Walsall striker Josh Gordon was delighted to score a hat-trick on Tuesday night – and thanked his strike partner Caolan Lavery for letting him take the penalty.
The 25-year-old netted the first three of the Saddlers’ six against Forest Green Rovers as Walsall progressed to the knockout stages of the Leasing.com Trophy.
After netting two goals from open play in the first half, Walsall were awarded a penalty early in the second half which presented Gordon with the chance to get his first hat-trick for the club.
Gordon was desperate to take the spot kick and revealed strike partner Caolan Lavery, who also takes penalties, gave him the nod.
“I looked at Lavs and I said ‘please let me take it,’ Gordon said.
“He scored one before and we spoke about it in training, if I score a goal and there’s a penalty then you take but he said I could take it on the night and I put it away.”
Gordon’s netted his first goals from open play this season in the first half against Mark Cooper’s side and was pleased to see his hard work and determination pay off.
“It hit my shin and everything but we did it in training,” he commented.
“Marcus Stewart works on it with us as well about where we should be in the box and luckily he saw me there and I scored.
“The first goal gives you a bit of confidence. When you’re having a bit of a drought you just need to keep doing the basics right and then it’ll come and that’s what I did and it worked out well for me.”
The 6-0 victory will give the Saddlers a huge boost in morale but Gordon says the team won’t be getting overly excited and stressed they need to produce a similar performance in the league.
“We can’t get carried away,” he insisted.
“We’ve had a bit of a drought so it was nice to get a result like that and we’ve got to build on it and take it into the league.
“I think getting out the rut has helped and playing on the front foot, gives us that base to take into to Saturday.”
Walsall take return to Sky Bet League Two action on Saturday as they host Cambridge United at the Banks’s Stadium.
All tickets are priced at just £5 for this fixture.
Call the Ticket Office now on 01922 651 414/416 or visit our e-ticketing site to purchase yours.