Aldershot star out to prove a point against West Brom after Premier League axe

07 January 2024 , 08:15

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Lorent Tolaj is enjoying a new lease of life at Aldershot Town (Image: Ben Roberts)

Lorent Tolaj is relishing his chance to impress back on the big stage against West Brom in the FA Cup after coming to terms with his release from Brighton in the summer.

The Swiss striker, 22, made a major impression at the Amex after asking for a trial as a teenager and was swiftly signed up on a three-year deal. However, he failed to break into the first-team ranks on the south coast and was snapped up by Aldershot Town in the summer.

Tolaj had made the most of his fresh start with the Shots plundering 15 goals for the National League outfit. But he admits that he struggled to accept the reality of playing in the fifth tier of English football.

"In the beginning it was tough mentally because I was in the Premier League - to come from that into the National League is hard to accept," Tolaj tells Mirror Football. "But sometimes you have to go down to actually play and show everyone what you can do.

"My time at Brighton was good; everyone was brilliant with me. I was at a good club with great facilities but I didn't really get a chance to play. I was good at Under-18s and Under-23s but I was with Evan Ferguson and I knew they weren't going to push me into the first-team.

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"It's hard to accept even though you know it's going to be good [in the long run]. A lot of players have been through this, though, and you have to be getting starts and scoring goals as a striker if you want to go higher."

Brighton don't get much wrong in the transfer market, but Tolaj is determined to prove they dropped a ricket by giving up on him. He's made a good start, too, by joining a team which boasts a hat-trick of potent finishers

Aldershot are out to cause another upset against West Brom after stunning Swindon Town and Stockport County (Ben Roberts)

Josh Stokes is also on 15 goals for the season with Jack Barham sitting just behind on 11 strikes, although the former will miss Sunday's match through suspension. It's no surprise to hear that Tolaj is enjoying his football and believes that joining Aldershot is "the best decision" he's ever made.

Goals are the currency of choice for strikers and Tolaj isn't taking his current returns for granted after a number of underwhelming spells away from Brighton on loan.

He adds: "I know myself: if I'm playing, I'll play well. Even if I'm playing in the fifth division, I'm just happy I can show people what I can do. When you're playing and scoring goals, you don't really think about money or anything like that.

"Football is about emotions; playing and being happy is the most important thing. I've not had that in the last few years. I had really missed it."

Aldershot head to the Hawthorns with two major scalps already in tow. They blitzed their way past League Two outfit Swindon Town in a 7-4 win ("That was the craziest game - every shot was a goal!") before toppling fourth-tier leaders Stockport County over two legs.

West Brom are in fine fettle in the Championship and will represent a major test for Tommy Widdrington's side, who have made the third round of the tournament for the first time in over a decade.

Under Carlos Corberan, the Baggies are firmly in the second-tier play-off picture and boast a star-studded squad who will be expected to live up to their pre-match billing as favourites.

Tolaj was released by Brighton in the summer (Alex Burstow)

But the magic of the cup means that anything can happen - something Tolaj has quickly learned after experiencing football's most famous knockout tournament for the first time this season.

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He adds: "I never played in the competition before this year. This is my first taste of it but it's going alright!

"We believe we can win and it's going to be a good game for us to play against a Championship team. "It's going to be a good test for me and the team. I like to play against big teams in big games.

"At the end of the day we have nothing to fear. People expect us to lose and West Brom have a good chance to win, but they'll have 11 players on the pitch who, like us, have got two arms and two legs. There's nothing different in that respect."

Dan Marsh