- Darren Randolph was delighted with a late Christmas gift on Boxing Day as the Hammers beat Swansea City 4-1
- It was the Club’s first ever win at the Liberty Stadium
- The stopper was in great form, making a string of wonderful saves in south Wales
West Ham goalkeeper Darren Randolph was delighted to make it a very Merry Christmas for all Hammers fans with a Boxing Day victory at Swansea City on Monday.
The Republic of Ireland stopper was in superb form at the Liberty Stadium, making a string of stunning saves as his teammates were clinical at the other end, eventually winning 4-1.
And Randolph, who kept two clean sheets in the Club’s last pair of home wins, explained why the three were points were so vital in south Wales.
He said: “We wanted to take more points off a team that was down the bottom and we managed to do that and we played very well today.
“It was especially good because we have got two wins on the bounce at home and that point at Anfield, so it has been a very good seven points.
“We wanted to make it three today and make it a good Christmas for us and the fans and everyone involved with the Club.
“These were the games we were looking at where we felt we could definitely get maximum points from. Again, we’d done that so far, and we managed to get three today with a great team performance. Everyone goes home happy.”
We wanted to make it three today and make it a good Christmas for us and the fans. Everyone goes home happy
Darren Randolph
Randolph made superb stops to deny Gylfi Sigurdsson and Jack Cork among others as the hosts found the net only once from 14 attempts on goal, half of which were on target.
But the 29-year-old was typically modest about his own showing when accessing the clash post-match.
“I was obviously pleased with my performance,” he continued. “But I’ve said before, any saves that I can make that can contribute to the team winning, I’m more than happy to do.
“It was obviously a tough start for me coming into the team with the games that we had, but of course you want to play.
“[My favourite] would probably be the save from [Sigurdsson’s] free-kick [during the first half].
“The table is still quite close. But with each win and point, we’re putting more distance between us and the bottom and we’re getting closer to the top. We’re doing that with three wins on the bounce.
“I think now, not too many people are bothered about the performances if we are putting three points on the table.”