Grady Diangana was delighted to find himself on the score-sheet as West Ham United ran out 5-3 winners over Hertha Berlin.
The Academy graduate put the Irons ahead in the match for the first time on 78 minutes, finishing clinically after some good interplay from the Hammers.
The winger watched from the bench as West Ham came from behind three times to level the match, courtesy of finishes from Pablo Fornals, Manuel Lanzini and Sebastien Haller, and Diangana was thrilled to grab the all-important fourth before Michail Antonio rounded off the win.
Having scored two competitive goals for West Ham – on his debut last year – the 21-year-old was joined by teammate Declan Rice as he described what the finish meant to him.
“It was an amazing feeling,” Diangana told whufc.com. “I’ve missed the feeling of scoring goals. To hit the back of the net is a great feeling so I’m looking forward to scoring more goals.
“It was a crazy game to come onto. A lot of goals. We played very well. Good attacking football. We wanted to keep a clean-sheet but that gives us something to work on.”
Competition for places in the West Ham starting XI has increased since Fornals and Haller arrived at the Club, but Diangana is enjoying working with the two newest signings and has hailed their involvement since they linked up with the Hammers.
He continued: “They are really nice guys. They’re really nice people and easy to get along with.
“You can have a joke and a laugh with them, and when it’s time to get down to training or a match, everyone gets serious. It’s a good group to be in.”
This time last year, Diangana was away in Slovakia with the West Ham United Under-23s for pre-season. Twelve months on, the winger is a regular in the first-team squad, something the youngster is still grateful for.
It has been a special year for the wide-man and now Diangana wants to continue building momentum for the start of the season by claiming another win in West Ham’s final pre-season match, against Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.
He added: “I’m just going with the flow. Going day by day, taking it all in. It’s been a special journey for me, and I want to keep making it special.
“Another win would be a nice way to end pre-season. It’s two wins on the bounce now for us so we’re going to try and take it on. Hopefully, we can beat Bilbao and then go on and beat Man City too.”
