Town striker Yates confident goals will be like 'London buses' now
Forward doubles his league tally for the campaign with Terriers winner
Luton striker Jerry Yates is confident that his goals will start to arrive like ‘London buses’ now after he netted only his second league strike for the Hatters this season with what turned out to be the winner against Huddersfield Town last night.
The 29-year-old couldn’t really miss either, sliding in to meet Lamine Fanne’s shot that was already on its way into the net from just a yard out on 71 minutes to restore Town’s advantage, the hosts having taken the lead in the first half through Jake Richards’ deflected volley, only to see Leo Castledine level the scores with a superb free kick just after the hour mark.
Having scored three times in the cup competitions, then Yates is out on his own as the club’s leading marksman now, with five to his name, as his normal slow start to a campaign didn’t concern the summer signing from Swansea City, who has only scored 29 league goals in the first 13 league outings of a season over his career, with 52 coming in the following matches.
In fact there was no better example than when at Blackpool in 2020-21, when he had just four goals early on, but bagged another 16 afterwards to end up with 20 in the league as the Tangerines won promotion to the Championship through the play-offs. Speaking after sealing boss Jack Wilshere’s first League One win on home soil, asked if a lack of goals had been weighing on his mind, Yates said: “Not really, not really, stuff like that doesn’t bother me. It’s been a bit stopstart, every striker needs rhythm, obviously I had concussion after Lincoln which knocked me back, but listen, as soon as you get the opportunity you need to take it.
"A striker needs rhythm, once he gets one it’s like London red buses, they all come at once. It’s one of those things, so you never get too high, never get too low about those sort of situations. To be honest, most seasons, for 10, 15 games, I don’t know what it is, I must be a slow starter or whatever, but it happens every time, every time.
"I never score in the first 10, 15 games and usually once you get one, I end up cracking on. I’m my biggest self critic, I know what I should be doing and how many I should have scored. I’ve missed some easy opportunities, so like I say I’m my biggest critic but it’s one of those things, red buses, one comes, they all come, so hopefully it carries on.”
On the actual goal, Yates admitted his desire to score took over once he saw Fanne’s shot beating keeper Owen Goodman, as he continued: “I’ve told him it was going wide, but it was definitely going in. I’m a striker, so I’ve got to tap that home. I’ll be honest, it’s one of them, I’m a striker, I’ve got to be a little bit selfish. I’m glad I wasn’t offside, there might have been a bit of uproar if I was!”
Boss Wilshere felt it was a big moment for the forward who was recalled to the side in the absence of Nahki Wells too, stating: “I do and for all number nines, of course they want the team to do well and they want the team to win, but really deep down they’re happiest when they score. It gives them confidence and he’s going to stay in the team as Nahki won’t be available for a few games, so hopefully he can keep that going.
“Jerry’s a nine and I think we played more to Jerry’s strengths tonight. I think Nahki’s a little bit different, he can drop off and come and play whereas Yatesy is someone who likes to play on the shoulder, likes to get behind. He likes to smell where the ball’s going to end up and he was good.”
Discussing his role in the side, as Yates played as the lead striker, with Jake Richards to his right, and Lamine Fanne in support, the forward himself said: “I enjoyed it, my job is to occupy the two centre halves, be a nuisance and make sure they have a tough game, obviously don’t let them have an easy game. I feel like I did do that at times, so it’s one of them, I’ll forget about it now as we’ve got the result, move on to Saturday and concentrate on Bolton.
"I’m not really bothered (about having a strike partner), I’ll take on board whatever the gaffer says and do whatever the team needs me to do. Whether that’s me causing a nuisance and just being a threat all game, other people scoring, it doesn’t really bother me as long as the team wins."
Yates also believes that under Wilshere, Town will now carry more of a goal threat due to the way in which they are being drilled in training and the wingers they have at the club too, now Shayden Morris is back again. He added: “Maybe it’s just a plan. I’m not saying we didn’t have a plan before that, but a bit more clarity on how we’re going to get into the final third. The coaching staff that have come in have been brilliant, really simplified it for everyone involved, they’ve been wicked.
“The competition in the group is massive. It’s a big group, Haks (Hakeem Odoffin) got his first 90 minutes tonight, he was unbelievable, Browny’s (Jacob Brown) back now, he’s a big addition to the squad, we’ll need everyone going forward pushing people every day. Shayden’s the fastest thing I’ve ever seen, it’s brilliant to have him back.
"Cohen (Bramall) is putting some brilliant balls in and he’s rapid as well, so you’ve got to be on your toes and ready for when they deliver the ball in the box. I think he’s been brilliant since he’s come in, it helps that he scored a few free kicks as well. Maybe some might say that he’s not naturally a left winger, but he’s taken to the role brilliantly and long may it continue.”