He was the scorer of, arguably, Fulham’s most important goal of the 2006/07 campaign when he netted the winning strike against Liverpool on Saturday 5th May. With three goals in three games this season the knack of being in the right place at the right time certainly looks like it hasn’t left Clint Dempsey.
A self confessed ‘attacking midfielder’ by trade, Dempsey has been moved to the front line by Manager Lawrie Sanchez following Brian McBride’s injury.
But rather than simply just doing a job for the Whites, Dempsey, who has always had an eye for goal, is now sitting joint second in the Premiership’s leading scorers list. His goal in last weekend’s match against Wigan Athletic took his tally to three.
“I like being in attack and any time I can attack more it’s more exciting for me,” he said – and with that attitude it’s not difficult to see why the American is starting to make a habit out of getting on the score sheet.
“I enjoy scoring, it’s one of my favourite aspects of the game, so getting the opportunity to do that is a dream come true so I’m enjoying it. But what’s important to me is being on the field and being able to play and, not only that, being able to contribute. I feel that I’m able to do that so I’m enjoying it right now.”
Yet whilst it was good news for Dempsey on a personal level at the JJB Stadium, Fulham came away from the match with just a point, despite having put in a performance which deserved all three, as Wigan Manager Chris Hutchings admitted post-match, “We got a result at the end of the day but it was not really deserved. They were a lot sharper and mentally brighter than us.”
The Fulham dressing room, in the knowledge that they did almost everything but win the encounter, carried a frustrated atmosphere yet Dempsey was positive about the situation.
“It felt more like a loss, but I think that’s good,” he explained. “When you’re tying and it feels like a loss it’s better than to tie and it feel like a win. In the Tottenham game, even though we tied, it felt like we’d won, but I think you need to be more excited about looking ahead and saying ‘we know we’re better than what we’re doing and we’re trying to be better’.
“So we’re all just looking to the next game, and that’s what is so good about football; there’s always a next game and another opportunity to show that you can win.”
