Colchester United striker Macauley Bonne is hoping that his four goal salvo against Wealdstone in the FA Cup will help him cement a first-team spot.
The 20-year-old came through the club’s apprenticeship scheme a year ago but the majority of his appearances for the U’s have so far come from the substitutes bench.
Saturday’s 6-2 victory was Bonne’s first start since 1 September.
“I’ve been trying to prove my point for the last month, scoring and putting in shifts for the under-21s. I like the 21s because it shows them I can play against strong opposition,” he said.
“Hopefully I’ve shown what I can do and it’s up to the managers.”
Bonne’s four goal haul could quite easily have been six but the forward hit the woodwork and missed a late chance for the League One club against their National League South opponents.
“I’m happy with the four, but at the end of the day I could have had probably double that,” he told BBC Essex.
“I think I did fatigue a bit and probably could have cut (the late chance) across, but when you’re on four you just get greedy and think ‘what’s the point?’”
