Patrick Schmidt enjoyed the best moment of his career on Sunday afternoon when he scored an injury-time winner for Barnsley against Nottingham Forest but is now hoping to eclipse it at Brentford on Wednesday which is 22nd birthday.
Schmidt netted the only goal to move the Reds up a place from bottom and cut the gap from safety to two points. To survive, they need to beat the third-placed Bees and hope other results go their way.
He told the Chronicle: “Wednesday is my birthday and my agent’s birthday. We have already decided that on Wednesday we will stay in the league and celebrate together. That would be very nice. I will work hard so that I can hopefully decide another game on Wednesday. “We can absolutely do it. I just can’t see this team going down because we have such a good character in so many young players. The mentality of the team is amazing, especially for this age. We have brought very good performances against teams like Leeds, Nottingham Forest and we won two games against Fulham.
“We are alive now and we have to take three points on Wednesday because that is what the club deserves. We are not done yet."
Schmidt has now scored two 94th-minute winners, after heading in at Millwall in December. He said: “I had the question at Millwall if it was my best moment ever, and I said yes, but this was even more emotional and important. We knew we needed to win.
“Last-minute goals are always an amazing feeling, especially in this situation when you have to win a game or you go down. We kept pushing but I am very happy that I helped the team.”
Schmidt has made 29 appearances this season but his 417 Championship minutes mean he has played an equivalent of less than five league games. He said: “It has been tough. You always want to play as much as possible then, when you are a substitute, you want to make an impact and score goals and decide games. It is tough when you come on for 15 or ten or five minutes.
“Everyone expects that you to score a goal but you don’t get many chances. As a striker, you always have to be focused. I am not a player who wins a lot of aerial duels or is on the ball a lot but I am always focused and ready for when the ball comes into the box. That is all I think about. I was ready to score today so I am very happy.”
