ORIENT winger Andros Townsend is gunning for a place in Geraint Williams’ starting XI, and he hopes his weekend wonder strike will be all the ammunition he needs to become the team’s premier wingman.
Eighteen-year-old Townsend, on loan from Tottenham Hotspur until January, was responsible for breaking the club’s home hoodoo against Millwall on Saturday, as his own brand of magic fired the O’s to their first win of the season at Brisbane Road.
All it took was one swish of his wand – in this case his left foot – with his second touch of the game, after coming on for the injured Jason Demetriou, to secure the points.
And now, having shown the gaffer his box of tricks, the young winger insists it is time for him to take centre stage after a frustrating spell on the sidelines at his temporary home.
“I came on on Saturday and let all my anger out,” he said. “There was a lot of frustration and I let it out. Hopefully I’ll get more starts for this club now.”
A spectator for much of the game, Townsend only got his chance to shine when Demetriou was taken off with a head injury, following an aerial collision with Millwall’s Chris Hackett.
“These things happen, you need luck in the game and I got that on Saturday,” he admitted.
Asked if he felt he had done enough to win over Williams, Townsend said: “You don’t know what managers are thinking but hopefully I’ve impressed him.
“I’ve been working on that sort of finishing with Kevin Nugent in training and fortunately it’s paid off.”
And what a finish it was, lashing a volley into the far corner from an acute angle on the edge of the box.
Williams was indeed impressed enough to start Townsend in Tuesday night’s 4-0 defeat at Norwich City, but Demetriou replaced him just after the hour.
However, it is easy to see why the youngster is highly-regarded at White Hart Lane.
His searing pace and willingness to take on defenders scared Millwall’s defence half to death, after they had coped so easily with the threat posed by Orient’s other winger, JJ Melligan.
“That’s my game, taking on players, running with the ball and committing players,” he added.
In a team dominated by grafters and ‘honest professionals’, to quote the Orient boss, Townsend could be the x-factor the team so crave as they attempt to distance themselves from the clutches of relegation and begin their climb up the League One table.
There was something about the huge grin spread across his face after the final whistle that said he had just done all the talking he needed to on the pitch.
Now it is up to Williams to decide whether Townsend did enough against Norwich to keep his place for Saturday’s trip to Wycombe Wanderers.
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