Mason Burstow says nothing can top the feeling of euphoria he experienced after scoring his first league goal at The Valley in front of a roaring Covered End.
The 18-year-old fired the Addicks ahead against Fleetwood Town after 53 minutes with his second league goal in three outings - and his fifth of the campaign across all competitions - before fellow academy graduate Albie Morgan added his name to the scoresheet in stoppage-time.
“I feel amazing, to be honest,” Burstow told CharltonTV. “Nothing can really top it. Obviously I scored my first league goal at Crewe, but scoring at home is just a different feeling. It just feels amazing to get the result as well.
“I’ve been watching games at The Valley from a young age, I’ve sat up there [in the Covered End], I’ve been a fan and obviously now I’m playing on the pitch and I’m scoring goals. It feels amazing, and obviously when I’m going around I’m getting a standing ovation it just feels even better.”
“My confidence is sky high, to be honest. I’m just enjoying my football, being with the first-team regularly and playing games. Obviously the gaffer has shown me trust and I’m just enjoying my football.”
The teenager admits his goal was the product of a routine crafted at the club’s Sparrows Lane training ground, Morgan delivering a deep free-kick for the towering Ryan Inniss, who nodded back across goal for the anticipating Burstow to head home.
“It’s something we work on quite a lot in training,” revealed Burstow. “Jason Euell especially just tells me to stay in there because Ryan will win every header, and he did today. Obviously that one was perfect, it just fell to me straight away.
“We lost a few games but now we’re back on track,” added the academy graduate. “We got the draw against Cheltenham in the last game, we got the win against Fleetwood and hopefully we’ll go on a little run now. It wasn’t the prettiest win but we’ll take the three points and we’ll move on.”