mawspurs
09-08-2007, 05:47 PM
Source: Official Site
The omens are good for Darren Bent as he prepares to travel for Sunderland for our Barclays Premier League opener on Saturday.
Our big summer capture made exactly the same journey on the first day of the 2005-06 season and marked his debut for Charlton with two goals as the Robins rocked the Stadium of Light.
Darren scored after 11 minutes and in injury time as Charlton won 3-1 in front of 35,000 on Wearside.
"I remember the first goal as I had a shot but got another bite of it off the defender and finished," he recalled. "The second was a punt upfield in the 91st minute, I managed to get on the end of it, get past a defender and smash it into the corner. That was a fantastic debut for me, brilliant."
Naturally, Darren would take a repeat performance but expects the home side to come out flying in their first Premier League fixture under Roy Keane, the legendary former Manchester United midfielder who took the Black Cats up as champions from the Coca-Cola Championship in his first season in charge.
"They are a big club with a passionate support and a strong squad and they're coming off the back of a successful season," added the striker. "We expect them to be in our faces and make it difficult for us to play. It's certainly a tricky one to start with but we have to be confident."
Like all our strikers, Darren has been amongst the goals in pre-season and reserved a special mention for the reception he received from the fans in our final friendly against Torino at the Lane on Saturday. He joined fellow newcomers Kevin-Prince Boateng, Gareth Bale and Younes Kaboul for a welcome on the pitch before the game before having a header cleared off the line after appearing off the bench in the second half.
"The reception was great, extra special," he beamed. "The fans showed me a lot of love and I really appreciated it. The fans are so passionate about the club and even when I played for Charlton at White Hart Lane, you could sense that."
The omens are good for Darren Bent as he prepares to travel for Sunderland for our Barclays Premier League opener on Saturday.
Our big summer capture made exactly the same journey on the first day of the 2005-06 season and marked his debut for Charlton with two goals as the Robins rocked the Stadium of Light.
Darren scored after 11 minutes and in injury time as Charlton won 3-1 in front of 35,000 on Wearside.
"I remember the first goal as I had a shot but got another bite of it off the defender and finished," he recalled. "The second was a punt upfield in the 91st minute, I managed to get on the end of it, get past a defender and smash it into the corner. That was a fantastic debut for me, brilliant."
Naturally, Darren would take a repeat performance but expects the home side to come out flying in their first Premier League fixture under Roy Keane, the legendary former Manchester United midfielder who took the Black Cats up as champions from the Coca-Cola Championship in his first season in charge.
"They are a big club with a passionate support and a strong squad and they're coming off the back of a successful season," added the striker. "We expect them to be in our faces and make it difficult for us to play. It's certainly a tricky one to start with but we have to be confident."
Like all our strikers, Darren has been amongst the goals in pre-season and reserved a special mention for the reception he received from the fans in our final friendly against Torino at the Lane on Saturday. He joined fellow newcomers Kevin-Prince Boateng, Gareth Bale and Younes Kaboul for a welcome on the pitch before the game before having a header cleared off the line after appearing off the bench in the second half.
"The reception was great, extra special," he beamed. "The fans showed me a lot of love and I really appreciated it. The fans are so passionate about the club and even when I played for Charlton at White Hart Lane, you could sense that."