NEW boy Scott Walker answered the jibes of his team mates in style on Saturday 8 March by heading the Bluebirds' equaliser against Stafford Rangers.

The 22-year-old left midfielder admitted he had been the butt of the dressing room jokes after conceding a penalty on his debut in the league cup defeat at Halesowen last week.

Walker arrived with a reputation for scoring spectacular goals from distance with his left foot, but had to settle for a close-range header at the weekend as he opened his account for his new club.

He said: "It was a better home debut than it was away, when I gave away that penalty at Halesowen. I've not heard the last of that since it happened.

"But it is all in the past now and I've scored one in two, which is good. Hopefully my goal on Saturday made up for what happened on Tuesday night and it was a well-deserved point for us in the end. I wanted to score a few goals for the club and it was nice to get a header at the back post. It was a great ball in by Simon Charity."

Walker was pleased with his performance on the left flank, but felt a bumpy playing surface had prevented him from playing his normal game.

He said: "The pitch wasn't the best on Saturday. I like to run at players and couldn't really do that because of the conditions. I thought we did well in the circumstances.

"The pitch levelled out the performances and there were plenty of chances at either end, but if either side had won then the other would have had a right to feel bitterly disappointed.

"The lads worked hard and we ground out a 1-1 draw. Hopefully we can stay second until the end of the season. Tamworth have edged away and we want to finish as runners-up to them, not third or fourth."

Walker felt substitute goalkeeper Liam Bull did well to recover from a nervous start, and was also impressed by the contribution of powerful frontman Adie Mings at both ends of the pitch.

He said: "It was a blow to concede the goal, but Liam made some excellent saves and made up for it in the end.

"Adie Mings did well up front and was like a brick in defence as well, particularly during that incident in the second half when Stafford had about 30 shots in ten seconds."

Walker joined the Bluebirds last week and has signed until the end of the season with a view to a longer deal. He is happy with what he has seen so far. He said: "The lads, Tommy and Nobby are all great and everything is brilliant so far. The crowd gave me a warm welcome on Saturday and were edging me on, so it couldn't have gone better for me."

With Steve Brown's injury proving more serious than first thought and the dearth of left-footed players at Hardenhuish Park, Walker has the chance to make the number seven shirt his own in the final nine games of the season.

But he has sympathy for the long-serving Brown, whose strong running on the left flank has been a vital ingredient in Chippenham's success over the past four years.

Said Walker: "I wish all the best to Steve. I've not actually met him, but if he is like the rest of the lads then I'm sure he is a nice lad. I've heard he has a bad injury and just hope I can do his spot justice when I play there myself."