Match reaction from Vadaine Oliver following victory at Swindon.
It is a testament to the relentless hunger for goals that marksman Vadaine Oliver’s has when he entered the dressing room “fuming” despite netting twice in Gillingham’s 3-1 win over Swindon on Saturday.
Yet again, the predatory instincts of Oliver came to the fore as the in-form striker powered in his sixth goal in five games and his 14th for the season, but the unsatisfied player complained: “I should have had a hat-trick."
Big V’s first goal couldn’t have been simpler, nodding home into an empty net after John Akinde’s effort had struck the bar.
His second, however, was a thing of beauty, combining the perfect blend of speed, power and vision. Latching on to a loose ball, he showed explosive pace before carefully firing the ball in off the post from outside the box, all from the tightest of angles.
Speaking to the local press via Zoom after the game, he said: “I am riding the wave, thankfully things are dropping for me. On a personal note, it’s great to get a couple of goals. I took a bit of a whack in the nose for the first one with a boot to the face, but that’s what you do, you put your body in where it hurts and get the rewards.
“The second was a mishap between the back four. I’ve seen the keeper rushing out but I knew I would get there before him. Thankfully the defender didn’t read it and I was able to get to the side and when you are full of confidence, the angle isn’t an issue. I knew if I hit the target it would go in, and it did.”
Oliver nearly got a third but was unable to make a connection with Kyle Dempsey’s free-kick, which sailed into the net from 20 yards. He then powerfully headed over from close range, when most would have backed the striker to have made it 4-1.
“I’m fuming,” lamented Oliver. “It was one of those where I’ve put too much power on it. I’ve gone into the dressing room fuming because I should have had a hat-trick. Thankfully it didn’t affect the result. Nine times out of ten, I head that down and come away with the match ball.
“Credit it to the boys, they dug in today and in the second half we showed what we are about. The guys coming off the bench made a massive difference. This is the kind of form we need to take into every game now until the end of the season. I said it before the game, when we are on the front foot, we can beat anyone at this level.”
With the quick turnaround of fixtures, the popular forward won’t have to wait too long until his next chance to add another strike to his tally. Gillingham travel to high-flying Lincoln City to complete their trilogy of away games in only eight days.
Oliver said: “Lincoln is going to be a hard one. We will go into it with the confidence that we have come away with from today. We can cause them problems. Just because they are second in the league doesn’t mean that they can’t be beat. We will go there and give it everything.
“This team is showing a lot of fight. We have a chance and we don’t want to miss this opportunity.”