Matheus Machado hopes his weekend goal will be the first of many as he seeks to kick his career on at Elgin City next season.
The 20-year-old Brazilian attacking midfielder signed a new one-year contract at the Moray club on Friday then netted the opener in a 5-0 pre-season win at Highland League hosts Clach 24 hours later.
The former Caley Thistle starlet is finding his feet in the senior game and clearly values to words of advice and encouragement from manager Gavin Price.
He said: “I was absolutely delighted to have scored on Saturday. It was a great way to start pre-season, to get back on the scoresheet again.
“It was great for the team as well – it was a great win, so we want to keep it going.
“I was at Elgin last season and I really enjoyed training and all the boys were really nice and the gaffer has given me confidence.
“I want to stay confident, keep working hard and hopefully get my chances.”
Promotion goals set from day one
Machado made 19 appearances for Elgin after signing for the League Two men last August, but he’s determined to get more minutes on the pitch and to nail down a place in the side.
He said: “The main target for me is to get more game time and see what happens.
“We have a strong squad and we have maintained quite a lot of players.
GOAL MACHADO 1-0 City pic.twitter.com/ykASyFpgAs
— Elgin City F.C. (@ElginCityFC) June 18, 2022
“I thought we had a good squad last season, but it didn’t go really well for us (by finishing ninth), but hopefully we have a good chance of getting into the top four next year.
“League 2 is really competitive. All the teams are so closely matched. It was good to see the fixtures come out on Friday, so we’re looking forward to it.”
Elgin kick off their League 2 campaign against East Fife on July 30, the side who dropped down from League 1 by finishing bottom of the table.
City’s first competitive game of the season will be away to Championship team Ayr United on July 9 in the Premier Sports Cup.
Improvement made over first season
Machado has family in the north of Scotland, so when the chance to join Elgin arose last year, he took it after being with Portuguese second-tier side Rio Eva B.
The forward-thinking player explained how Price, in less than a year, has helped him improve his overall play.
He added: “It was complicated as it was my first season of playing pro football. I am an attacking player and I feel I learned a lot about defending –the gaffer helped with that.
“I gained a lot of experience last year and hopefully next season will be even better for me and the whole squad.”
PRE-SEASON
Next up is Lossiemouth FC tomorrow on the Gleaner Arena. Supporters are welcome.
Then this weekend we host our anniversary tournament at Borough Briggs with Peterhead, Fraserburgh & Inverurie.
Head over to https://t.co/n6KocpLHgv for all the info. pic.twitter.com/ffETettFjy
— Elgin City F.C. (@ElginCityFC) June 20, 2022
Games coming thick and fast for City
Elgin have a bounce game against Highland League opponents Lossiemouth at the Gleaner Arena, Elgin, tomorrow night.
On Sunday and Sunday, they welcome Peterhead from League 1, as well as Highland League champions Fraserburgh and another Highland League side, Inverurie Locos, for a two-day tournament to start the celebrations of the club playing at Borough Briggs for 100 years.
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