Charlton striker Lyle Taylor has praise for Aston Villa loanee – and reveals his only fitness struggles in win over Barnsley
Lyle Taylor piled praise on Andre Green for his display in Charlton’s 2-1 win over Barnsley – starring despite the loss of his grandad earlier in the week.
The Aston Villa loanee scored the second goal for the Addicks in SE7.
Taylor had put Charlton 1-0 ahead with his eighth strike of the campaign but revealed afterwards that he was physically struggling.
“For 45 minutes, or as long as my legs were holding out, me and Dre were a real handful,” said Taylor.
“I have to heap praise on him. He’s had a tough week with family stuff.
“For him to turn up and do what he did today – you could see what that goal meant to him.”
Taylor has only just returned from a thigh problem and also missed a sigificant chunk of the campaign with knee ligament damage.
“I just need to get fitter,” he said. “I started cramping just before half-time, minor little cramps, but after half-time my legs were going – I couldn’t sustain that level of effort.
“Dre did a lot of my running. He deserved to get the three points and definitely deserved the goal.”
Taylor finished from close range after Jason Pearce headed down Josh Cullen’s free-kick.
“It’s a poacher’s goal,” said the former AFC Wimbledon and Millwall forward. “It’s a striker’s goal. It’s always nice striking the ball in the top corner from 25 yards but the ones from five, six, seven or eight yards, they are the nice ones.
“You have to be in the right place at the right time. It’s a ball in the box, you hope someone gets up and wins the first one and then I stuck it beyond the keeper. You ask questions if you’re onside or offside later.”
Taylor gave the Barnsley fans a wave when he came off in the second half.
He also cupped his ears towards them in the first period while waiting for a Charlton corner to come in.
“I thought they loved me by the end of the game,” said Taylor. “The more they scream, shout and boo the harder I’m going to go.
“How they didn’t get one of their players sent off I really don’t know. The referee was a little bit reticent to send him off [after already issuing a booking] and then two minutes later he books the other one.
“But that’s one [win] ticked off and we now prepare for next weekend. I don’t look at the table or who we’re playing next – it’s just the next game, the next game. That’s no disrespect to anyone in this league, it’s just how I go into it.”
Taylor was quick to praise the home support with an attendance of more than 19,000 at The Valley.
“They help us in our lulls in performances during the 90 minutes, knowing that wall behind the goal are screaming, shouting and urging us on.”
PICTURES BY PAUL EDWARDS