THEO ROBINSON finally fired home his 10th Town goal to seal a vital victory at Leyton Orient and predicted: “It's onwards and upwards.”
With Lee Novak out injured, the striker made his first start since October and joined Jordan Rhodes on the scoresheet as a 2-0 win cut the gap on the League I play-off positions to two points.
The Brisbane Road triumph, Town’s first in five games and seen by 798 travelling fans in a 4,119 crowd, was a big tonic for both the team and the player, who hadn’t scored since the 6-0 home win over Wycombe on November 14.
And Robinson was quick to praise his teammates as boss Lee Clark began preparations for Saturday’s crunch home clash with third-placed Charlton Athletic.
“It’s been a long time since I last started a game, and it was great for me to play and get a goal,” said the former Watford man.
“But the main thing is that we won the match, and that was down to a top team effort.”
Robinson added: "We’ve always stuck together as a group during good spells and bad, and that will count for a lot as we approach the final games.
"We all believe we can make the play-offs, and I want to be a part of the push."
Robinson reckons his spell out of the starting side will prove a key phase in his learning curve as a professional and added: "I’d like to think I’ve matured both as a player and a person.
"It’s been frustrating at times, but the manager and (performance coach) Steve Black have been great with me, and I’ve always felt a part of things."
Of his 68th minute goal, which followed Rhodes’ first-half opener, Robinson said: "It was a great break down the right and Anthony Pilkington put in a great cross.
Click below for a gallery from Saturday's match including Theo's goal.
"I just tried to get in front of my marker and get good contact with the ball, and it was brilliant to see it go in.
"To be fair, I’d had a few chances earlier on, and it was nice to make one of them count."
