Albion midfielder Taylor Richards says the moment the travelling fans sung his name after his match-winning penalty against Crawley Town tonight, is one he’ll remember forever.
The 18-year-old arrived from Manchester City earlier this week and made his debut at The People’s Pension Stadium in tonight’s 1-0 win, scoring a skilful spot-kick six minutes from time to make it two wins from as many matches for Graham Potter in pre-season.
He said, “I knew I was going to chip it, I took a long run-up to make the goalkeeper think I was going to smash it and then managed to do that.
“There were lots of fans here tonight and it was an amazing feeling, it was a dream come true tonight.
“I’ve never had the fans sing my name before, so it’s a great moment for me and one I’ll cherish for life.”
The England international stepped off the bench during the second period before going on to score what proved to be the decisive goal on the night, and he thanked Potter and his coaching staff for the faith they’d showed in giving him the opportunity.
“It’s a great start for me and I’m just happy that the manager and staff put me into this game so early,” he continued.
“I haven’t been training much over the past few weeks, so for them to give me a chance is great and I’m very grateful.
“I wanted the free-kick before as well, but I thought I’m new here, so I’d give that away, when it was a penalty I thought, I’m definitely having that!”
Richards was also asked about his aims and objectives for the new campaign after his recent move to the south coast and stressed that it was up to the coaching personnel at the club to determine the best path for him to take this term.
“My future is up to the head coach and his staff, and whatever he has for me is what I’ll do.
“Tonight was good and hopefully that leaves a nice impression, but it’s only my first game, so for me now it’s about training hard.
“I’m a player who’ll always give my all, I’ll work hard out of possession for the team and the manager.”