Aaron Connolly finished off his debut Premier League season in style on Sunday, scoring the winner as Brighton won 2-1 away to Burnley.
Five minutes after half-time, with the scores level at 1-1, Neal Maupay sent Connolly racing down the line. The Galway 20-year-old beat Kevin Long to the ball and then muscled his way into the box before curling a side-footed strike to the bottom corner of Nick Pope's goal.
It was Connolly's third goal of the season and his first since a brace against Spurs back in October.
"I don’t know how long it’s been so it’s great to be back on the scoresheet and to get three points makes it even better," Connolly told the Brighton club website.
"Personally, it will help me a lot going into the new season. It would have been tough not to have scored since the Tottenham game so I’m delighted."
Brighton manager Graham Potter believes that Connolly will improve.
"Since lockdown he has worked really hard," Potter told The Argus.
"He has learned a lot his year.
"It’s his first season in the Premier League.
"He is a young player playing in perhaps the hardest position on the pitch, centre forward.
"We are delighted with what he has done and the first steps he has made. He has got a lot to do.
"I’m so happy for him to score because it has been a while since the first [goal] he got back in October against Tottenham.
"He is working away and he will improve."
