It may have gone largely unnoticed, but prior to Saturday’s 3-0 win at Charlton, Freddie Sears had gone 11 games without a goal.
That dry spell came to an end just before the break at The Valley as the forward’s shot found the net, via a deflection off Patrick Bauer, with his fifth of the season ending a goalless run which dated back to the Blues’ 5-1 humbling at Reading on September 11.
During that time much of the scrutiny had been on team-mate Daryl Murphy, who took 15 games to get off the mark having won the Championship golden boot last season, while Sears has largely been operating from a slightly unfamiliar wide left position in recent weeks.
The former Colchester man’s lack of goals has been largely overlooked given he’s remained one of the Blues’ big contributors, with his tireless running and unselfish play regularly bringing others into games, but the 26-year-old was delighted to finally grab some of the limelight for himself.
He said: “I’ve been looking for it for a few weeks although I’ve been playing a little deeper, which can sometimes make it harder to get involved, but I’m delighted to get on the scoresheet and most importantly get the win as well.
“Obviously as a striker you always want to get the next goal, I started the season so well and was four in six and then went while without scoring. I was getting the chances, though and if you’re not getting the chances, that’s when it starts to get on your mind.
“I don’t mind it (playing wide) it’s a wide left trying to get forward rather than a normal wide left. The gaffer’s given me a bit more of a licence out there and it’s not as if I have to stay in my position.
“I’ve been roaming everywhere which has been good for me and Pitts (Brett Pitman) and Murph have been doing a job up there which is great.”
Sears knows things can change quickly and only has to look as far as Murphy to see how a single goal can be the start of a prolific run.
“You just have to look at Murph, he didn’t score in a long time and now he’s six in three,” he said.
“That just shows how things turn around, we’ve got good strikers here and players who can score goals.
“Even before his goals Murph was playing well, but he’s back to the old Daryl Murphy from last season.
“He had a tough start and picked up a few injuries and when you’re chasing a goal it can be hard. In training, with TC (Terry Connor), he does a lot of work and the boys are putting the ball in the back of the net.
“There’s a lot of confidence around the place at the moment.”
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