Tottenham striker Dominic Solanke has opened up on what his latest Carabao Cup goal means to him after a difficult few seasons riddled with injuries.
Tottenham Hotspur managed to secure their first win of the season on Wednesday night when they took on Charlton Athletic in round two of the Carabao Cup.
It was a rampant display from Roberto De Zerbi’s side, who were clinical in front of goal, beating the Championship side 5-1.
On the scoresheet was Dominic Solanke, who grabbed Spurs’ second in his first start of the season. It was a striker’s goal, with Solanke reacting quickest to a mix-up in the Charlton box.
Dominic Solanke reflects on his return to fitness at Tottenham
Following his season opener, the Englishman has now opened up on what it means to him after enduring a difficult last few campaigns riddled with injuries.
Speaking to the official Tottenham website about being back on the scoresheet, he said: “100 per cent, I think always strikers love scoring goals… yeah i think obviously finishing the season injured last year I was obviously gutted not to be on the pitch, but it feels so good to be back out there today, especially at home, in our stadium in front of the fans. To get a goal was… the feeling never gets boring.”
The forward also opened up on Spurs’ performance in general and how they fared tactically. He continued: “I think it was good. I think there’s always room for improvement. But I think, after 30 minutes, we started starting to find our patterns of play, and everyone started getting in the right positions and stuff like that.
“After the first game on the weekend, we wanted to, obviously, bounce back tonight with a good reaction. It was great to get the win. I think we played well, but we still want more.”
Moore was certainly the one who kicked things off, with the teenager grabbing Spurs’ first of the day with a ferocious strike from inside the box.
That goal opened the floodgates and Solanke opened up on the impact it had on the rest of the team.
He said: “I think, obviously, confidence is a great thing in football. I think especially when a team is hard to break down sometimes, you get that first goal and the game changes. I think we saw a bit of that tonight. Obviously, after the first goal, spaces start to open up a bit more and you start to gain a bit of momentum. We saw that tonight.”
Solanke backs Savio to make an impact for Spurs
Wednesday night also saw new signing Savio make his Tottenham debut in front of the home crowd. The 22-year-old replaced Solanke in the final 20 minutes and had an immediate impact on proceedings, scoring and assisting.
Solanke, who watched from the bench, also shared his thoughts on Savio’s debut. He said: “Incredible. I was sitting on the bench just watching with joy, to be honest. Every time he got the ball, he looked sharp and electric. Obviously, his goal was great. The second goal, I thought it was his, to be fair. But then, when I saw it on the big screen, I see it hit Benny. That was unfortunate that he didn’t get his second, but goal and assist, can’t complain.”
The striker does believe he could benefit from Savio’s directness and dribbling, as he hopes the Brazilian can assist him a couple of times this season.
He added: “Yeah, 100 percent I think players like that, like you said, one-v-one situations, nine times out of ten, they’re going to beat their defender. As a striker, it’s great to be in the box and have that confidence that your winger is going to beat the man and get in the box. Hopefully he can gel with the team and hopefully give me some assists, too.”
Attention is now set to turn to this weekend’s home game against Newcastle United and Solanke is hoping he can get on the scoresheet again.
Speaking about the Newcastle game, he concluded: “Yeah, 100 per cent. I think as a striker, it’s always nice to score and build that momentum. Getting a goal so early on in the season is very important. Once you start scoring, you don’t want to stop, so hopefully, i can get some more on the weekend.”