JAMILLE Matt doesn’t care if he or strike partner Padraig Amond finish as top scorer this season, insisting a play-off push for Newport County AFC is far more important.
Matt’s double at Notts County on Tuesday night came at a price as he lost a tooth thanks to a stray elbow, but he took his goal tally to 17 for the season and then crossed for Amond to head in his 20th of the campaign.
The Exiles romped to a 4-1 win at Meadow Lane to move within six points of seventh place with a game in hand and Matt says he and Amond are focusing on firing the team up the table.
“We’re both strikers that like to get in the box and when chances come, we’re sticking them away,” said Matt.
“We’re probably both disappointed not to have more, to be honest, but it’s been a fruitful season for both of us.
“It’s not finished yet, though, and we need to keep adding to our tallies.
“There’s no competition between us,” he added. “Every time one of us scores we congratulate each other and we’re genuinely happy for each other because we know that if we’re both scoring, we’re in a successful team.
“It’ll be a good accolade for whoever finishes top scorer at the end of the season, but we’d rather be up the table than looking at that.”
Tuesday’s win was County’s first on the road in League Two since September and Matt admits it was overdue.
“It’s always nice to get a couple of goals but it’s even more pleasing to get the win,” said the 29-year-old.
“We hadn’t won away for quite a while and, with the quality we’ve got in this dressing room, that was something we needed to put right. We’ve done that.
“It might have surprised a few outside the dressing room, but we know the quality we’ve got here and we know the character of the boys.
“In the last few [league] games we’ve created quite a lot of chances so it was always coming for us to score a few goals and it was pleasing to do that.
“And it’s been a little while – a bit longer than I would have wanted – since my last goal so it’s pleasing to get a couple.
“I was definitely fancying a hat-trick, but I can’t complain too much.
“It could have been more but we’ve got four goals away from home so we can’t be too disappointed by that.”
Is a top-seven finish realistic for Michael Flynn’ men?
“I think we’ve just got to take each game as it comes,” said Matt.
“We’ve got to go to MK Dons on Saturday, which won’t be an easy game.
“It’s going to be a tough task. They’re up there in the table on merit and we’re under no illusions about the task ahead of us."
The Milton Keynes side won 1-0 at Rodney Parade last week, despite County hitting the woodwork four times.
“They beat us at our place but we should have beaten them with the chances we created," he added.
“We’ll be looking to put in another good performance first of all. And if we do that, I’m sure we will get another good result.
“I’m sure they won’t be looking forward to facing us again.”
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