Match-winner Justin Stinson believes the sky’s the limit for West Ham United at The Soccer Tournament (TST) after his Target Score Time wonderstrike sealed a 3-1 win over Brown Ballers FC in the side’s Group G opener.
After a goalless first half, the Hammers went behind to an Aarush Kamath goal, before Devin Vega pulled one back and then Leo De Oliveira completed the comeback with one minute to play at the end of the normal 40 minutes.
With the Target Score set at three, Stinson channelled the sort of form that produced two goals in Monday’s pre-tournament friendly win over Borussia Dortmund as he let fly from range, barely ten seconds after the restart, leaving Brown Ballers goalkeeper Nathan Beckett helpless.
And after enjoying the jubilant scenes at full-time, the Hammers’ No91 - who has played indoor soccer for St Louis Ambush, Ontario Fury/Empire Strykers and Tacoma Stars, scoring 143 goals and registering 74 assists in 157 MASL games - expressed his pride at wearing the famous Claret and Blue, and his hunger for more success.
Stinson said: “Scoring the game-winning goal was an incredible feeling. Once it gets to Target Score Time, it’s anyone’s game, and I think that’s what is so unique about this format.
“I think starting out with a win in this tournament is crucial, so we’re really pleased to have done that. We’ve got a great bunch of guys who are amazing to play with, and we’re now looking forward after a great win.
“Wearing this West Ham United jersey comes with an incredible responsibility, as Anton Ferdinand told us before the game. I just can’t wait to get more games under my belt and to see how far we can go.”
Player-Coach Ferdinand echoed Stinson’s belief that the Irons are only going to get stronger with more gametime, while insisting his teammate’s thrilling goal actually came as no surprise to him.
West Ham will now quickly shift their attention to backing up their promising start when they take on Villarreal CF in their second group-stage game at 5.30pm EST (10.30pm BST). The clash against the Spaniards will be shown live to all fans outside the USA on the Club’s official YouTube channel, with US-based supporters able to watch it on ESPNU.
Ferdinand added: “It’s a great start from the lads. We started slow in the game, but we only met each other a couple of days ago, so we’re still trying to find out who’s who and what’s what. Over time, we’ll continue to get stronger and stronger.
“In tournament football, ultimately all that matters is the win, and the way we’ve done that in the end is very convincing.
“I said to the boys before the match that if you want West Ham fans to remember you, you have to work hard. We’re a working-class Football Club, where working hard comes first, and I thought the boys did that today.
“It was an incredible strike from Justin, but I saw that yesterday in training! It’s about being able to execute it when it matters, and Target Score Time is when it matters. Credit to him, and hopefully there’s more from where that came from.”
