Andre Brooks makes honest admission about his progress as Sheffield United goalscoring run continues
Andre Brooks scored for the third Championship game running on Tuesday night, helping Sheffield United beat Oxford United 3-1.
Sheffield United winger Andre Brooks believes his goal in Tuesday night’s 3-1 win over Oxford United at Bramall Lane offers evidence of the progress he is continuing to make, admitting he probably would have wasted the opportunity last season.
After Sydie Peck had cancelled out Myles Peart-Harris’ opener just before half-time, United flipped the game on its head with just under 25 minutes remaining when Brooks kept his composure to find the top corner after being picked out by Tom Cannon.
The United striker got to the byline, pulled the ball back, finding Brooks, who chopped inside, and managed to get a shot off, despite looking as though he was going to stumble and fall over, squeezing the ball through onrushing Oxford defenders and finding the back of net.
It marked a third goal in as many games for the Blades academy graduate, who now has four goals in the Championship this season, and he has admitted he probably would have failed to have kept his composure in that scenario last term, meaning he believes it demonstrates how much progress he is continuing to make.
“To be fair, I went down injured literally two minutes before that,” Brooks told BBC Radio Sheffield, reflecting on his goal. “I saw the ball come to me at the edge of the box and I thought, ‘I’ve got to do something here’.
“I chopped it, took it past him, and thankfully I found the back of the net.
Brooks opens up on his progress
“Last season, I probably would have snatched at that, and now I am just showing that I can shoot, I can finish, and I can add goals to my game. It’s always good.
“It’s three in three now, and hopefully I can carry on this momentum and take it into the next game.”
Brooks’ strike, of course, contributed to United scoring three goals for a fourth successive Championship home game, following recent victories over Ipswich Town (3-1), Leicester City (3-1) and Birmingham City (3-0).
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Scoring more than two goals in four successive home league wins for the first time in more than 50 years, Brooks has revealed Blades boss Chris Wilder has been constantly reminding his players to express their attacking capabilities.
Brooks added: “The manager’s always onto to us saying that we’ve got brilliant attacking [players], so we have got to show that every week and that is what we’re doing now.”