AJ looks back on his goal and the victory over Barnet
Shrewsbury Town striker AJ Leitch-Smith was delighted to get his name back on the scoresheet as Town beat Barnet 3-0 in the FA Cup.Leitch-Smith scored the second of Town’s goals and looked a threat throughout the game, linking well with Ivan Toney and Louis Dodds.
It was the first time AJ had scored since the EFL Cup victory over Huddersfield Town and he was pleased with the overall team performance.
“I thought we played some good football,” AJ told the Press.
“The gaffer has been working all week on confidence and trying to play with the ball and I think it showed on the pitch today.
“I could have got a few more goals, but I’m delighted. I’ve been frustrated with the last month or so, I’ve not got many minutes on the pitch, but I’ve been putting the work in on the training ground and thankfully it’s paid off today.”
The arrival of Paul Hurst has added fresh impetus to the Town side and Leitch-Smith believes it’s a chance for everybody in the squad to make an impression.
“It’s a fresh slate,” said AJ.
“The first impression is that you’ve got to work hard and hopefully you get the nod on a Saturday or a Tuesday and thankfully today I got the nod and got a goal.
“The manager’s been great in training, got everyone going. It’s been lively, it’s been tough but I think that’s what we need.”
Leitch-Smith scored the second goal of the game, heading in a perfectly weighted Ivan Toney cross and AJ believes there are early signs of a decent partnership with the Newcastle loanee.
“I don’t score as many headers as I should, but I’m just delighted to get goal,” smiled Leitch-Smith.
“I’ve played with Ivan in training a lot, so we are getting to know each other’s games and I think it showed today that there’s a bit of a click there.
“I’ve had a few niggles which haven’t really helped, so I’ve been in and out, but hopefully now I can kick on and get a few more games and a few more goals.”
Town’s victory over Barnet was their first since early September and AJ is hopeful that the win will boost confidence for the upcoming fixtures.
“It’s been a while since we’ve got a win so hopefully this will give us confidence to go on a little run now and get a few more victories,” AJ said.
“If we can get another win against Middlesbrough then it carries on again and hopefully we can carry on to next Saturday and it’s all about confidence at the minute.
“There’s a buzz in training, everyone’s at it in training, working hard and you can tell because we played some good football today and I think it showed all the work we have put in during the week.”