Anthony Gordon has thanked Everton’s fans for their support after scoring his first two goals for the club while also lifting the lid on the post-Merseyside Derby conversation he had with a pitch invader.
Anthony Gordon said: “I didn’t feel like I could run off and celebrate, to be honest I was thinking I just want to get back and get another one. I just wanted to keep scoring, even after the second one I remember thinking to myself ‘I just want another one.’ That’s the mentality you’ve got to have if you’re going to be a top player. It wasn’t how I dreamed it. I’d dreamed of running off into the Gwladys Street or sliding but I still got the same rush through my body and I grabbed the badge. It was like a surge. I just wanted us to come back and I wanted the crowd to get behind us for the remainder of the game.”
Supporters have picked up on an added maturity from Gordon’s performances of late – at Chelsea where he was surrounded by many even less-experienced players in a patched-up side he seemed to come of age – but he hopes an end product in the final third can become a regular feature.
Anthony Gordon said: “It’s good that fans can see that I’m taking on the extra responsibility in matches. It’s something that I feel I’m doing and I want to do. I want the responsibility to be on me. I want to be the one who contributes and takes the game by the scruff of the neck, the one to make an impact. Hopefully people can see that. I definitely think that the goals can become a regular part of my game now. I’ve been trying to break that duck for a while now and now that I’ve done it I feel an extra boost of confidence in myself that I’m giving the team more than good performances, I’m added goals and assists to my game and it’s helping the team.”
Although with Everton now having won just one of their last 12 games, there were plenty of boos from frustrated fans both at half-time and full-time against Brighton & Hove Albion, who recorded their first win at Goodison Park in almost 109 years of trying, supporters made a point of applauding Gordon for his own efforts.
Anthony Gordon said: “I can only thank them for that. I’ve done that through my social media accounts. The fans have been incredible with me. The support is second to none. The way they react to losing is understandable. We’re a massive club and we’ve been really under-performing so I think we can all understand the frustration and we agree with them. On a personal level it’s incredible to see just how much they’re supporting me at the minute.”
It wasn’t the first time this season that Gordon had stopped to applaud the Gwladys Street after a home defeat and there was of course the incident after the 4-1 loss to Liverpool in the Merseyside Derby when a fan left his seat and took to the turf, becoming involved in an exchange of words with the youngster. Despite the potential security threat the moment posed, Gordon didn’t shy away from the intruder and explains what went on during their conversation.
Anthony Gordon said: “It was sort of just him expressing his frustrations. I didn’t just want to walk away and leave him because the fans are the club. I wanted to listen to what he had to say. His frustration and everyone else’s frustration, it’s understandable. He was really polite. On the picture it looked really confrontational but it wasn’t. It was just more him asking questions and expressing his frustrations.”
