smile as the Brentford fans were singing 'who are you?'.

"It didn't sink in until they scored their winning penalty. Then you feel massive grief. You feel really low, like nothing can pick you up.

"I felt solely responsible. Since then I've started to accept it a little bit more but it's still hurting.

"If I was to take one again, I'd smash it. I'd literally take the leather off the ball and take the keeper in with it."

Although dogged by injury in recent months, Storey made an impact on the first-team at the start of the season, making 11 appearances and scoring three goals, including a brace in his side's League Cup defeat by Aston Villa in October.

He has been offered a new deal to stay at the County Ground and now wants to repay the club for their support.

"There's the odd few who are going to give me stick [for the penalty miss], which I expect, but most of the support has been unbelievable," he added.

"Now I've got my deal, I can start to pay the fans back. Whether that means scoring goals, making assists, working hard - I'll do it because I've got the chance."