Former Scotland striker David Goodwillie recently hit his 100th goal for League One Clyde and admits that once he realised he was close to hitting the landmark he was “hungry” to get there – sparking a run of form that has culminated in 11 goals in 12 games this season.
Goodwillie is only the eighth player to hit treble figures for Clyde and is just short of halfway to reaching the club’s all-time goalscoring record of 209.
Goodwillie in action in the Premier League for Blackburn (Photo by Scott Heavey/Getty Images)
While off-field issues and a disastrous move to Blackburn Rovers saw the striker fail to fulfil the potential many saw in him, Goodwillie has carved out a solid career at the Bully Wee since returning to Scottish football.
“It wasn’t something I had thought about when I first started with Clyde but the goals have kept flowing,” Goodwillie said [Clyde].
I didn’t have a clue I was close to 100 until a few games before after someone told me I was on 96. That made me quite hungry to get to the landmark and I got there quicker than I thought. Unfortunately, the two goals at Peterhead meant nothing as we lost, and I probably should have scored another!”
“My favourite goal for the club was probably the second one against Alloa Athletic. I felt like I was going nowhere in the last minute and I just tried something, thinking it might not work and there are just seconds to go but it’s came off and we got the win. The opener against Queen’s Park recently was good as well and my third against Stranraer in the 6-1 game is also up there… there have been a few good ones, to be honest!”
Although it is far removed from the days when he was playing in the Premier League and representing his country, Goodwillie admits that he took his career for granted a bit.
As Scotland prepare to face Israel at Hampden tonight, Goodwillie is approaching the ten-year anniversary of his goal against then World and European champions Spain and the striker admits that he expected more of the same as his career progressed – wryly joking he can always tell his grandkids about the time he scored against Spain.
“I probably took my career a bit for granted at that point. I didn’t really think too much about it at the time and assumed it was just a normal thing for me. I always thought in my mind there would be more but unfortunately for me, there wasn’t, but when I look back now I can always tell my kids and grandkids I scored against the European and World Champions. And they’ll probably turn round and say ‘Calm down, it was only a penalty'”.
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