Despite the awful weather in East London on Saturday, there will have been no one happier to walk out to face the elements at Victoria Road than Fleetwood Town’s Alan Goodall.
By David MitchellDespite the awful weather in East London on Saturday, there will have been no one happier to walk out to face the elements at Victoria Road than Fleetwood Town’s Alan Goodall.
The 30 year-old has had to watch and wait as Dean Howell slipped into the left-back berth during Town’s first season in the npower League 2 and he pulled the shirt on for only his third start. Howell’s illness gave Goodall his chance at Dagenham & Redbridge:
‘It’s been frustrating up to now,’ commented Goodall, ‘but you have to make the most of your chance when it comes. Every player’s the same. It’s important to keep the body in the right shape. I was always quite happy with my fitness and having a few reserve fixtures has helped. Hopefully, I can get some more opportunities in the side and kick on.’
‘To lose the game so late and in the way we did was sickening but it had been a good battle and a draw would have been a fair result. A defeat like that can be particularly tough to take when you then have to travel the length of the country back home.’
Goodall created a first half opportunity to score his first goal for Town when he linked with striker David Ball and received the ball in space on the edge of the penalty area:
‘I was disappointed with the shot. I really should have hit the target but struck it across the face of the goal. It wasn’t to be and the lads will be keen to bounce back straight away now. A victory on Saturday against Aldershot will get that bit of momentum back.’
Goodall featured in four of Town’s six FA Cup games last season and would love the chance to help his side into the Third Round and another opportunity to pull a big club out of the Wembley bag. He already has a Cup story to tell, the day when he played for Luton Town at Anfield in January 2008:
‘It was a Third Round tie and a definite highlight of my career. I’d love to sample something that huge again! I’m a red at heart and so are all my family. They were all there to watch me. The record books show that we lost 5-0 but we kept Fernando Torres off the score sheet! They didn’t score until added time in the first half then Steven Gerrard killed our chances with a hat trick. It was a great day out, all the same.’