The 33 year-old turned on a sixpence after showing characteristic strength and guile with his back to goal only few yards out, and he drilled the ball home with enough power to beat Sander Westerveld from close range.
Speaking after the game, Andrew was keen to see the goal as nothing more than simply what he has done so well for years, and an example of why Stuart Pearce brought him to the club.
“That’s trademark me! Trevor Sinclair’s told me that I’ve gained an assist out of nothing, but I’ve got a few goals out of nothing in my career, and that was no different. If I get a shot off and hit the target, you’ve got a chance of it going in, and luckily enough it did for me today.”
With two goals so far this season, Cole looks to have won the City fans over after questions were raised over his arrival, having played for Manchester United for so long. Although wary about getting over-excited after such a good start to his City career, he agrees that he’s doing all he can to get the fans on his side.
“That could change tomorrow! I’m not stupid, I’ve been in the game a long, long time now. The manager talked about bringing me in to score a few goals and help the younger players, that’s all I’m trying to do.
“If I can win the fans over by workrate or scoring goals, hopefully I can do that. If I can’t, I’ve just got to persevere and play for the team.”
Cole is happy to slot into a team that was already on a good run before his arrival, and he is also pleased that his partnership with Darius Vassell has begun to reap dividends so soon.
“I’m experienced, I’m a bit long in the tooth and I’m just trying to help him,” he says of Darius. “I can learn as much as him, but he can learn more because he’s got quite a few more years left in him. I’ve got a couple of years left and then that’ll be me.
“I’m new to this club, but the team is carrying on from last season and I’m just jumping on the bandwagon. I’m working as hard as I can for the team, and everyone works extremely hard for each other and for the manager.”
