Charlton Athletic midfielder Bradley Pritchard writes for the KM Group
Published: 08:00, 17 November 2011
Making my comeback from injury against FC Halifax Town on Sunday was great, but scoring my first goal for the club was even better!
It’s been a difficult few weeks for me following my foot injury. My life has changed quite a lot since I signed a professional contract with Charlton over the summer, so it was hard not being involved in training every day while my foot healed.
A few weeks ago, I was hoping that I might be available in time for the FA Cup game, and so it proved. Before I went on as a substitute, the gaffer just told me to keep things going in midfield – but I ended up popping up as a forward in front of goal!
Michael Smith came on at the same time as me, but I didn’t think he would be setting me up for the goal because it should have been the other way round.
Michael will get his chance to score his own first goal for the club, though. He’s still very young and he will give defenders a rough time.
I’ve seen some photos and the television pictures of my celebrations after the goal, and you could see from my reaction that I was so happy to score, not just because of the comeback, but also because it was my first for Charlton.
Everyone in the squad is getting on the scoresheet at the moment, and I thought Matt Taylor thoroughly deserved his own first goal with his header in the first half.
We all admitted afterwards that Halifax were fantastic, and for the first 20 minutes of both halves in particular, they really came out and gave us a scare.
I was playing non-league football as recently as earlier this year, so I know all about how determined and committed non-league players are when they meet League teams in the cup.
It was a relief to play again, but I just want to make an impact on the team and, if I’m given an opportunity, I’m going to take it.
You could name seven subs in the cup, but it’s back to five in the league on Saturday so it remains to be seen whether I’m in the squad for the trip to Brentford. If I am, I’ll make the most of it.
Everyone in the dressing room knows that whoever goes out on the pitch is going to give 100 per cent and really work hard, so competition is really strong.
More by this author
Alex Hoad