‘I need to be careful’ – Charlton’s Alfie May on yellow card peril and ‘massive’ win over Fleetwood Town
Charlton striker Alfie May has admitted he “needs to be careful” after being just one yellow card away from a suspension.
The 30-year-old scored twice for the Addicks on Saturday as they defeated Fleetwood Town 2-1 at The Valley.
May has netted in three successive League One matches and has four goals since his transfer from Cheltenham Town in the summer.
Referee Carl Brook cautioned him for his reaction after scoring a 73rd-minute penalty, the number nine making comments to Cod Army keeper Stephen McMullen.
“He (McMullen) was saying a few things,” May told BBC London. “He said I was going down the middle and I said: ‘Yeah’. I went down the middle and he dived. I probably shouldn’t have reacted how I did. He’s a young lad and I think it was his debut – but emotions do get on top of you when you score and go 2-1 up, there is no better feeling.
“I need to be careful now because I’m on four yellows.”
May’s finishing ensured that interim manager Jason Pearce started with a win and ended a run of five straight losses in all competitions.
“The main thing we took from the game was that we don’t leave without three points,” said May. “It was a positive result and a great reaction from the lads (to going behind). It picked the crowd up to be that 12th man. The three points are massive.
“I don’t think the performances have been bad. We had one bad 45 minutes at Oxford in the first half. We’ve been very, very close.
“We made new signings on Friday and we go into Monday and build for Crawley on Tuesday. Then we get a little break, we probably wanted a game on the back (of winning against Fleetwood) to build that momentum. We do this job for a living – we want to play football.”
May was a key transfer target for Dean Holden, sacked by Charlton last weekend.
“It’s a sad day when the manager goes,” he said. “Especially for players that the gaffer brought in.
“It’s a shame really because we’re the players on the pitch but unfortunately it is the manager who loses out, it’s not nice at all. You feel sorry but you have to go again. On Monday we turned up for training as normal and prepared for Fleetwood.”
PICTURES: PAUL EDWARDS