New boy Uche takes heart from doubling up at Dumbarton
UCHE IKPEAZU is excited for the season ahead with Hearts after scoring a brace against Dumbarton in a preseason friendly yesterday.
The 6ft 3in target man joined the Edinburgh side from Cambridge United last week after signing a precontract back in April.
Ikpeazu converted an early penalty after being brought down by Craig Barr. He added his second late on when he tapped home a loose ball inside the six-yard box.
‘It’s always good for a striker to get a couple of goals,’ said the 23-year-old. ‘It helps my confidence and, hopefully, I can build on that.
‘Physically, this is the best I’ve felt in a long time. I’ve worked hard since I’ve been here, that’s why I feel so good.
‘I don’t feel 100-per-cent fit, but I completed the full 90 today, so I can’t complain.’
The striker was unlucky not to complete his hat-trick as he struck the bar from a free-kick and a heavy touch took the ball away from him in the final moments.
Ikpeazu added: ‘I want to score goals. I know I can take penalties, I know I can take free-kicks. I struck the freekick well, but it wasn’t in the corner. I’ll keep working and, hopefully, I’ll be putting that away more times than not.’
It was Ikpeazu’s first opportunity to play alongside Steven Naismith following his return to Hearts on a year-long loan from Norwich.
‘It was great to play with him today. You can see why he’s played at the top level for so long,’ said Ikpeazu.
‘He makes my life easier and I really enjoyed playing with him. He’s always speaking to me telling me when to get my breathers in.’
Naismith was Hearts’ 11th signing of the summer including Steven MacLean from St Johnstone, adding significant depth to a side which used 11 players under the age of 18 last season.
‘We’ve got different options which Hearts didn’t have last season,’ said Ikpeazu. ‘We should all be looking forward to the season. We’ve got different people who can do different things.
‘It’s down to us to work as a team collectively and do the right things day in, day out and, hopefully, we do better than last season.
‘Everyone wants to improve on last season whether that’s finishing top four, top three, but we’ll see how it goes.’