JAMES Brown may have missed
almost two months of football,
but it didn't take long for the
Hartlepool United striker to get
back into the groove.
After suffering a knee injury in
the win over Luton on February
2, Brown had to wait until last
Saturday for his first-team return.
And, within minutes of his second-
half substitute appearance
at Crewe, he was setting up strike
partner Joel Porter.
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On Monday, Porter returned
the favour against Yeovil as
Brown drilled in his 12th goal of
an impressive campaign.
The pair, in the absence of
Richard Barker, will start up
front this afternoon against
Swansea at Victoria Park and
Brown knows he will get better
with more games on his return
from injury.
"I was shattered, absolutely
shattered, on Monday,'' he admitted.
"Coming back from a sixweeker
I played 90 minutes for
the reserves, which I wasn't expecting,
30-odd minutes last Saturday
and 70 minutes or so on
Monday.
"I felt it on Monday, but I'm
sure I will feel the benefits in the
games ahead and we had time off
during the week.
"It was frustrating to be out injured,
any footballer feels the
same when they are on the sidelines.
"Six weeks out seems nothing
compared with nine months,
which is what I was out for before,
but it's still a long time. I
think I missed eight games and
it's just nice to be back now.
"Probably the worst thing
about it was how I did it, I took a
shot and one of the Luton players
put a leg out to block and I ended
up kicking his leg.
"Luckily, I'm back with no
problems. I still got the odd
twinge when I first returned to
training but all I need now is a bit
of sharpness.''
Brown now has 12 goals for the
season, the same as Porter, and
the team with the most home
strikes in League One has six
games remaining.
"It was nice to get a goal quickly
against Yeovil, it opened up
nicely after a good ball by Joel,''
he admitted.
"My first touch was good to set
it up and a minute later I was a
bit sloppy when I really should
have set Joel up. That's something
which will come along.
"We are in a position now
where we don't have to look over
our shoulders, we can relax and
just go out there and play.
"Swansea should be a good
test. We played OK down there -
I remember their keeper making
a good save from a shot of mine -
and deserved something and it
will be a good chance to compare
ourselves with the leaders.
"There are a couple of their
players we know all about -
Tommy Butler is a tricky winger
and Darryl Duffy came here and
scored a few goals for us.
"I enjoy playing up front with
Joel, he's the sort of player who
will always create chances and
give you openings. Last Saturday
at Crewe I set him up, then he set
me up against Yeovil.
"All I want to do is score as
many as I can. My first target was
double figures and now I've got
12. I'm hoping for 15. Barks has 16
and Joel also has 12, so there are
goals in this team.
"I've got a bit to do to catch
Barks, but I'm not on penalties.''
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