‘I’ve been waiting’: Portsmouth goal hero opens up on achieving life-long dream after West Brom summer switch
John Swift returned to Pompey during the summer after departing West Brom at the end of last season.
John Swift has revealed he’s achieved a life-long dream of scoring for his boyhood club - and it’s one he’s been waiting for.
And the midfielder strongly believes the Blues were unlucky not to come away with the maximum points after a brilliant display against Leicester City on Saturday.
But the strike had a much deeper meaning for Swift, who returned to the club which began his footballing journey, in the summer window.
The Gosport-born talent spent a year in the Blues’ academy aged 11 before going to feature for Chelsea at youth level as well as Reading and West Brom.
John Swift on achieving career dream
And for the midfielder, who has a life-long love for Pompey, it’s a dream come true and was full of emotion as he embraced the travelling Fratton faithful at the King Power Stadium.
He said: ‘It’s a massive goal for me - especially as it was on the side of the fans as well.
‘It’s a big goal. I’ve been waiting for it.
‘I would’ve loved my first goal to be at home with my family watching but it’s been great for my family to hop on the ferry and come watch me. Being close to my family and being able to live with something is something I’ve wanted to do in my career. It’s been great.
‘We’ve had a good start but ultimately it’s about the league and about the points. It’s been a good start, beating some good teams and some really good performances like the second half against Leicester.
View from dressing room after Leicester draw
‘It was a great feeling. The little bit of play was good as well. Just to score in front of them was amazing and to go over and celebrate in front of them at the end with the point is a great feeling.’
Despite a frustrating opening 20 minutes, which saw Leicester take the lead in controversial circumstances through Aaron Ramsey, Pompey responded superbly in the second half and had chances to snatch the three points.
And although Swift is disappointed not to find a winner, the midfielder was proud of the character shown by his time-mates after the break.
‘We were probably disappointed for the first 15/20 minutes but I think once we got the press sorted we were a lot more comfortable.
‘We were unlucky to concede but once we got the press sorted we came out in the second half and were the better team for the majority of it,.
‘We managed to get the goal and then hung on a bit at the end but overall it’s a good performance and a good point.
‘(John Mousinho said at half time) to just be more braver. We didn’t show much composure - especially in the first 20 minutes. Everytime we won the ball, we seemed to go a bit longer or playing back passes which they pressed.
‘Just be braver and win the ball back, which we did. The goal came from Chaps (Conor Chaplin) winning it on the edge of the box and then just showing composure to play out, get the ball forward and ultimate;y that’s where the chance came from.’