Back Among the Goals
RYAN Taylor’s overwhelming emotion was one of relief as he ended a personal goal drought that stretched back to April 2018 during Argyle’s 3-0 Sky Bet League Two win over Walsall on Saturday.
When the Greens’ flame-haired front-man opened the scoring of their 2-1 Sky Bet League One win over Peterborough in the 27th minute on April 7, 2018, neither he, nor anybody else within Home Park that day, would have believed it would be another 16 months until he would score again.
But such has been his luck, first with a spate of injuries, and then the form of Freddie Ladapo, Ryan has endured a barren spell in Green.
“It’s a bit of a relief to be honest, it’s been a while since I’ve scored, so the pressure’s obviously been mounting,” said Taylor, who also bagged a second late in the Greens’ 3-0 win over Walsall at Home Park. “The longer you go without scoring as a striker, the pressure builds up and you start thinking about things more, so I’m happy to get a goal - but the most positive thing is the three points, obviously.”
The sheer blessed relief that Taylor was evident in the way he celebrated his goal – but the confidence boost that goal gave him was not evident until he lashed home an unstoppable second as the match reached its latter stages.
“It adds confidence to your game, as soon as you score as a striker, all the other little touches start coming together,” he said. “It can only be a positive thing, and obviously I go on and get the second goal, which is another positive.”
By his own admission, Taylor may not have struck his emphatic second goal, and Argyle’s third, were it not for the catharsis of his 13th minute opener – which he celebrated in front of his family, who were at the game.
“I think if I don’t score the first goal, then maybe I don’t hit it that true first time,” he said. “But, like I said before, the most important thing was the three points for us today. We’ve had a few scrappy games, so it was nice to get a good three points under our belt.
“Obviously, to get another, it only adds to the confidence – I think you’ll see that in my game now going forward. It’s easy to say ‘don’t let it affect you’ but as a striker it’s going to. It’s always playing on the back of your mind, so it’s nice to get that off my back now and try and move forward.
“I just need to keep the standards high now and keep trying to score every week. As a striker you get judged on goals, so it’s up to me to keep knocking on the door.”