Jamille Matt says it's no coincidence that his best goal scoring season in the Football League is coming with Newport County AFC.
The 29-year old netted his 8th league goal of the season, 12 across all competitions, as the Exiles returned to winning ways with a 3-1 victory over Northampton Town at Rodney Parade.
Josh Sheehan's first goal of the season opened the scoring early on, Cobblers striker Andy Williams equalised shortly after, but goals from Matt then strike-partner Padraig Amond secured County all three points after a stunning team performance.
Here, read what Matt exclusively told iFollow Exiles upon the completion of the game.
On the victory over Northampton Town at Rodney Parade…
"We were really frustrated with the result and performance on Saturday because it fell below the standards we set for ourselves. We saw that as an opportunity to kick on, so it was massively disappointing.
"We made it clear between ourselves and the gaffer that we had to make sure that we bounced back against Northampton and we did that.
"I’d probably say so [the best first-half performance this season] looking back, it’s obviously still very fresh in the memory because it’s just happened. I thought we started on the front-foot – tried to get shots off, crosses into the box and create chances.
"We are a front-foot team and when we play like that, not many teams in this league will deal with us.
"That’s definitely something we’ve got to be consistent with, we want to keep onto ourselves and make sure we remain like that from now on.
"Then in the second-half, the boys at the back were fantastic. Towards the end, there were a couple of clearances that really were unbelievable. The midfield also defended really well so that definitely shows the two sides we’ve got in the team that we can attack and defend very well.
"We’re up there with the top scorers in the league and when we need to, we can defend very well as well."
On his 12th goal of the season…
"Strikers feed off goals and myself and Podge had a little chat before the game and that’s what we said – we said we needed to make sure we get back to what we’ve been doing well.
"I think you could see we were both a threat to their back line and I’m buzzing that we both got a goal. As a striker, getting goals is something I thrive off and every time I step onto the pitch, I feel like I’m going to score so long may that continue.
"The gaffer knew about me before I signed, I’ve played against him previously like when I got a hat-trick a few years ago [for Kidderminster against County.]
"I think he knew from that game how I like to play and at previous clubs maybe I haven’t been used in that way.
"The gaffer has worked with me on that, we had a chat on how I like to play and he’s playing to my strengths. There’s no coincidence why I am getting the goals that I’m getting – we work on it a lot in training and that’s what I thrive off.
On goals for Josh Sheehan and Padraig Amond…
"I’m buzzing for Sheezy because he’s one of those players that when you get him on the ball moving forward, I don’t think there’s many better than him in this league with the ball.
"For him to get that goal, I know he’s been waiting for that, but he thoroughly deserved it.
"But it was also the other side of his game as well – he won six headers in the midfield, made some crucial challenges, playing passes and when he plays like that it’s a joy to play alongside him. Hopefully that will kick him on further now and help us towards where we want to be come the end of the season.
"I said to Podge when he scored that he put it in the only place where the goalkeeper didn’t have a chance of getting to it from the angle where he was.
"But we all know what Podge is about, we all know he’s an unbelievable finisher and he took his goal very well. We both just want to keep adding to our tallies and I’m absolutely buzzing for Podge because I think he does a lot of unselfish work for the team as well.
"Buzzing for him to get his goal, it was a brilliant finish, brilliant move – Tyreeq’s a great player, great pass from him and Podge has finished it off."
On heading to Wrexham on Saturday in the Emirates FA Cup…
"Everyone looks forward to the FA Cup, it’s something you watch as a kid and ultimately want to be a part of. The Third Round is where we want to be but we also know that Wrexham will want to be there.
"It’s on their home soil but we’ll have a lot of fans travelling up and I’m sure we’ll turn up, give a great performance, and hopefully get ourselves into the next round.
"Being a Welsh derby will add a bit of spice to the occasion but we’ll be going there trying to win the game. You can always tell the difference before a derby – you’ll have fans messaging you going please score against them. And it’s that kind of build up throughout the whole week – all the focus is on beating your rivals and, as players, you know you could score and become a hero because they’ll always remember you for the goal against the rivals.
"That’s the main difference – the build-up is looked forward to more than your average league game. But we need to go into it with the same level heads, we need to puff our chests out and show why we’re where we are in League Two.
"We’re the team coming from the higher league so the pressure will probably be on us, but we’ll thrive on that and hopefully get the win.
"The Wrexham fans will probably be hostile towards us, we expect that, but our fans will travel in numbers and we’ll need their support. Our objective will never change, we just want to get into the next round."
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