Josh Clarke said it was an amazing feeling to see his hard work pay off as he netted his first goal for Brentford in tonight’s 4-1 Sky Bet Championship win over Reading. The young-winger finished off a sublime team move to smash The Bees ahead just before the break as Dean Smith’s side went on to run out comprehensive winners at Griffin Park. Speaking to Bees Player after the game, Josh revealed that he had been doing extra work on his finishing in recent weeks and he was buzzing to see it pay off.
“The past few weeks I have been practicing finishing with the Gaffer and I have just been waiting for the day to score my first goal,” said Josh. “Today it came. It was an amazing feeling and I am buzzing right now. I have been doing 15 minutes after training every day, just working on my shooting and my crossing. To be fair I wasn’t thinking about the fans' cheer, I was just thinking about how I had actually scored. I have been doing all this extra work and to finally get the goal I had been waiting for was an amazing feeling. It has come now but I will keep on working.”
Josh’s goal set Brentford on their way to a fourth win in five at home this season, a result which elevates the team into the Sky Bet Championship top four. As well as Josh, Lasse Vibe, Maxime Colin, and Scott Hogan also found the net in the impressive win which Josh felt was well deserved.
“It was a great team performance,” said Josh. “We all put the effort in, worked hard, and communicated. We got the goals that we wanted and the changing room is buzzing. We wanted to start the game sharp and on the front foot so that we could get into their heads and I think that we did that.”
Josh’s performance also saw him pick up the sponsor’s Man of the Match award after the game. Having started five of The Bees nine league games before tonight Josh isn’t going to let this evening’s performance get to his head but rather he wants to use it to kick on and cement a starting spot in Dean Smith’s side.
“I am buzzing with my first man of the match in this league but I don’t want to get too big headed,” said Josh. “I just have to keep carrying on working hard and performing. I need to play how I did today, keep on doing extras, and keep working hard. If I get the chance to play I have to perform. That is what I did today. I need to get goals or assists to stay in the team.”