Adrian was delighted to be West Ham United’s penalty king again as the Hammers edged out 1, FSV Mainz 7-6 from the spot to win the Betway Cup.
The Spaniard, who famously scored in West Ham’s FA Cup third-round replay win over Everton in January 2015 and has saved five Premier League penalties since joining the club, was in outstanding form again on Tuesday evening.
The No13 saved from Pablo de Blasis before coolly rolling his own penalty home. He then watched Gaetan Bussmann sky his spot-kick to hand the east Londoners the Betway Cup for the first time.
At the end I saved one, I scored one and we won so I am very happy!
Adrian
“It was a very good result,” the Spanish stopper told whufc.com. “At the end I saved one, I scored one and we won so I am very happy!
“It was a good night for us, I thought we played really well. We played against a really good team in Mainz, they play attacking football and they press really high so it was a really good test for us.
“I thought we pressed really well, we kept the ball and created good chances. We had the better chances and fortunately we got the win we deserved on penalties in the end. In pre-season it is important that every game you get better and put into practice the manager's ideas. We are getting there, and it was another good performance.”
Adrian is relishing the passing football West Ham are playing under Manuel Pellegrini, where he is often the starting points for the Hammers’ incisive attacking moves.
“I like to play football. I like to play out from the back, and we are all really enjoying playing this new style of football. We are getting better and better, and getting used to it. We have another chance to improve on Friday and get ready for the game against Liverpool the following weekend.”
Reflecting on the dramatic shootout, the No13 revealed that he asked to be one of West Ham’s first five takers – a request politely turned down by assistant coach Enzo Maresca!
“I wanted to be one of the first five penalty takers! I told Enzo that I wanted to take one but they didn’t give me the chance! I was happy to take one, and to score for the team eventually.”
Next up is a clash with French club Angers SCO in Grodig on Friday – the Hammers’ final pre-season match – when the players will hope the temperatures have dropped from the 90-degrees plus heat that enveloped Schwaz.
“I have played in heat like this before, but apparently this is the hottest it has been here for a long time.
“I thought we did well considering the heat, and in the first half we played really good football. I think we can be happy with this evening overall, and we return to training to get ready for the next game on Friday.”