Winston Reid has scored important goals in his career, but few will have been more enjoyable than the 20-yard volley he lashed into the Millwall net to complete West Ham United's 2-1 npower Championship victory on Saturday.
Reid, who scored a famous equaliser for New Zealand against Slovakia at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, was on hand to smash the Hammers to victory over the Lions at the Boleyn Ground after David Forde's punch landed at his feet.
The quietly-spoken defender was also gratified to be part of a much-improved defensive display following the 5-1 defeat at Ipswich Town four days previously.
"It was important game for the club against our main rivals so it was nice to get a win. Unfortunately, we had Nobby sent-off early doors so it was a nice win and shows what spirit we have in the squad.
"I think we played the balls into the right areas like the manager told us to do and I don't think they had too many chances. They kept the ball a lot but you're always going to have that when it's eleven against ten. It was a good performance by us.
"What happened on Tuesday, we felt was a bit embarrassing as a defensive unit. We told ourselves before we went out that we were going to put on a better performance and I think we did.
"I thought the goal they scored was a good finish but, apart from that, they didn't create too much. The players knew they had to come out and play a lot better and I thought we did. It's great for the fans to have a win over their big rivals to celebrate."
Describing his goal in typically modest fashion, Reid said the result achieved by the strike outweighed its spectacular nature.
"I think Julien [Faubert] went into their goalie and it fell out to me and all of a sudden it got to me and I finished it off. Obviously I like to chip in whenever I can scoring goals and obviously this was an important goal for the team and we got three points.
"We had to win so it was good to keep putting pressure on the other teams at the top."
Looking forward to an important week, West Ham face Peterborough United on Saturday before hosting promotion rivals Southampton on Valentine's Day, and Reid would love nothing more than to collect another six points.
"Our main goal is to get wins in every game. It's important that we can put some daylight between us and the other teams at the top. We're looking forward to the challenge."