On-loan defender Haydon Roberts says he'll look back on his first league goal for Derby County for the rest of his life.
The left sided defended headed home the first of the Rams' three goals in the 3-1 victory over MK Dons at Stadium MK in Sky Bet League One on Saturday, marking his first ever strike in league competition.
Speaking to RamsTV ahead of the Emirates FA Cup First Round Replay with Torquay United at Pride Park Stadium on Tuesday evening, Roberts reflected on that special moment and looked ahead to the meeting with the Gulls.
On getting a mug for his goal from Paul Warne…
I’ve got it! I haven’t used it yet but I have five or six cups of tea a day, so I’m buzzing with that. I was buzzing to get on the scoresheet too, but more importantly we got the win and the three points.
On his goal…
It means the world to me to score my first league goal. It’s different because I scored in the Carabao Cup for Brighton, which was a big moment for me, but to score for Derby County in the league is a massive achievement – it’s something I’ll look back on for the rest of my life.
I haven’t really thought about scoring, it’s been more about keeping the ball out of our net but when the opportunity came for me I had to take it. I spoke to Hammy and he told me I needed to be more aggressive from set-plays and it’s something I’ve been working on.
On set-plays…
We’ve got Conor Hourihane and everyone knows how great his set-pieces are. He puts it on the money nine times out of 10. He puts the ball in a dangerous area a lot and he probably could have a few more assists.
I’m glad I got the end of ne and hopefully I can get on a few more but we’ve got to make the most of his ability because not every team has a player of his quality - we’re blessed to have him.
On the timing of the goal…
I got the goal just before half-time and it gave us a boost because we were nowhere near good enough in the first-half. From there our energy levels, were a lot higher and we pressed better and took our chances really well.
On the Liverpool game last week…
It’s every boys' dream to play at Anfield. The whole atmosphere was amazing and looking back on it in the moment I was a bit taken back when they were all singing ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone.’ You don’t realise how iconic it is until you’re there.
I watched a game at Anfield when I was younger but being on the pitch is a lot different and it’s a moment I’ll never forget. Hopefully I can play there again in the near future.
On the current busy schedule…
It’s been tough but I think it’s a mindset thing; you’ve got to keep going. We’re all committed to the game, it’s been tough but we’ve still got a few more matches to go before a little break at the end of the month.
On the FA Cup replay against Torquay…
We'd like to think we’ll be a bit more affective with the chances we have. I think in the original match we could have had the game done by half-time but credit to them, they played really well.
We’ve got to respect Torquay because they pose a different type of challenge.
Hopefully we can make use of our pitch, play the way we play and we can have a good night and get through to the next round.
