Midfielder Joe McKee on his first goal for the club
Midfielder Joe McKee bagged his first goal for the club on Wednesday night when he finished off a flowing move with a calm bottom-corner finish.We spoke to him about his performance and the goal shortly after full time.
“It was good to get 90 minutes under my belt and I’m pleased to get a goal as well,” he said. “I enjoyed it. We’ve had a couple of reserve games in the last few weeks and I just try and work as hard as I can every day.
“Whenever I get my opportunities I try to work hard. I managed myself through the game and it’s good to get 90 minutes in the bank.”
“It was pleasing to get a goal because it’s something that the gaffer sees in me,” he explained. “He wants to try and get more out of me every day in training. I’ve been trying to do that and the manager reminded me before the game that he wanted me to get forward, so I’m happy to have popped up with a goal.
“It was a nice bit of play and Danny [Grainger] did well to get to the by-line. He put it on a plate for me and I just tried to guide it into the corner. To be honest I was just happy to see it go in the back of the net.”
Speaking about the different roles he played during the game, he commented: “In the first half Joycey [Luke Joyce], me and Jamie Devitt had a bit of license to go forward. In the second half I dropped back into where Joycey was.
“I was comfortable in both positions, which was good, and I enjoyed it. We were disappointed to let it get back to 3-2 after being 3-0 up at half time, but it sometimes happens in these games.
“It doesn’t seem to matter how much you say at half time because we all knew we needed to shut up shop in the first ten or 15 minutes of the second half. We conceded a goal, which made it slightly harder, but we showed character.”
“We’re all pleased to have finished top of the group,” he said. “The boys had done well in the first two games to get the points so we wanted to make sure we finished top. It was a good way to do it, to score four goals at home and play really well, so it was very pleasing.
“I didn’t know it was the first time the club had won eight games in a row but it’s good to play a part in that. Everybody at the club works hard every day, the gaffer is always telling us we need to work as hard as we can, but we’re just taking it one game at a time. The boys have been picking up good results and we want to be unbeaten but we also want to keep winning.”
And it goes without saying that he’s ready, if called upon, to do more of the same having put his marker down with a man of the match performance.
“I didn’t hear that I got the man of the match because I was breathing a bit heavily by that point,” he joked. “One of the boys told me after the game and it was nice. To get a goal and man of the match in my first 90 minutes for the club was pleasing.
“I’m ready to play whenever but the boys have been doing well, especially in the middle of the park, so it’s been hard to get an opportunity. I can’t grumble with that because Joycey, Mike Jones and Jason Kennedy have all been flying.
“It was good to get an opportunity to play well and hopefully I can carry on from that. I’ll just keep working hard every day and take it from there.”
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