McDonald scores on his dream debut

FORMER DARTFORD hotshot Cody McDonald took just fifteen minutes to score on his Norwich City debut on Tuesday night, writes Stephen McCartney.

The 22-year-old was snapped up by the Championship strugglers for an undisclosed fee on transfer deadline day, and came off the bench to seal a 2-0 victory over Cardiff City at Carrow Road.

Canaries’ boss Bryan Gunn introduced the striker after 75 minutes and in the last minute he latched onto an Alan Gow pass, beat the offside trap to round goalkeeper Dimi Konstantopoulos to slot into an empty net.

“It’s a great honour to play for Norwich,” McDonald told the club's official website www.canaries.co.uk.

McDonald, who scored 19 goals in 17 games for Ryman Premier League side Dartford added, “When I scored, I just felt I was on a different level - it’s something I thought I’d never experience and something that will hopefully keep going.

“I felt I did well, the pace is a lot quicker to what I’ve experienced before, but I’ve been working hard in training and doing well.

“Playing in front of 24,000 people tonight, it’s crazy and I just want to keep doing it - the biggest crowd I’ve played in front of before was 2,000 in my last game for Dartford.

“I played there for three months and then thankfully got picked up by Norwich. It’s something that you never think will happen to you. I’ve been putting a lot of effort into everything football wise and thankfully the gaffer gave me my chance and I want to repay him for that.

“I want this to continue for as long as possible,” said the former scaffolder. “I’m only 22 and I’d like to think I’ve got a good ten years left in me, and hopefully I can keep scoring for Norwich City.”

Gunn, revealed he splashed out £25,000 to land the striker, although the Darts said McDonald joined the Canaries for a larger transfer fee than Dave Martin (who joined Crystal Palace for the same amount).

Gunn, also speaking to www.canaries.co.uk, added, “You’ve got someone like Cody McDonald, a £25,000 signing, he’s been a breath of fresh air at the training ground. A month ago he was putting scaffolding up for a living, and tonight he’s celebrating in the dressing room with players who have played hundreds of games in the Championship.

“It’s a great experience for him, and hopefully we’ll see a lot more from him.”

Quotes courtesy of www.canaries.co.uk