Preston North End striker Seanie Maguire has said that scoring a brace in the club’s 3-1 win over Bolton on Saturday was the best moment of his promising football career.
The Ireland striker has not played in the Championship since Preston’s 2-0 loss to Aston Villa at the start of November, but returned on Saturday with two goals after coming off the bench as a second-half substitute.
Maguire replaced Billy Bodin in the 65th minute and made an immediate impact as he steered a near post cross into the back of the net to give Preston the lead in the 77th minute, before then sealing the win in injury time after pouncing on a deflected shot to blast the ball home from close range.
Sensational return for Seanie https://t.co/zCXfMIbu7n
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) March 3, 2018
The former Cork City forward said that he was delighted to contribute to the win and that it was great to get back out on the pitch after spending the last four months sidelined with a hamstring injury.
“You can’t write this stuff,” Maguire told the Preston North End website.
“To even be back involved with four thousand fans singing your name in a big game derby game that you have to win and to contribute to that and score two goals, it’s the best feeling I’ve had in football.
“Being out for four months and being frustrated a lot of the time coming in knowing you’re not going to be involved and in the matchday squad so to be back here today and to be involved was great.
“Coming on did a lot for my confidence but to score my first brace for the club is the best feeling in my football career.
“The first day I got injured, I went to the physio myself and said this is the game I want to be back for, and that’s a lot of credit to him.
“I felt good today and I felt sharp coming on. We’ve a lot of big games coming up now and by this time next week, we’ll have everybody back fit and Darnell back from injury.”
Maguire added that he had burst into tears after he found out that his injured hamstring would need surgery, while he stressed that it was hard for him to put into words what it meant for him to get back out on the pitch.
“When you’re playing you don’t really think about injuries, and I never thought I’d get an injury like that so it was a funny one,” Maguire added.
“I played two game with it, and when I got the scan and Jacko told me, I broke down in tears. It’s been tough, but everybody close to me has been great to me.
“I just can’t put into words how good that felt today, but we won’t get too excited yet. We’ll enjoy today but get back into training to get sharper and fit because it’s a big 11 games for the club because we want to get into those Play-Offs.”
