Oliver: Chippenham brace 'a weight off my shoulders'

Bagging a brace in Sunday's FA Cup victory at Chippenham Town lifted a weight from the shoulders of striker Vadaine Oliver, who was relieved to finally open his account for the club.
Vadaine Oliver rose high to head home Nicky Adams' cross and score his first goal for the Cobblers on Sunday. Picture: Pete NortonVadaine Oliver rose high to head home Nicky Adams' cross and score his first goal for the Cobblers on Sunday. Picture: Pete Norton
Vadaine Oliver rose high to head home Nicky Adams' cross and score his first goal for the Cobblers on Sunday. Picture: Pete Norton

The 28-year-old forward, who joined from Morecambe in the summer, had started just two games in all competitions prior to Sunday's trip to the non-league Bluebirds.

But he grasped a rare opportunity with both hands at Hardenhuish Park, nodding home his first Cobblers goal after 25 minutes before reacting quickly to turn in Paul Anderson's miscued volley and double his tally in first-half stoppage-time.

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"I had the one at the start of the game which came off the crossbar and at one point I feared it might be one of those days," said Oliver, who missed the first few weeks of the season through injury.

"But we kept going and the first one was a bit of a weight off my shoulders to be honest and then the I got the second. Ando had the volley and I just had to react and those are the goals you want.

"It's obviously been hard for me, coming off the bench and trying to get into games, but I made my contribution on Sunday and getting off the mark is a real positive for me."

With Harry Smith on target earlier in the game, Oliver's double at Chippenham helped Cobblers make smooth progress into round two of the world's oldest cup competition.

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"They huffed and puffed a bit and fair play to them because they did have a go, especially second-half, but our quality showed and we were the better side," added Oliver. "It was a good performance all-round.

"In the second-half, with us going up the hill and them coming down, they had a lot of momentum and had a real good go.

"It was more of a defensive output from us and the likes of Chaz, Charlie and Scotty were unbelievable to keep a clean sheet. They showed their class and it's important to keep a clean sheet.

"We've all got to play our part. It's not just defenders, the midfielders have got to do a job defensively and so have the strikers and it's important we all do that. It was a fantastic all-round performance."

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