Former QPR and Harrogate Town winger delighted to repay management with goals after 'going insane' on the sidelines
Crawley Town midfielder Stephen Duke-McKenna showed Colin Kazim-Richards, and the Reds fans what they have been missing with a stunning two goals and a third ‘own goal’ in the 4-0 defeat of League One side Bromley in the Jersey Mike’s Trophy last night.
The former QPR and St Johnstone player hasn’t played since picking up an injury against Crewe in the opening game of the season. But what an impact he made when he came on as a second half substitute, scoring in the 48th, 51st and 90+1 minutes.
In his post-match interview, Duke-McKenna said: “I was going insane on the sidelines, because you just want to be a part of it and want to give it all and hopefully be that difference to win the game. And today, I was lucky enough to get some goals.”
The performance showed what the team, the manager, and the fans, have been missing with Duke-McKenna’s absence.
And he was full of praise for Kazim-Richards and co. “They have been amazing with me, like trying to get me up to speed as quick as I can, giving me everything,” he said. “So, to go and repay them with that and repay the lads for all the hard work, because obviously, we see it day in, day out. We give everything day in, day out. So, it’s finally nice to get the rewards.”
Duke-McKenna also feels that the international break came at the right time for the club. He said: “I think the international break was massive just to get that reset, because sometimes you get in that rut and the pressure builds and maybe, frustration as well of losing. No like to lose consistently.
"So hopefully now, the break’s done and we can forget about all that and push on.”
Speaking on how the international break was for him, Duke-McKenna said: “It was a bit different for me because I was obviously coming back from injury. Ricky, our SSC, he had me running so much, it felt like abuse at one point.
"But obviously watching after doing my session, the lads were literally levelled up again. And that’s what the gaffer and the staff tried to instil into us. We’ve got to do the hard work before we can show our talent. So, basically doing the bare minimum before we can go and show what we can do. So, I feel like we’ve implemented that now.”