Motherwell striker on how he's working 'smarter' as he welcomes weekend chaos to spark a double
The Motherwell striker had a weekend to savour against Dundee United.
Apostolos Stamatelopoulos says he’s getting to grips with the Scottish game after embracing the chaos of Motherwell’s latest win.
The Australian international arrived in the summer from Newcastle Jets but has had a stop-start time in ML1 so far due to injury and then building up match sharpness. He turned his best Motherwell performance yet at the weekend in a 4-3 Premiership success vs Dundee United.
‘AP’ netted twice and set up Tom Sparrow’s winner during an eye-catching display. He is now running with more purpose in matches as he opened up on the seven-goal thriller. He said: “I've come off a few times in the 60th, 70th minute, because I wasn't really used to the pace of the game here.
"But I feel like, as I accumulate more games, I'm getting more and more used to it and running a bit smarter. There was a lot of chaos in that one, but it was good to get the win and the three points. These types of games are extremely enjoyable to play in.
"As a striker, when you're getting a lot of chances on goal and shots on goal, it's the best type of game for us. On the flip side, it's a lot more work because it's end to end, and you're running a lot more.
"It died out a little bit towards the end, but yeah, it was very enjoyable. It was a game where I had multiple chances, and I feel that if I get chances I'll score goals. I mean it's my job to score goals and help the team get results like this.
"In that regard, I felt like I should maybe even have had a hat-trick and relieved a bit of pressure towards the end, taken away that chaos. We should have been a little bit more comfortable, but the more chances that I get, the more times the ball goes in the back of the net, for sure."
Victory took Motherwell above United and into fourth ahead of a Friday night clash with Kilmarnock in the Premiership this week. Stamatelopoulos added: "That was our target before this game. We all knew it was a very important game, so we're extremely happy."