Fleet’s victorious skipper hailed a performance at both ends of the pitch as he scored the winner and kept hotshot Dave Tarpey quiet in the meantime.
There can’t be many clubs who have stopped Tarpey scoring in two games in 2016/17, but Winfield and his defensive colleagues can claim that at the very least this season.
And the skipper notched goal number four for himself, though claimed he gets as big a buzz from the more mundane defensive duties.
“It’s always nice to score a goal but as a defender I get just as much a buzz at blocking a shot or stopping a goal at the other end,” he told BBC Radio Kent’s Charles Webster. “We set some corners up today, that was one of them to spin round the back. Unfortunately the delivery wasn’t quite correct, the keeper’s parried it straight at me and I just had to keep calm and put some technique behind the finish.”
As stand-in skipper, Winfield has had to keep his teammates’ spirits up despite the loss of Danny Kedwell and now Bradley Bubb but he never doubted the players’ belief.
“For me it’s all about team spirit. I just try to keep the boys together and make sure everyone’s got each other’s backs and we know that every Saturday, Tuesday, whatever game we go into, that if we make a mistake, one of the other boys is going to be behind us. That’s been the cornerstone of what we’ve done this year. It’s been fantastic for the fans and the boys alike. We’ve worked hard in this campaign every single game and it’s nice to see that your hard work comes off sometimes.”
And now the Fleet captain is intent on just finishing the job at Stonebridge Road next week and leaving the fates to conspire elsewhere. “It’s another game in the campaign that we’ve worked so hard for,” Winfield said. “We approach everything exactly the same and we prepare in the same way. We go out there to try and end the campaign with as many points as possible which is what we discussed before the season even started.
“It’s always possible when there’s games still to play. No matter what level of football you’re playing at, if you get to this point of the season in touching distance as far as points are concerned, there’s always a chance.”
Listen to the full interview below.
https://soundcloud.com/eufcofficial/dave-winfield-after-maidenhead