Will Lankshear: “I had nothing else on my mind other than to score”
Thu 18 July 2024, 19:36|
Tottenham Hotspur
Will Lankshear said he was determined to seize his opportunity after scoring his first senior goal for us in Wednesday’s friendly at Heart of Midlothian.
The Academy striker, top scorer for our title-winning Under-21s last term with 32 goals in all competitions, was introduced as a half-time substitute for Heung-Min Son at Tynecastle Park and wasted no time in doing what he does best – finding the back of the net in clinical fashion.
Latching onto Djed Spence’s through ball on 55 minutes, he turned in the box and swept low into the net to restore our lead after Hearts’ Lawrence Shankland had cancelled out Brennan Johnson’s opener. We subsequently pushed on to secure a 5-1 victory in our first pre-season outing of the summer.
For Will, who also netted twice in last weekend’s 3-2 victory for our Under-21s at Enfield Town, it was a real thrill to come on and make an impact at senior level.
I’ve grown up watching a lot of these players on TV and now being able to play with them, it was a massive learning experience.
“It’s an amazing feeling, a really proud moment and hopefully the first of many,” he smiled. “All week I’ve been working on that and I knew I just had to take the chance, take my opportunity. The ball came in and I had nothing else on my mind other than to score.”
Wednesday night’s clash in Scotland wasn’t Will’s first taste of senior action for us – he made a cameo appearance off the bench in our post-World Cup friendly against OGC Nice at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as we geared up for the return of Premier League action in December, 2022. Nevertheless, he was thankful for the chance afforded to him by Ange Postecoglou.
“Playing for the first team is an amazing experience for me,” he continued. “I’ve grown up watching a lot of these players on TV and now being able to play with them, it was a massive learning experience and I really enjoyed it.
“The game was really good. The team has been amazing and we’ll look to build on this now and keep going.”
Will also had words of praise for 16-year-old Mikey Moore, who also netted his first senior goal during Wednesday’s game, leading to a chance for the young duo to celebrate together in front of a vocal away end.
“I was really happy for Mikey,” he said. “Everyone knows how talented he is, he works hard and he really deserves it.”
