Niclas Füllkrug is relieved. After a long injury lay-off, he has finally scored his first home goal. The striker brought new energy as a substitute – and felt “the love of the fans”.
Finally scoring in his own stadium: national striker Niclas Füllkrug expressed his great relief after scoring for West Ham United against AFC Bournemouth. “I’ve been waiting eight months for this moment,” said the 32-year-old after scoring the equalizer with a powerful header after coming on as a substitute in the 2-2 draw at the London Stadium.
For Füllkrug, it was his third goal of the season, with the first two coming away from home. “It’s not about me, but I’m very happy to have scored in front of my home crowd. It was very nice to feel the love of the fans today,” said the former Dortmund and Bremen player.
Comeback after injury
Füllkrug made his comeback at the start of the week after an almost three-month injury absence, scoring against Wolverhampton Wanderers (0-1) and hitting the crossbar. “It hasn’t been the best season for me. I’ve been injured a lot and out for a long time,” he said.
Füllkrug had last played in the FA Cup third round tie at Aston Villa (1-2) on January 10, after which he was out with a hamstring injury. However, it was not enough to secure a win against Bournemouth on the 31st matchday of the Premier League, with the Hammers, who have not won in four games, languishing in 15th place.
“Feeling good” and “happy”
Nevertheless, Füllkrug changed the game after coming on as a substitute. “I felt good straight away. The job of a substitute is to bring new energy and give the team another option. We needed a different dynamic. The whole team tried to get me into position, which made me happy,” he said.
West Ham will be guests at the sovereign league leaders Liverpool this weekend.
