Derek Asamoah on his two goals against Barnet on Saturday
Striker Derek Asamoah spoke to us about his decisive brace from the weekend home victory over Barnet."The result was massively important," he said. "It wasn't a pretty game but we knew they would come here and try and stop us from playing football. A lot of teams know we try to get the ball down and play, so they stopped us from doing that. We showed that when it comes to the nasty side we can compete like that as well.
"At 2-2, and after we'd been 2-0 up, the lads still believed we were the better team and we could get the result. You could see the goals coming because of the way they were pressuring us. They had some strong players in the air and they knew if they put the ball in the box they would cause some problems. The warning signs were there and unfortunately they got two goals very quickly."
On his own scoring exploits, he said: "To get two goals was brilliant because I've been working hard in training.
"The gaffer had a little word with me and said I'd been on fire in training. Even though everyone has been talking about Jabo [Ibehre], because he has been tremendous, he thought this match was going to be about Derek Asamoah. That was a massive confidence boost for me and I'm glad I went out there and got my goals.
"I had to keep my composure for the first goal because the keeper did really well to close down the angle. I decided to get round him and take him out of the game and I managed to get a view where I could see the goal. It was quite straightforward after I went round him but I had a lot of different options going through my head. I'm happy I chose the right option in the end.
"I had a couple of players screaming for the ball but that never entered my mind. It probably should have done but that's the type of player I am. Sometimes it works in my favour and sometimes it works against me, but when I'm in the box I always try and see the goal. That's what I did and it worked out for me.
"I was buzzing when it went in, especially with it being our second goal, because I thought that would make the game a little bit more comfortable. The knee slide celebration I did was in sync with the roar of the crowd so it felt brilliant for it all to come together."
"For my second goal, Alexander McQueen got down the right so well," he commented. "He showed his pace and how attacking he is. I knew when he got on the ball that I needed to sprint as fast as I could and get in the box. I managed to get in front of my marker and Alex put a lovely ball in. All I needed to do then was sort out the contact.
"I got that right and it felt good to get the winner. I'm enjoying my football at the moment. I'm looking at every game as it comes and I'm enjoying what the manager is trying to do. We've got some intelligent players and we've got some goals in this team.
"I had to keep my composure for the first goal because the keeper did really well to close down the angle. I decided to get round him and take him out of the game and I managed to get a view where I could see the goal. It was quite straightforward after I went round him but I had a lot of different options going through my head. I'm happy I chose the right option in the end.
"I had a couple of players screaming for the ball but that never entered my mind. It probably should have done but that's the type of player I am. Sometimes it works in my favour and sometimes it works against me, but when I'm in the box I always try and see the goal. That's what I did and it worked out for me.
"I was buzzing when it went in, especially with it being our second goal, because I thought that would make the game a little bit more comfortable. The knee slide celebration I did was in sync with the roar of the crowd so it felt brilliant for it all to come together."
"For my second goal, Alexander McQueen got down the right so well," he commented. "He showed his pace and how attacking he is. I knew when he got on the ball that I needed to sprint as fast as I could and get in the box. I managed to get in front of my marker and Alex put a lovely ball in. All I needed to do then was sort out the contact.
"I got that right and it felt good to get the winner. I'm enjoying my football at the moment. I'm looking at every game as it comes and I'm enjoying what the manager is trying to do. We've got some intelligent players and we've got some goals in this team.
"Jabo played a really intelligent pass through to me for the first goal and I know if I get in between the defenders I'll get loads of opportunities like that. I love playing with Jabo, he's a great player and although today was my day I'm sure there'll be days where he gets the goals again.
"The ball he put into me for the goal shows he understands my movement and he knows if he puts it in behind I'm more than likely going to get it. I think that was the second or third time we've started together so the more times we can do that the more the understanding will grow."
"To get the first home league win is a massive boost for the lads," he agreed. "It's the second win on the bounce but it's unfortunate that we conceded two goals. We know we need to work on that. On the whole it's a great result and you can't ask for more than three points.
"Going forward we've got goal threats, which is pleasing. We are conceding a lot of goals because the formation we're playing can go either way, as a defensive formation or an attacking formation. At the moment we're creating as many chances as we're conceding and we've got players who are prepared to put the ball in the back of the net.
"It's pleasing to get my first league goals of the season. It's been a few months since I scored in the league because I wasn't getting the game time I needed towards the end of last season. I've had a full pre-season now and I feel great. The manager is showing a lot of confidence in me and I'm thankfully repaying him.
"We're not looking too far ahead but this month could be a real opportunity for us. We're taking each game as it comes but before you know it we'll have a real gap between us and the wrong end of the table. We need to keep grinding out results and the league table will look after itself."
"To get the first home league win is a massive boost for the lads," he agreed. "It's the second win on the bounce but it's unfortunate that we conceded two goals. We know we need to work on that. On the whole it's a great result and you can't ask for more than three points.
"Going forward we've got goal threats, which is pleasing. We are conceding a lot of goals because the formation we're playing can go either way, as a defensive formation or an attacking formation. At the moment we're creating as many chances as we're conceding and we've got players who are prepared to put the ball in the back of the net.
"It's pleasing to get my first league goals of the season. It's been a few months since I scored in the league because I wasn't getting the game time I needed towards the end of last season. I've had a full pre-season now and I feel great. The manager is showing a lot of confidence in me and I'm thankfully repaying him.
"We're not looking too far ahead but this month could be a real opportunity for us. We're taking each game as it comes but before you know it we'll have a real gap between us and the wrong end of the table. We need to keep grinding out results and the league table will look after itself."
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