Man-of-the-moment Ben Davies is refusing to downgrade his traditional 10-goal-a-season target - despite missing the opening half of the campaign.The former Chester man produced a brace of sublime finishes in Saturday’s 4-0 defeat of Dagenham & Redbridge, grabbing the first two vital breakthroughs at the start of the second half.
That was the first time Davies has found the net since returning from his well-documented five-month injury lay-off.
And Davies - who admitted he initially feared the injury could be career-threatening - is hoping Saturday’s efforts have laid the foundations for a goal-rush in the second half of the campaign.
“I always look for 10 or 15 a season and despite the injury, I still feel I can get at least 10,” he said.
“Goals have always been an important part of my game and hopefully that will continue.
“I was pleased with the two goals that I scored on Saturday, especially the free-kick because John McMahon (assistant manager) is in charge of them and he has been giving us all a bit of stick for not scoring from them.
“The second one sat up nicely for me and I caught it well.
“It says a lot about the pitch - I don’t think it would have been possible at Gay Meadow because you would have needed five or six touches to get it under control.”
Davies is delighted to have with his rehabilitation to date, but insists he must adopt a safety-first approach as he continues to strive for full fitness.
“When I first did it I did wonder whether I had played my last game of football ever because it was very serious,” he added.
“But the surgeons were fantastic and the physios both here and at Lilleshall have been brilliant.
“I’m back playing now which is great but I have to be so careful that I don’t get a secondary injury like a hamstring or a hernia.
“I think I did too much in the build-up to the Notts County game and I missed training on Monday this week just to have a break and it did the trick - it might be something I have to think about doing in the future as well.”
Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce is expected in the crowd tonight for his side’s FA Youth Cup tie with Shrewsbury at St James’ Park.
2 Comments
Where are the boo boys today then. Well done Ben, They were the two best goals scored at the new ground so far, Keep it up pal !!
It’s getting better, just like to see the midfield keeping possession a bit more though. The real test will be on Saturday against Accrington Stanley, I for one hope that the Team don’t turn in an inept away performance like they did at Notts County.