Albie Morgan admits his overwhelming emotion was one of relief after the midfielder bagged his first league goal at The Valley against Fleetwood Town on Saturday.
After dragging a left-footed effort agonisingly wide in stoppage-time, the midfielder atoned for his miss just moments later with a clinical volley as Johnnie Jackson’s side recorded a first league victory in five.
“Personally, I was a bit relieved at full-time, especially after the one literally 30 seconds before,” explained Morgan.
“I said to a few of the boys that I felt like crying straight away, I was that angry and just gutted. I’m never there and that one fell to me nicely – I should have put it away. But to get the one after I was so relieved and happy because it’s been a while.
“Because of the one before I just had it in my head to hit the target, so I’ve gone dead down the middle. Luckily, it’s gone in. You can tell by my celebration there was a lot of relief and I was buzzing with the goal.
“As a team I thought we were brilliant, especially in the second-half,” he added. “In the first-half it took us a while to get going but once we got that first goal we settled the nerves because of the run of games, needing a win. In the second-half we really pushed on, we did well and we got what we deserved.”
The 21-year-old has enjoyed successive starts in the third-tier for the first time under Johnnie Jackson after an eye-catching cameo at Crewe Alexandra, with the academy graduate now eager to build on another impressive showing against the Cod Army.
“I’d like to think [I’ve taken my chance],” said Morgan. “I’ve been training hard every day. I’ve been trying to keep ticking over. Obviously encouraging the boys but that little bit of selfishness inside means you want to play. I’m buzzing for them, when they’re playing and winning it’s great, but inside you’re wanting to just get on the pitch, be involved and have an input.
“I want to cement my place. I want to play every week. I feel like I’m fit enough. I just love playing football. I just want to play as much as I can, when I can. Hopefully, I can keep building on that performance and keep getting minutes under my belt.”
Looking ahead to Tuesday evening’s Papa John’s Trophy quarter-final at Hartlepool United, Morgan said: “It’s a trophy to win and a chance to play at Wembley. We want it as a club, going and achieving something. I think it’s frowned upon, the competition, but any player in the team would love the chance to go and play at Wembley, especially if they haven’t played there before, like myself. I’d love to go all the way. It would be a great achievement if we end up winning it.
“All the young boys coming through, when I was their age I got my chance and that was the competition where you get your games. For those that frown upon the competition, it’s good for the academy boys to get minutes and show what they can do. For me, it helped me build. I got my first goal in it, I got more minutes and those competitions have made me mature into the player I am, I think.”