Middlesbrough midfielder Stewart Downing has expressed his delight at getting back to goalscoring ways at the club by saying that “I’m pleased it went in and it was a big goal for us”, the official club website reports.
The goal was the first for the midfielder since leaving the club for Aston Villa in 2009. It put Boro ahead against a determined MK Dons side before Downing played a key role again in assisting David Nugent get his first goal in a Middlesbrough shirt as they secured a 2-0 victory.
Speaking about his goal with the club’s website, Downing said “I’d had a few opportunities in the first half, one of them I played to Diego when maybe I could have had a go myself.
“I just saw a gap and thought ‘aim for the far post and if he saves and parries someone can tap it in, if he doesn’t it goes in’. I’m pleased it went in and it was a big goal for us.”
Downing goes onto state his confidence since being back at the club by telling the site that “I was never worried about getting a goal myself as long as we were winning games.”
The 31-year-old follows by saying “Importantly it came at a good time because needed something.
“It was difficult on Saturday. A lot of teams will come and play like they did. We were patient, not like against Bristol City a couple of weeks ago where we tried to force it, and I thought we deserved to win it.”
The ex-England international concludes his thoughts on the game by praising the fans. “The fans have to understand that we’ll have games like that and they did, particularly when they hit the post,” said Downing. “They kept trying and kept going, but in the end it was pretty comfortable. It was a good result and was what we needed.”
