I’M OVER THE MOON NOW!
Veteran striker gets chance with Crows
“I HADN’T PLAYED IN EIGHT WEEKS SO TO BE BROUGHT ON FOR 45 MINUTES WAS QUITE CHALLENGING” – David Mooney Royston Town
DAVID Mooney has been down in the dumps on the sidelines in recent weeks – now he’s determined to hit the ground running after being handed a chance to shine by Royston Town.
The former Charlton and Norwich City striker has joined the Southern League Premier Central Crows after being released by Leyton Orient at the start of September.
And the 33-year-old is desperate to reward the Crows for rescuing him from an eightweek spell in limbo.
“It was tough being without a club so I am just really happy to have finally got things sorted” Mooney told The NLP.
“I spoke with the manager Steve Castle who is a former Orient player, so I quickly bonded with him.
“I was impressed with Steve’s ambition and as the club is local to me it just felt like a really good fit.
“I met the other players this week and they seem to be a really good group so I am excited to get properly started.”
Privilege
Mooney came off the bench at half-time to make his Royston debut in Tuesday evening’s 2-1 League Cup defeat against Hitchin and the striker admits that it may take a little bit of time before he is firing on all cylinders again.
“I hadn’t really played in eight weeks so to be brought on for 45 minutes was certainly quite challenging,” he added.
“I definitely felt it the next day, but it was just great to get out on the pitch and feel the buzz of playing again.”
The former Republic of Ireland Under 21 international has enjoyed a distinguished career, which has seen him play in the Championship, League One and the Irish Premier League.
However, Mooney is probably remembered most fondly among Leyton Orient fans after he made over 150 appearances for the O’s during two separate spells with the club.
“I am lucky to have played for a lot of great teams but Orient will always have a place close to my heart,” Mooney said.
“I have so many great memories of my time at the club but one that really stands out is when we won 3-1 at Peterborough during the 2012-13 season to stay top of League One.
“I scored twice in the game and I felt as though I was playing some of my best ever football. I still have the match on DVD and watch it from time to time!
“Working in football has been a real privilege and I have certainly not ruled out the possibility of maybe going into coaching after I retire.”
Resilient
For now at least Mooney is just happy to be back playing and while he has set himself no strict targets for the season ahead, he is hopeful of a productive campaign.
The striker told The NLP: “The boys want to finish as high as they possibly can this season but it is a tough league with a lot of physical and resilient teams in it.
“From a personal perspective I just want to enjoy my football again and play without too much pressure.”