GOAL hero Conor Washington is loving life as a Football League striker after firing Newport County AFC to their first away win in League Two.
The 21-year-old former postman has enjoyed a rapid rise up the football pyramid since arriving at Rodney Parade on October 1 last year.
Washington was banging in the goals for St Ives Town in the eighth tier of English football when County boss Justin Edinburgh brought him to Newport.
And the manager’s punt looks like paying off with the striker scoring the first and making the second for Harry Worley in Saturday’s 2-0 win at Exeter City.
Washington admits he can’t quite believe how quickly he has gone from delivering letters to delivering goals in the Football League.
“I’m just really enjoying my football at the moment,” he said. “It’s obviously been a massive step up for me and I’m loving every minute of it.
“It’s nice to turn up and see a nice pitch every week. That always brings a smile to my face because some of the pitches I played on weren’t great!
“And to play in front of a couple of thousand people and score is brilliant.
“The gaffer has shown a lot of faith in me, starting me in the last two games, and I just want to repay that,” he added.
“I was a postman for about a year and I really enjoyed it to be honest but nothing quite beats being a footballer!
“You do look back every so often and think ‘I’ve come a long way’ especially when you score a few goals in the Football League. It’s brilliant.
“I’ve missed a couple over the last few games and it’s one of those you wish for as a striker. It came across and I just put it in.
“As a striker it is always in the back of your mind if you haven’t scored for a couple of games so it was nice to get that goal.”
Washington, who ran himself ragged at St. James’ Park, was too tired to stay up to watch his goal on the BBC’s Football League Show but he was delighted with an overdue three points.
“I’ll probably be asleep by then but I’m sure my mum will watch it and text me about it afterwards,” he said after the final whistle.
“It wasn’t a bad afternoon for me but obviously the most important thing was the three points.
“That’s massive for us and that sort of performance has been coming over the last five or six games.
“We’ve been playing really well, especially against Morecambe.
“We just needed a win and I think the experience of Ismail Yakubu and Tony James coming back helped us see the game out in the last 20 minutes.”
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