Joe Mason on marking his return to the club with a goal

Striker offers his thoughts following Wanderers' draw with Nottingham Forest

After marking his return to the club with the opening goal in Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest, Joe Mason admitted his delight at opening his account for the season at the first time of asking.

Having joined the club on Monday on a season-long loan from Cardiff City, the 23-year-old was placed in the Whites’ starting line-up for the clash against Stuart Pearce’s side with the frontman making the perfect start to his third spell at BL6 with a fourth-minute header as Wanderers were forced to settle for a point at Macron Stadium.

Speaking following the game, Mason explained how he was eager to carry on where he left off for Dougie Freedman’s men, with his early goal proving to be the perfect tonic.

“I was really happy to get off the mark, especially inside a few minutes and with my head as well,” said the striker. “That is new for me, but I thought we did okay in the first half hour.

“Obviously we gave away a couple of bad goals, but I thought overall we did quite well.

“For the goal, I didn’t really have to do anything - I just had to put my head on it because it was that good of a ball, but Jay put in a good few balls and I was lucky to get on the end of one of them.”

Paired alongside Craig Davies in attack, Mason praised his strike partner for his resolve and efforts throughout the duration of the clash.

“I thought Craig did well too," he explained. "He’s very good at what he does and I enjoy playing alongside a big strong character like him as well.

“We worked well together – I can run off him, and we caused Forest a lot of problems.”

He continued: “All in all, we’re actually disappointed that we didn’t win, but Forest are a good side who’ve recruited well in the summer and they’ll be right up there come the end of the season.

“With a performance like ours today though, there is no reason why we can’t be doing the same.

“The Middlesbrough game is what we’re all gearing up for now – we got a good point against Forest who are a very good side, but Tuesday will be a tough test too.”

Watch Joe's full post-match interview by clicking on the video below.

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