FC St. Pauli

Connor Metcalfe on…

...scoring twice in the last two matches: "I can't remember the last time I did that. I was quite young, maybe Under-15s? It doesn't happen very often for me, so I'm pretty happy. It's just a bit surprising really. Maybe it's because I'm in this new position higher up the field, which means I get more chances to shoot. When I scored the second goal, I had to go and ask the referee if there was VAR coming or something like that."

...the significance of his goals and his new attacking role: "Fabian came to me and said he saw me playing higher up the field and on the right. I was a bit shocked at first and it took me some time to get used to the new position, but I feel like I'm finally adapting well. The main thing is that we win as a team, but obviously the goals give me more confidence to shoot."

...the effort involved in making 500 runs every game, as Eric Smith put it: "It's definitely worth all the running to be able to celebrate a goal at the Millerntor!"

...his decision to join FC St. Pauli and the role played by Jackson Irvine: "He was a big factor in the decision for me to come here. He told me all about the club and the city. Jackson wasn't here for the first two or three weeks when I arrived, so I had to settle in on my own. I definitely think I'm more settled now. We have a lot of English-speaking players in the team, which makes it really easy for me. I'm enjoying coming in here [to training] every day and being with the boys on the pitch."

...the Australian national team and what he misses most about Australia: "At the moment I'm missing the weather and my family. I haven’t heard from [Australia coach] Graham Arnold, but I have received some messages from some of the other staff, so it's recognised in Australia what I'm doing here. The two goals were important. Hopefully they'll give me an opportunity to get back into the team."

...the great start to the second half: "It's very important. Before these three games, we knew where we were and we knew we had to win games no matter what. We're on a bit of a run at the moment. We have to take it game by game, focus on whoever we're playing next and play to our strengths, as well as being tactically aware and strong at the back. Things are going so well because there's been a change in mentality in the team. We're more aggressive off the ball. And it's working, we're getting results."

...the racist abuse aimed at Maurides Roque Junior and Oladapo Afolayan: "To be honest I didn't even know Dapo had received messages, only Mauri and his wife. Mauri handled it well and didn't take the abuse too seriously. It's not right, it's 2023. It's time to move on, there's no time for any more racism. Big respect to Kaiserslautern, who apologised on behalf of those fans."

Photos: FC St. Pauli/Witters