Winger rejuvenated after first Football League goal
David Fitzpatrick marked his full debut with a goal on Saturday and the 20-year-old winger said that spending time on loan at Tonbridge Angels played a massive part in his development.
It took just nine minutes for Fitzpatrick to strike against Yeovil, but he’s had to be patient for his first start since joining AFC Wimbledon in the summer of 2014.
Playing in the Ryman League for Angels was a turning point, according to Fitzpatrick, and he hopes to build on his first Football League goal after impressing Neal Ardley.
, Fitzpatrick said: “It helped me massively because all a footballer wants to do is play football. When you are training and you don’t see anything building up at the end of the week it is not quite the same. When you are playing you get your match sharpness up and I felt so much better when I came back from my loan spell.Dons PlayerSpeaking during an interview with Rob Cornell for
“I have to pay credit to the manager for showing the faith to start me. Hopefully, I have repaid that faith with a goal. The manager has worked with me on shooting and crossing and he is very good with things like that. I was told that defensively there was an issue with me. I took that on the chin and I think I’ve addressed that now. That doesn’t mean the hard work has to stop. I need to keep working hard and keep on improving that aspect of my game.
“I spoke to the manager (Steve McKimm) at Tonbridge the other day. I’ve stayed in touch with him and he is a great manager as well. There is nothing wrong with dropping down a few divisions to get games because there’s nothing better than playing.”
Elation at his first Wimbledon goal was tempered by defeat to Yeovil Town and Fitzpatrick says the squad must quickly get back on track at Bristol Rovers next Saturday.
“It was unfortunate about the result,” added Fitzpatrick. “Personally, getting my first goal is something to build on, but it’s not quite the same without a win. Hopefully, we can bounce back at Bristol Rovers. We knew what Yeovil were going to be like. It was a bit more physical than previous games and they played more long balls. To be fair – and the manager said this as well – they worked harder than us. They won the second balls and that’s why they got the three points ultimately.
“We know we’ve got enough quality to get into the play-offs. We just need to string results together and if we get that consistency again then there’s no reason why we cannot be up there.”