"My drought is over": Gilbey's delight at ending goal-less run with Harrogate brace
The MK Dons captain went two months without a goal before his brace against Harrogate
Skipper Alex Gilbey admitted his eight-game goal-less run was playing on his mind prior to his brace against Harrogate on Saturday.
The 31-year-old bagged Dons’ third and fourth goals as he netted number seven and eight of the season at the Exercise Stadium - a happy hunting ground for the midfielder, having also netted on both his previous games there.
His brace two months prior against Fleetwood Town saw him topping the club’s goal-scoring charts this season, but while he failed to find the net in the interim, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing took up the reins before his hamstring injury rules him out until March.
During that period though, Gilbey admitted his lack of goals was starting to play on his mind but his brace takes a weight off his shoulders ahead of Christmas.
“I told the lads my drought is over!” he said afterwards. “I needed the first one to hit the back of the net, it is something I’ve been thinking about a lot. I’m glad it’s over and it’s something I don’t have to worry about any more. It was nice to see the first go in, and the second was even better.
“The second one, I’ve looked up to see where the keeper was, and knew if I could place it in the corner he wouldn’t get there, and thankfully it’s hit the back of the net.
“I’d scored two-in-two here before, so it is nice to be here. There is something about it here that obviously clicks.”
Dons made light work of Harrogate, particularly aided with three goals in 14 minutes apart in the opening half-an-hour in north Yorkshire. Simon Weaver’s side sit in a precarious position, dropping into the relegation zone after Saturday’s defeat, though Gilbey said their league situation was not an excuse for his side to take their eyes off the ball.
He continued: “We knew what we had to do coming here today. League position is irrelevant, we knew it would be tough.
“I’ve been there as a player when you think you’ve got no hope, your back is against the wall, but teams always find something. That first half-an-hour was really important because we could easily have turned up, seeing the league positions thinking this would be an easy game.
“To perform like we did in that first half-an-hour shows what the gaffer can get out of us and what we need to do going into the Christmas period.
“Credit to the group, from back to front we were unbelievable and got what we deserved.”