Striker Shaun Miller on his first goal for the club
Summer arrival Shaun Miller has enjoyed an eventful week with his new club having added a first goal on his home debut to a fantastic assist at Portsmouth on the opening day of the campaign.
We spoke to him about his goal shortly after full time on Tuesday night.
“I’m obviously very happy,” he said. “It was a game we wanted to win and it’s a great feeling to get my first goal in my first home start to help us to do that.
“Getting off the mark with a goal this early is good. I didn’t score until October last year, but I went on a decent run when I did. Hopefully I’ll be able to add a few more now I’ve got this one.
“The good thing is that we’re knitting together quite quickly as a squad. You can see that in training and definitely from the last two games. We had to dig in at Portsmouth and we carried that on by working hard against Port Vale.
“It was a cup competition and we’re delighted to get through. All of the cups give you a chance to progress and play against some top teams and the club had some great experiences last year. This squad certainly wants more of the same.”
His first important strike for the club was preceded by a near miss when he pushed a shot just wide having gone one-on-one with the keeper.
“I don’t know what happened with the first chance,” he admitted. “I went for the finish but it came off my heel. I was glad I was able to make up for that.
“We played really well in the first half and we created several opportunities. We were disappointed with their goal but we hung in there and it was nice to get the win over the line. That comes down to everyone being in tune with what needs to be done.
“I like to make runs behind defenders and I know players like Nicky Adams, Jamie Devitt and Reggie Lambe are always looking for that. It’s great to know that once you’ve made the run they’re going to be looking for you.”
Speaking about his blossoming partnership with Charlie Wyke, he said: “Charlie is a striker who likes to get flick-ons and things like that and it’s great to be able to work off that.
“I think we’re working well together. Last Saturday I barely got a touch at times, after the sending off, but with two up front we were able to work them across the back line on Tuesday.”
Looking ahead to the weekend, he said: “The performance and the goals got the fans behind us on Tuesday night and we want them to stay with us all the way through the season.
“We won them over at Portsmouth with a battling point and we’ve brought another positive with a potential run in the cup. We’ll now be looking to get the first three points on the board at the weekend.
“Plymouth are a good side and they will want to bounce back from the result they had last Saturday. It’ll be a tough game but we’re full of confidence and it’s one we feel we can win.”
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