West Ham United U23 defender Josh Pask described scoring the winner in Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Premier League 2 leaders Liverpool as a ‘great feeling’ and praised his side for battling to earn a clean sheet.
The Hammers went into the game without a win in their previous four matches – and without a defensive shutout in the three before – but showed their determination as they stayed strong to condemn Liverpool to their fourth defeat in five games.
And that was inflicted courtesy of Pask’s third minute strike, a left-foot volley that perfectly nestled in the far corner after Marcus Browne’s corner-kick delivery.
The centre-back, who made his comeback from a hamstring injury against Tottenham Hotspur on Monday, admitted he was delighted to grab the goal but highlighted just how important the zero was for West Ham in the scoreline.
“We hadn’t won in a few games so we came into the match really determined to get the points and maybe it wasn’t our best performance this season but the main thing is that we have won and got the points,” he said.
“We’ll take that all day. On the ball, we’ve played well this season and today it was a bit different in that they had the ball a bit too, but we stuck in there and held on to get the win.
A winning goal and a clean sheet for @JoshuaPask ? pic.twitter.com/ZO7DX81Blr
— West Ham United (@WestHamUtd) February 17, 2018
“It’s my second goal of the season and of course I’m delighted with it. To come back from injury and play only my second game and get the winner, obviously that’s a great feeling for me.
“I’ve been out with a hamstring but I’m glad I’m over that now and it was good to get the three points today as well as score the winner. I’ll take that.”
The Hammers had conceded a goal within the first five minutes on five occasions this term and the importance of concentration from the first whistle was highlighted by manager Terry Westley prior to the clash.
Pask explained this time, thanks to his goal, it was nice to be on the other end of that this weekend.
“It was a massive thing for us, making sure we stayed in the game in the first half,” he continued. “This season, we have gone a goal down too many times and we’ve always been fighting to get back into it throughout.
“So it was really important for our confidence that we didn’t concede first half and then that gave us the belief that we could see the whole game out and win despite scoring just the one.
“With the goal, I tried to play it across goal with the header, and fortunately it bounced back to me off the defender’s back, and it was in a good position for me to hit with the left foot on the volley, and I struck it nicely so it was great to see it go in.”