Tomáš Souček expressed his delight at having put the seal on West Ham United’s crucial 3-1 victory over Newcastle United, that marked our first win under Nuno Espírito Santo, and first at home in the 2025/26 season.
The Czechia national team captain was introduced to the action at London Stadium as a 61st-minute replacement for Callum Wilson, and displayed his versatility by offering a physical presence at the top of the field while his team looked to see out the three points.
By that point, an eye-catching Lucas Paquetá strike and a Sven Botman own-goal had turned the tide in the Hammers’ favour, after an early Jacob Murphy goal, and our No28 was quickly involved, being caught marginally offside in the build-up to what would have been Freddie Potts’ first senior goal in Claret and Blue.
While both sides had chances towards the end of the game, it was Souček who had the final say, reacting quickest to Nick Pope’s save from a Jarrod Bowen shot to slot in the third and send the home supporters into raptures.
“It was a special feeling tonight,” Souček said. “I’m always so happy to wear the West Ham shirt, and I’m happy to play wherever the manager wants me to be.
“Today I was at the top, and I tried to do my best. It was great to get the goal and the win, and I think for all the fans in the stadium, and around the world, it means a lot.
“It was a shame (Potts’ disallowed goal), because I saw straight after the game how close it was. I tried to be onside, but maybe my feet are too big! It was bad luck, especially for Freddie, but we kept fighting as a team, and we were rewarded in the end. Of course, it was nice for me to seal it in the last minute!
“We know it’s been hard, and today we’ve raised it. We have to keep it up now and work to change this situation as quickly as we can, and we will carry on working as hard as we can to do that.
“Hopefully we can take courage and confidence from this win, and for sure we’ll be looking to follow it up in our next challenge next Saturday, when we will be back in front of our fans.”
Next in store for Souček and his teammates is the visit of newly-promoted Burnley, who sit one place and three points ahead of the Irons after ten matches played.
With attentions turning to that clash against the Clarets, Souček is eager to kickstart a strong run of form at London Stadium and build some healthy momentum ahead of the November international break, as we ultimately look to power up the standings over the coming weeks.
He added: “It’s really important to get the win at home, because your home stadium should be like a castle, or a fortress. You want it to be tough for your opponents to come to, and hopefully we can build on today going forward. It has been a long time, and the first since my son Daniel was born!
“Hopefully we can put in a similar performance next week. I hope we take plenty from today, and continue to really show what we’re capable of. We have so much talent here, but we have to keep fighting together to get results.
“We can score goals and enjoy the football, but that comes by being together, like we were today. We’re really happy right now, and we’ll be looking forward to going again.”
