Egan’s got one but he wants another.
At one end of the field, John Egan has been a rock of consistency, venom and leadership for Sheffield United this whole Premier League season; at the other, he’s been knocking on the door.
On Sunday, the Cork man finally knocked the door down as he scored his first ever Premier League goal to save a point for the Blades in their clash with Burnley at Turf Moor.
Egan got in on the scoring and he did it in style with a precise and powerful volley to the top corner of a helpless Nick Pope’s net. While worth the wait, the centre half admitted to Sheffield United TV that he could and probably should have had a couple of more goals to his name throughout the course of this season and indeed, throughout the course of this game where he had more shots on goal than any other player on the field.
“I should have scored in the first half too,” he says.
“I just kept plugging away then. But, that’s been the story of my season so far, the gaffer, he’s been hammering me to get goals. Now that I’ve got one, hopefully I can get a few more because I’ve definitely had a few chances this season!”
But with the shackles now off, it would take a brave punter to bet against Egan adding further to his tally with his technical attributes as good as any centre half in the League.
"RIFLED HOME BY EGAN!"
What a finish by the Irishman ☘️ 👏pic.twitter.com/ByWgRc8POR
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) July 5, 2020
“When I used to play Gaelic football, it’s probably the last time I hit one like that. I just timed the run nice and I suppose it was a nice finish…”
“Touch wood, we’ll see a few more. The gaffer says I should have ten, it’s something I need to add to my game but yeah, delighted to get off the mark.”
"The Skipper's done well, flicked the ball on and I just timed the run nice, and I suppose it was a nice finish."
John Egan on his leveller and a point at Turf Moor 👇 pic.twitter.com/DLHLIQjBnY
— Sheffield United (@SheffieldUnited) July 5, 2020
The late John senior, a gifted attacker on the great Kerry team of the 70s and 80s, would have been proud of a finish like that one and there’s no doubt about it, that this 27-year-old has learned from the best.
“I remember when John was very very small, he might have been only five or six. Seeing John senior and John junior and a tennis racket, golf club, rugby ball, soccer ball and a Gaelic football all inside in a bag. And I said, ‘where are ye off to?’ They said we’re kicking around and we’ll try this and we’ll try the other,” said family friend Brian Cuthbert once.
All that practice is paying off now.
Learned from the best 👆 pic.twitter.com/mRXRm2v1Pq
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) July 5, 2020
