Fulton determined to repay Accies’ faith after his
RYAN FULTON was delighted to record his first clean sheet of the season at Fir Park on Saturday – and hopes he has started to repay the faith shown in him by Hamilton.
The goalkeeper put in a fine display during the first Lanarkshire derby of the season, producing a few acrobatic efforts to deny Motherwell’s David Turnbull and keep Stephen Robinson’s men at bay.
The hosts enjoyed the majority of possession but struggled to break down a stubborn Accies resistance before Hakeem Odoffin headed in a winner late on to ensure Brian Rice’s side picked up their first three points of the season.
Fulton played a starring role in the win over his side’s rivals and while he says seeing out the victory was the most important thing for him, the match had great significance on a personal level, too. After missing the entirety of last season following surgery for a recurring thigh injury, the 22-year-old was simply happy to be back out on the park again.
“It’s massive,” he said. “Playing and getting back out here again, it’s great for me. More so the clean sheet and more so the win but
I’ve got to stay fit, keep putting performances in and get points on the board so we can get up the league.
“I’ve had this problem for maybe the last four years but it never got to the extent that it did. It’s fixed now and I’m back playing. It’s nice, it’s a bit of a relief to have had the surgery and make sure it’s all repaired properly. There’s nothing better than being back on the pitch.
“It was my quad, right up the top near my tendon joint. I was getting niggles elsewhere from overcompensating. We played Dundee last
April and in that game it completely went on me. From then the club has looked after me great; they’ve given me the best rehab, the best surgeon, everything. It’s now for me to repay them on the pitch.
“I try to look at the positives of everything. The big thing for me was that it was being fixed. I can get back out on the pitch and I’m not worrying about it, not worrying about it going again or picking up something else. Now it’s fixed I can just focus on my game.
“The club’s been great with me. I’ve not played much football here but they’ve stuck by me and supported me. They’ve given everything to me and I couldn’t be more thankful. I’ve got to do my part now and repay them.”
Meanwhile, Declan
Gallagher says it is the players’ responsibility to arrest Motherwell’s poor start to the season, with the Fir Park side failing to find the net in four of their opening five Premiership games.
The Scotland internationalist cleared a Marios Ogkmpoe header off the line in the first