LAST weekend’s win against Cardiff City was special for Tom Bradshaw.
The Welsh international scored the winner in his country’s national stadium to help Millwall to their fourth away win of the season, keeping them within touching distance of the top six.
It explains why there are such strong personal links for Bradshaw, who was born in Shrewsbury before moving over the border at the age of two.
“My dad moved there for work, so I grew up on the coast in a place called Towyn, which is mid-Wales but right on the coast,” he told NewsAtDen.
“We stayed there until I was sixteen, when I signed for Shrewsbury Town as a scholar. That’s when I moved back to England.
“I lived in Wales from the age of two to sixteen and did a lot of my education in Welsh. It was a great childhood and a time that I look back on with fond memories.”
After the Lions’ win on Saturday afternoon, Bradshaw stayed in Cardiff with his family until Sunday afternoon, when he returned to South London ahead of resuming training on Wednesday morning.
It shows how strong his links are with Wales, even if you can’t tell it from his accent. As a result, he has had fun teasing some of his family and friends who support the Bluebirds, although he claimed that he received more messages after the match than he sent out.
“It’s always nice to score against teams where you’ve got friends and family who are personally involved with that team. There’s been a couple down the years actually, one of my special memories was scoring against Aston Villa back in my Barnsley days. A lot of my family are big Villa fans, so to score against teams that a lot of your friends and family are either supporting or have supported for years, that’s always a great feeling.”
In terms of his performances on the pitch, his strike against Cardiff means that he has contributed to six goals in his last six games, with his total for the campaign now at seven goals and two assists.
It shows how crucial his efforts have been for Millwall, who really do rely on him for a little bit of everything in every single game.
“I think that’s been the case for everyone this year, it’s one of our biggest strengths,” he admitted.
“Obviously Zi [Flemming] has scored ten goals, that’s been brilliant for us, but everyone has been chipping in with goals or assists. Clean sheets are massive for us because we’re not one of those teams that will score a hatful of goals every week, so those clean sheets are vitally important for us.
“The last six games have been good for me personally to help out the team with goals and assists, but it’s something that runs through the team where everyone chips in in similar ways.”
Photo: Millwall FC