Crusaders striker Adam Lecky quipped that he should draw Terry Butcher comparisons - sort of - after his goal scoring heroics against Larne.
Lecky required two staples in a painful head wound sustained in an aerial challenge in the second half of Saturday’s 1-0 win at Seaview.
And afterwards the 30-year-old, who bagged the winner, likened himself to former England captain Butcher who played on with a blood stained shirt in a World Cup qualifier in 1989.
The iconic photograph of Butcher - who required seven stitches in a serious head gash during a scoreless draw with Sweden in Stockholm - went down in football folklore.
And the gruesome image popped into Lecky’s mind when reporters jokingly suggested he had been a “warrior” for playing on with a couple of staples at the weekend.
“Yeah, Terry Butcher here,” he chuckled. “No, it was grand. I had to get a couple of staples put in with a staple gun on the pitch and it wasn’t too painful.
“I actually had staples put in last year when I got smacked in the face up at Coleraine, so I’m maybe making a bit of a habit of it now.”
As well as two staples, Lecky left Seaview with a first league goal of the campaign; taking his early season tally to four following a midweek hat-trick against Moyola Park in the League Cup.
The towering forward, who scored seven goals in his maiden campaign with the Crues last time out, is eager to add more goals to his armoury in the weeks and months ahead.
“It’s something I feel like I probably could improve on is scoring more goals,” said Lecky who scored 21 goals in 68 appearances for former club Ballymena United.
“I’ve been trying to get in and around the six yard box a bit more - that’s where a lot of goals are scored - so I was happy to get one in there against Larne.”
Lecky was gifted his early winner against the Inver Reds, heading home from point blank range from a move and Billy Joe Burns cross that caught the visiting defence napping.
“It felt like it took half an hour for the ball to come across,” said Lecky. “When you know you’ve got a tap-in and it’s coming towards you, you’re thinking ‘don’t mess this up’.
“I’m glad it went in and I am keen to hit the box a lot more and add to my tally. I’m trying to work on ensuring I’m in there every time and also work on my sharpness and fitness.
“It’s paid off this week and hopefully I can keep it going. Hopefully I can take a bit of confidence from the goals I’ve scored in the past week and add to them.”
