Inside View with Charlton striker Deon Burton
Comments |
No-one likes feeling unhappy over Christmas,
and in truth, we’ve got little to be unhappy about.
A quick glance at the league table shows we
are in second place at the moment, four points ahead of Norwich
City in third and near the top of the form table as well.
But we can’t help feeling disappointed that
we’re not another two points better off, following last Saturday’s
4-4 draw against Millwall.
I suppose you could look at the result in two
ways. On the one hand, coming away with a draw after going 2-0 down
in the first half is testament to our character and resolve, and we
maintained our unbeaten home record going back to March.
But having equalised before half-time, and
with Millwall down to 10 men, to twice take the lead and not gain a
victory felt like a defeat, and meant we were extremely
disappointed at the final whistle.
We felt for the fans as well, because they
were great. Even when we went 2-0 behind to our rivals, they were
right behind us, and that helped give us the belief that we could
still get something from the game.
And you can’t just look at it from our point
of view – to give Millwall their dues, they’re a good team, they
worked hard to make things difficult for us and kept battling away
with 10 men.
For my part, it was the first time I’ve ever
scored two penalties in one game.
As Frank Lampard showed for Chelsea against
West Ham United on Sunday, when he had to take a penalty three
times – and scored three times – before the referee was happy,
there is quite a lot of psychology involved between you and the
goalkeeper.
There was a long wait for the second one, in
particular, as their player was sent-off, and the referee was
dragging it out a bit, making sure everyone was in the right
position and not coming into the area.
You’ve just got to ignore any distractions,
stay focused and concentrate on what you intend to do. I put the
first in the top right corner, and the second along the ground on
the other side.
I was disappointed not to score a hat-trick in
the end, as one effort hit the post and went close to going over
the line. And although that’s 12 for me so far this season, I’d
happily swap any of them for three more points for the team.
Everyone’s excited about Christmas, but it’s a
bit different for us over the festive period, with games coming
thick and fast.
All the players will be in training on
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day before the match against Swindon
Town on Boxing Day, and then there isn’t much time to prepare for
Brentford two days later.
It’s a time of the year where you have to
remain professional, ignore the extra helpings of turkey and
Christmas pudding, and focus on what we want to achieve this
season: promotion.
Tuesday, December 22 2009
The KM Group does not moderate comments.
Please click here for our house rules.