Zak Rudden says he should have been celebrating a first Dundee hat-trick against Falkirk on Thursday night.
The striker, though, had to make do with a double as he notched goals six and seven of the season.
That moved him to within a goal of top scorer Zach Robinson – and he’s keen to add more.
“It was good to get among the goals again,” Rudden said.
“I should have had three at least. I’m disappointed not to get a hat-trick. But I’ll settle for two.
“I was a wee bit worried when the goalkeeper got his hand to the penalty but happy to see it go in.
“The other goal was a great ball in from Luke McCowan and I just had to get on the end of it.
“Now I just need to keep it going and take it into the league again, starting next week.
“I’m capable of going on a run of scoring regularly, 100%. I’ve shown before I can do it in the Championship.
“If I keep my performance level high, my energy high and get myself into the positions for goal scoring opportunities, then I know I’m capable of finishing them.
“The manager just wants me to work hard and score goals, basically. Keeping it simple.”
Getting stick
Rudden is a striker with just one focus, getting on the scoresheet.
That’s something he did for Falkirk back in 2018/19, netting 12 times in 31 appearances.
Though it didn’t stop the Scotland U/21 international getting some abuse sent his way from the stands as he helped the Dark Blues on their way to a sixth straight win.
“I was getting a bit of stick from the Falkirk fans. I was a bit surprised by it but that’s football,” he added.
“Did I enjoy the goals more because of that? Aye and no.
“I just love scoring goals – it doesn’t matter if it’s in training or in games.”
He added: “It’s a good run we are on but we take it game by game. We have to lift our standards for next week again.
“We definitely look a confident team.”
Injury?
The cotton wool came out late on on Thursday night, too, after Rudden took a knock from a hefty challenge in midfield.
Manager Gary Bowyer wasted no time in taking his striker off with a lengthy list of absentees already causing a headache.
Rudden, though, isn’t worried about it.
“I just took a dead leg near the end and the gaffer took me off to help my recovery. I should be fine,” the striker said.
“We’ve got a few injuries at the moment but we still have a capable squad available.
“I don’t think many of the injured boys are too far away and it will be good to have them back.”
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