West Ham United duo Keenan Appiah-Forson and Hero Fiennes Tiffin were pleased to end the Club's The Soccer Tournament (TST) campaign on a high with victory over Culture by Mo Ali FC on Friday,
The Hammers suffered narrow losses to Far East United and Dallas United on Thursday - in the latter after a member of the West Ham United team heard a racist term directed at them by an opposition player, the players made a collective decision to walk off the pitch as a team in support of our player.
Returning the next day, the Hammers showed their togetherness to take the victory in their third match in Cary, North Carolina.
Appiah-Forson, who scored twice and set up Luis Boa Morte's winning goal in the 4-3 win over Culture by Mo Ali FC, was grateful for the support shown to him and his teammates.
"It felt great to get the win on Friday," the Hammers U21s midfielder said. "It was very, very tough, but it's a crazy feeling. I can’t really explain it and put it into words.
"I just wanted to work hard and make the team proud.
"[What happened on Thursday] made me realise there are so many leaders in this team,
"The support has been unbelievable, even from the people back home watching late at night. Because of the incident they stayed up and we appreciate the support and everybody who came out here today."
For Fiennes Tiffin, Hammers fan and Harry Potter actor, he was thrilled to have the opportunity to represent the Club he loves alongside a cast of legends and up-and-coming players.
"I’m genuinely lost for words, these guys are unreal and I look up to them," he explained. "Keenan does his talking on the pitch but off the pitch as well the boys are class. Everyone is so welcoming.
"On issues like racism, that are bigger than the game, we sit down, talk about it and deal with it in the right way.
"It’s a dream come true to represent West Ham and they say never meet your idols, but these boys have exceeded all my expectations of what they’d be like, they are class. I’m treasuring every minute.
"The fans have been unbelievable, too. When you’re on the pitch you kind of zone it out, but when you step off for a minute and realise how supportive they are and how far they’ve travelled It’s massive. You can never say thank you too many times."
