Luke Joyce on his goal against Crawley
We spoke to Luke Joyce shortly after full time on Saturday to get his thoughts on his first half strike which went on to become Sky Bet League Two's Goal of the Weekend.“A couple of the lads were talking about my new boots during the week and whether or not they'd be scoring boots," he said. "They’re a bit brighter than the ones I normally wear!
"I’m delighted, obviously, because you can hit those shots 30 or 40 times and they fly over the stand or go behind the goal. Thankfully this one clipped the bar and went in. I’d have taken a tap-in but I’m chuffed to bits with the goal and that we got the three points.
“The lads were made up for me. I’ve been under a bit of pressure from them and the gaffer to get a goal. We’ve been having Thursday finishing sessions - for Luke Joyce really.
"I think they’ll have to continue now. I don’t think I’ll score many goals like that in them but I’ll keep trying and see if I can add a few more before the end of the season.
"It was nice to get the goal and to see how pleased the lads were for me, and the reaction from the crowd was brilliant as well.
“There is a real team spirit and I think the celebrations for every goal we score show that. The results, performances and the winning run we’re on at the moment will only mean that the team spirit grows and gets stronger."
“I wasn’t sure what to do when I celebrated, as you could probably tell," he admitted. "It was a bit of a weight off my shoulders, so I’m chuffed to bits. I can’t even remember when my last goal was but I think we’re talking years rather than months [ed - it was 31 October 2014 in the league and 18 November 2014 in the FA Cup].
"I think it’s a couple of years so it’s nice to break that duck and hopefully a couple more will follow. I’ve scored all three goals for Carlisle at that end, I’ve never scored in front of the Warwick, so hopefully that will happen for the next one!
“It’s got to be the best goal I’ve ever scored, mind you, I haven’t got too many to choose from. My previous two for Carlisle were a shoulder and a header, so there's been some improvement.
"I do want to add to it and you never know. I’ll keep trying to get in the box like JK [Jason Kennedy] does and I might nick a few. It’s been what I’ve wanted to add to my game. It was one of my aims for this season and I’ve been disappointed to not have scored more, so hopefully I can go on a little run."
“The main thing is that we’ve got the three points," he told us. "That was the main objective. We were disappointed to concede late on but we would have taken a 3-1 victory before the game, so we can’t be too disappointed.
"We’re delighted with the win but the boys have come off a little bit disappointed that we’ve conceded the goal. We take pride in clean sheets and Mark Gillespie and the defenders aren’t happy with that. We’ll look at it and try and make sure we do it better next time."
On the team performance overall, he said: “The lads who came in did really well. Mark Ellis was at left back, which was totally foreign to him, but he was great. Shaun Brisley was strong alongside Michael Raynes which just shows the strength in depth we’ve got and the quality in the squad. Patrick Brough came on and did really well at left back so we’ve got some really good options. When lads are getting their chance they’re doing well.
“Mike Jones and myself are doing well together. We’re playing in a confident, winning team and that always makes it a little bit easier. We’ve struck up a good relationship on and off the pitch. We seem to complement each other and have a good understanding and we’ll just aim to keep that form going."
The win created a seven point cushion between the Blues and fourth place but the combative midfielder insisted that the league table wasn't top of his priority list at this early stage of the season
“I’ve not even looked at the table, to be honest," he said. "I’ve got no idea what the cushion is or how many points away from Plymouth we are. We’ll just keep doing our own job, focus on what we’re doing and not worry about anybody else.
“The next game is always the most important. We’re focused on St Albans next week because we know we just need to keep doing what we’ve been doing and be professional. We’ll focus on that game because it will be totally different to the one we played today.
"There will be real pressure on us to go down there and win the game, as was the case with Welling last season. If we can put that type of performance on we’ll be delighted, but we’re under no illusions that it will be a tough test.
“St Albans are doing well in their league. They’re in the top six so it will be a hard game and it will be one they’ll be looking forward to. We’ll go down there and show them the respect they deserve and make sure we’re professional. We’ll play the football we’ve been playing and try and get the win, whatever it takes."
Along with the performances on the pitch has been the excellent support from the stands and terraces, both home and away.
“The fans have been fantastic this season," he agreed. "When you get five or six thousand here it does give you a real boost. I don’t think they know how important they are to us because when you’ve got that kind of backing it does spur you on that little bit more. When the fans are behind you like that you want to get the three points for them.
“At the start of the season our aim was to finish top of the league. That’s where everybody wants to be and we want to be the best. With the quality of the players we’ve brought in and the football we’ve been playing ... why not!
"We won’t get too confident or arrogant. We’ll keep our heads down and keep doing what we’re doing. We’ll be professional and keep doing things right and hopefully more victories will come.”
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