Gillingham winger Jayden Clarke says he has more to offer after silky skills left Luton Town defence in a daze in Carabao Cup clash at Kenilworth Road
05:00, 31 August 2023
Jayden Clarke admits he needs to be a bit more selfish.
The Gillingham winger showed what he could do on Tuesday night with the ball at his feet, beating the defence before netting with a cool finish against Luton Town in the Carabao Cup.
It was Clarke’s first goal for the Gills and helped them get back into the match, having trailed 2-0 before he netted. Gillingham eventually lost 3-2.
He said: “The whole time I was dribbling I was looking into the box to see if anyone was coming. I knew Nadders was there but it wasn’t really on, then last minute I decided to go myself and luckily it paid off.
“It was my first goal for Gillingham, it was a great experience and a great feeling.
“At 2-0 (down), we said at half-time ‘the next goal is crucial’. If they scored it then that could deflate us a little bit but luckily we got it and it lifted us but unfortunately that third goal (for Luton) was a great finish. We just got unlucky, but it was a great feeling to score.
“It was a great experience for everyone involved, I really enjoyed it, I think all the players did.
“It was a good game and we were unlucky not to get anything out of it, two of their goals showed why they are a Premier League team.
“We had two good chances which we probably should have scored and the players who had the chances know they should have scored but you can’t score every chance and on another day those two go in.
“Everyone in our dressing room feels we could have got more out of the game, especially with the chances we had, there was a one-goal difference, to take it to penalties, but we move on now. We won’t dwell on it and we’ll try and bounce back in the league on Saturday against Grimsby.
“For the attributes I have I should probably be more selfish, it is something I am working on at the moment. Hopefully it will come off on the pitch.
“That one goal will hopefully build some confidence and next time I get on the pitch I will try and replicate that.”
Clarke was a star man in the previous round against Championship side Southampton but he’s still waiting his first start in a league game this season.
He’s not someone to be banging the manager’s door down.
He said: “It is him who picks the team, whether I start or I am on the bench, I will be ready to try and make an impact. It has been good, I have been enjoying it, just need to keep doing that every time I get a chance on the pitch.”
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