Todorov ready to grasp the Thistle
Friday, 22nd Apr 2022NT: “It was a really good feeling to score in front of our fans. It was a really important goal for the team.”
East End Park erupted with delight last Saturday when Nikolay Todorov scored what turned out to be the winning goal against Ayr United. The 25 year old striker admitted that it was an amazing feeling, one of his best ever:-
“I love scoring goals but that is definitely up there as the best celebration with the fans. They went crazy and that is what they come to watch. The atmosphere was amazing. I would have loved to have done it more throughout the season.
“It was probably the importance of the game as well, everyone was really tense and nervous. As soon as I saw that ball hitting the net it was like wow. I spoke with fans after the game and they said that they had not seen an atmosphere like that in the last few years.”
Nikolay’s declared intention when he signed for the club at the beginning of the season was to score goals. With his Pars tally at six he knows that he has not hit the net as much as he intended but he was happy to score the goal that lifted his team out of the play off spot. Modestly he chose to praise his teammates:-
“To win the three points would have been impossible without my teammates so we can thank them for that as well. They stayed in the game and made it possible for me to come on and just put the final piece together.”
The striker from Pleven in Bulgaria replaced Kevin O’Hara with six minutes of the ninety remaining and hit the net within two minutes it wasn’t his first touch, but it was his second and he dismissed any suggestion that he was under instructions to shoot on sight:-
“It was a perfect opportunity for me to come on and do what I love to do. You can see the reaction from the bench, everyone was pointing for me to pass it wide. They had their hands on their hands when the ball went in. I have done it for a few years now in this league, I have scored plenty of goals so as I received the ball I just saw this gap and I had the confidence that if I hit it would go in. It is a striker’s instinct.
“I would say I hit it from between 25 and 30 yards out, he couldn’t see the ball because the guy who was in front of me took a step back and I don’t think the keeper saw the ball until it past his defender. I don’t think he expected a ball from that distance.
“I am just delighted but as I said, it is a team effort and I think the boys have been working extremely hard, especially in that last game when it was not going our way. They dug in and you cannot point the finger at anyone and say that they have not been hard working.”
Late winners of much significance have been part of Nikolay’s career. Last season at Inverness with the team near the bottom of the Championship every one of his eleven goals were important:-
“It was a similar situation but at this stage in the season it is live or die. Every goal is important at the minute. We just need goals and I cannot remember any other goal that I have scored that has been that crucial in my career.”
With the penultimate match of the league season taking Dunfermline back to where they kicked their season off, Nikolay would love the chance to repeat his success there that day. The striker scored twice at Partick in the first match of the season and scored four in his first five matches. He continued:-
“I wish that I had better opportunities this season to show my ability. I had a great start to the season and against Partick. Since I arrived here I have worked as hard as I have ever worked. I can be criticised because I haven’t had the best season, I know this but there are other things behind the scenes that people don’t see.
“Before the current manager arrived I played three months with a massive injury. I was struggling and it has been tough. It has not been the season that I imagined but I took a risk and it was my responsibility playing with that injury.
“I had really bad tendonitis on my right foot which is my preferred foot. It was very uncomfortable putting on any kind of shoe never mind tighter boots. I am very healthy now, in top form and training extra. If I’m required for Saturday I will be 110%.”
Acknowledging that Partick Thistle are a solid team who will be really hard to beat Nikolay claimed there was no fear:-.
“To be honest I do not care who I face whether it is Partick or Kilmarnock, any other team. I just go there and give my all. If I score, I score. I have that striker instinct. If I am playing I hope I score and I will prepare the best I can.
“I would not say we are nervous but there is a lot of pressure. Everyone deals differently with the pressure, some people go into their shell and they can’t deal with it, for some people it is just what they need. I can say that the spirits in training, especially after that last game, are very high.
“In every game I can see that the boys are believing we can do it. If you had told me at the start of the season that we would have been in this position I would have just laughed at you.
“We are where we are and it is a lot of pressure. Probably the coaches, manager and staff working behind the scenes feel it as well but I can see that we are in a good spirit. We focus game by game and try and do the best we can. When it comes to Saturday, you go out, you give your all and try and do your best.”
Before closing Nikolay praised and expressed his wish to have the same special support from the Dunfermline fans:-
“They have been unbelievable and the boys have appreciated it. It means a lot to have that twelfth man on our side which is the fans. I think that they make a huge difference in games like Saturday when things are maybe not going our way. What made the boys dig it out and stay in the game was the fans. I just hope that they keep supporting us and we can pay them back as well.
“The season is not what me personally or as a team we had in mind but we are where we are and the only ones who can pull us out of this situation is us and the fans. They have been turning up and I hope that we can repay them and give them two wins in the last two games to get out of this situation and start afresh in the summer.”
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