Millwall’s George Evans on scoring with weaker foot against Birmingham

George Evans reckons that his emphatic finish in Millwall’s 3-1 win over Birmingham City is his best goal in the last six years.

The 26-year-old midfielder marked his return to the starting line-up by finding the top left corner of the net.

Evans’ top strike came when he was a 20-year-old on Manchester City’s books. He bent a 25-yard shot into the top corner against Toronto during a post-season tour of Canada.

But that spectacular hit came on his stronger right foot. In SE16 he emphatically beat Neil Etheridge with his weaker left.

“Sometimes you concentrate a bit more in that situation and it was definitely the case then,” Evans told the South London Press. “It fell nicely, going across my body, and I caught it sweetly, so I knew it had a chance. It leaves your foot and then you hear the crowd roar, it’s sort of a blur after that.

“It’s one of the best goals I have scored for a while, certainly since I’ve been at Derby and Millwall. Adding more goals to my game is definitely something I want to do because it will make my performances better and cement my place in the team as a number one.

“It was one of the best games we have played this season. The quality in behind for the front three was a lot better. We like to get the ball forward quickly and excite the fans but I felt we hit those areas with more quality.

“The front three were a right handful the whole game. They won everything, they held the ball up and brought the lads up the pitch. It was a big difference for us.

“We know the ability they have got – we just need to feed them.”

Evans broke his left hand in the 2-1 win at Sheffield United in the middle of October. He stayed on but then pulled his calf in the following match at home to Stoke City.

“We spoke to the specialist about my hand and he advised not to play but I knew I would have started after the Sheff United game so it was something I didn’t want to turn down,” said Evans. “I can’t remember how I did it exactly. I went into a tackle with [John] Fleck and [Ben] Osborn and my hand has either struck someone’s knee or elbow – I remember it cracking straight away.

“We just strapped it up, got a cast made and got on with it. It was only the next night when I tried to get to sleep that it was really throbbing and I knew something wasn’t right.

“It’s a tough one because if it breaks again you’re going to need an operation. Ultimately it’s your hand – you want to avoid falling on it – but you should be able to get through a game of football.

“I wanted to play through the pain and do whatever I could to stay in the side. The lads won in the second half against Stoke and it gave me a bit of a chance over the international break to rest and for my hand to recover. The niggle with my calf might just have been a sign to have a few days off.

“It gave me a chance to get in the gym and strengthen my body. I feel a lot fitter. I went to see the specialist the other day and the bone is healing quite nicely. I’ll have to wear the cast for a couple more weeks, but it’s fine.”

Evans’ midfield partner Billy Mitchell impressed last weekend in his eighth successive 90-minute runout.

“He wants to learn, listen and work,” said Evans. “He’s got a massive future ahead of him.

“You can see complacency in younger players but he wants to keep going. It’s a great trait. He never gets too up or down.”