Club news

Connolly Happy To Reap Rewards

By Kieran Cleeves • 02 September 2018

Brighton & Hove Albion under-23 striker Aaron Connolly expressed his willingness to unselfishly work for the team, following Friday’s night’s impressive 5-0 win over Manchester City, which saw the Irishman net twice.

The 18-year-old led the line for the Seagulls against the Premier League 2 Division 1 league leaders, and he was delighted to score his second and third goals of the season, while also creating opportunities for his team-mates.

He said, “Personally, I’m happy to do anything that helps the team. It showed that if I keep making the runs and work hard, I’ll get the rewards I’m after.

“It’s tough because strikers are based on goals. If you’re not scoring, you get questioned. But thankfully I got the chances to put them away.

“These are the games you want to play in. We showed that we’re capable of competing. Even in the last three draws, maybe the chances just weren't going in for us.

“But against City we showed we can compete at this level - beating City who are top, and we beat them comfortably. Hopefully we can push on, get a few more results and move up the table.”

Simon Rusk’s side extended their unbeaten start to the season to four matches, and Connolly commented on the togetherness of the squad, as they play their first season in the top flight.

“The boys are all together as a group, you can see that both on and off the pitch. We all get along and it shows on the pitch. We got the result we needed.

“Mathias [Normann] and Anders [Dreyer] both provided assists for me, so it’s clear that they’re fitting into the group well. Everyone is so together, so it’s easy to click on the pitch.”

Connolly fired the equalising goal against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, before setting up Viktor Gyokeres against Tottenham Hotspur, and the young Irishman revealed which strikers he’s looked up to over the years.

“I’d have to say Fernando Torres, and I know it’s a bit of a weird one because people usually say Robbie Keane, but I used to watch Torres at Liverpool.

“He didn’t get the luck he needed at Chelsea but at Liverpool he was unreal. These days, I’d say Sergio Aguero, Jamie Vardy and players like that."