MURPHY RARING TO GO
BRENTFORD 1 NEWCASTLE UTD 2: EX-SAFC STRIKER GRASPS CHANCE TO SHINE FOR MAGS
Daryl Murphy says he is ready to take on the goalscoring mantle at Newcastle United – after finally opening his Championship account.
The former Sunderland striker scored his first league goal for the Magpies to seal Saturday’s 2-1 win at Brentford, glancing a header home to follow up his FA Cup strike at Birmingham the previous weekend.
Murphy, 33, was given his chance from the bench after Dwight Gayle, who hit the Tynesiders’ opening goal at Griffin Park, succumbed to a hamstring problem.
Gayle faces several weeks on the sidelines along with Aleksandar Mitrovic, who was injured at St Andrew’s.
“It’s two in two now, and that’s brilliant, said Murphy, the only fit striker now available to boss Rafa Benitez.
“It’s just a case of trying to keep that momentum going, if I play. It would be a nice to get a run, especially on the back of scoring a couple of goals.
“I’m still not up to full match speed. You can do all the running in training you like, and work as hard as you can, but at the end of the day you need to play to get properly up to speed.”
Murphy found his opportunities in the first half of the season limited by injury the form of Gayle.
“I always knew that I’d get a chance at some stage – it was just how long it would take that I didn’t know,” said the Republic of Ireland cap.
“He knew that with my experience, and the fact I can score goals in this league, I could add something to the squad, something different to what we have. It’s just been a case of waiting for a chance, but now I’ve had that, and I’ve chipped in with a couple of goals.”
Ayoze Perez set up Murphy with a superb cross from the left. “It was nice to get the goal, although I don’t really think I had to do that much becausetheballwassogood,” said Murphy.
“The delivery was that good, the weight of the cross, and I just had to direct the header, really. I didn’t need to put any power on it..”
Benitez reassured Murphy that he would get an opportunity during his long wait for a league start.
“He’s always just told me to be patient,” said Murphy.
“I played in the cup, and then I came on here in unfortunate circumstances. I just had to be ready. I was able to take the only chance I got.”
Newcastle next host Birmingham in Wednesday’s FA Cup third round replay.