Obiang: First Hammers strike is for my son

It took 54 games and 19 months for Pedro Obiang to find the back of the net, but the West Ham midfielder insists his first goal in England was certainly worth the wait.

The Spaniard has been in East London since signing from Sampdoria in July 2015, but it took until Saturday to finally get off the mark – and in some style too.

Obiang’s long-range strike gave the Hammers a 2-1 lead at St Mary’s, a decisive effort just before the break with Southampton unable to stop the visitors from recording a third win in four Premier League games.

And with this his first goal since becoming a father, to seven-month-old son Jeremih, there was only one person for Obiang to dedicate his goal on the south coast to.

(Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)

“It feels very, very good to score my first goal for West Ham,” he said. “This goal is for my baby because I am now a dad, and I am very happy because many times I have seen the other guys score. I’ve enjoyed that and now I have scored, so I am very happy.

“One time before, the same ball arrived and I tried to cross. When it came to me again I thought ‘it’s your time’. If I score, then ok, and if not, no worries. This time I scored!

“It was important for us to go in front at that stage. We started the game well, but they scored quickly and we needed to recover. We did that, and then after my goal we had a really nice game.”