'Looking ahead, not back': Portsmouth man gunning for more goal-scoring success after triumphant return

Back among the minutes, back among the goals - now fit-again Thomas Waddingham is aiming to pick up where he left off.

The Australian collected a hamstring injury on his maiden Pompey start in April for the trip to Coventry - and didn’t play again that season.

It was a cruel end to a maiden campaign in English football after arriving from Brisbane Roar in January and subsequently netting on his debut at West Brom.

However, Waddingham was handed his second friendly outing tonight against Farnborough and grabbed Pompey’s fourth in a 5-0 success over the National South club.

Now he’s relishing producing more memorable moments with his injury issues well and truly behind him.

The 20-year-old told The News: ‘It was a good little assist for Terry Devlin. I was running in behind and he played me the ball and I finished it with a sidefoot. It was a good one, I‘ve been working on finishing this week.

‘Pre-season has been tough on the legs, but I’m definitely on the right track. It’s good to finally be back now and injury free, so hopefully I can keep that run going.

‘Getting that injury at Coventry was a bit tough. I did my hamstring in the game and adjusting to the pace of football over here was definitely a factor in that happening. It was so frustrating.

‘But I don’t really want to look back at that - I want to keep looking forward.

‘I’m definitely still adjusting to the English game, I am still adapting, still learning because I’m still young. And hopefully there is more to come.’

A haul of four goals in a devastating 19-minute period drove a 5-0 Pompey win against Farnborough in front of a crowd of 2,897.

The Blues were leading 1-0 at half-time through Zak Swanson’s 13th-minute goal, with John Mousinho then making 11 substitutions, as he did at Woking the previous night.

That introduced Waddingham into attack and he was part of an impressive second-half showing from the Blues, with Harry Clout, Marlon Pack and Josh Murphy joining Waddingham on the scoresheet.

With Colby Bishop currently missing through an ankle injury and unlikely to return in time for Crawley on Saturday, the 20-year-old is the first-team’s sole centre-forward.

But he’s enjoying the involvement, particularly working with compatriot Adrian Segecic, who has impressed during his early days at Fratton Park.

Waddingham added: ‘I have learnt a lot from Colby, especially, since I have been here. That will definitely help my game.

‘I’m aiming for more minutes this season but, the focus as a team, is to push on and win as many games as possible.’

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