Tommy Wood is determined to push on and stake a claim for more first-team action after his superb header against Kickers Offenbach on Saturday.
The 20-year-old provided the highlight on the pitch of Wimbledon’s trip to Germany, his 84th minute equaliser against Kickers giving the Dons travelling support something to shout about in the Sparta-Bank-Hession-Stadion.
It was the second goal of pre-season for Tommy, who ended last season with a prolific spell at Burgess Hill Town.
“I am looking forward to the season, I want to be pushing for the first-team and get a spot,” said Tommy. “I just have to keep working hard in training and in games and just see how it goes. Since the manager came in, he has put young lads into the team straight away. Paul Kalambayi last season is a good example. He got thrown straight in against Pompey away, that was a very big game in a big atmosphere. He did well, took his opportunity, and he got loads of games under his belt for the first-team. Hopefully, the same thing can happen to me next season.
“It’s a lot different here to other clubs that I’ve been at. We have a very tight-knit squad and everyone gets on well with each other. The fans are really good, so it’s really nice to be a part of it.
“It was a good experience for me (at Burgess Hill Town) last season as I went out there and played a few games, scored a few goals. It was good for me to get experience of playing men’s football regularly, week in and week out. I think I benefited from it, learning different styles of play for my game. I learned on the job and I’ve got to take what I learned there back into the first-team here and see how I get on.”
There was a unique atmosphere inside the stadium on Saturday with the Kickers Offenbach faithful swapping chants with the travelling Dons and Tommy thanked our supporters for making the trip. Indeed, you can hear our supporters still singing over an hour after the game on our video interview below!
“The atmosphere was really good from both sets of fans and they were making noise throughout the whole game. It was really good. Fair play to our fans for coming all the way here. It means a lot when you are out there on the pitch, it gives you a boost, and I can’t thank them enough for coming out here to support us.
“It felt good, coming on and scoring, it’s always nice, but it was a bit disappointing at the end when we conceded the late goal. As soon as they scored, the final whistle blew, which was disappointing. On a personal note, it was nice to score a goal.
“It’s been a good trip. “There have been new people that have joined and some young ones also travelled from the Under-18s, so it’s been nice to get all the team together and develop a bond. It gives you that opportunity to get know everyone when you go away as a squad. When you get to know each other, that helps on the pitch.”
Click on the link below to watch the full interview with Tommy.