“As soon as I hit it, I knew it was in,” Callum Marshall admits. “I just turned away to celebrate and ran to the wrong fans. So, I gave it the big un to the Denmark end.”
He pauses. Then, laughs. “That backfired a bit!”
The young striker stops in his tracks, well aware of the punchline. His international debut is a story he has been asked to share to all in Belfast over the past few weeks and having returned to Rush Green on Saturday, it is a night most of east London has heard about too.
Hailing from Northern Ireland, Marshall can tell a story. A senior international debut aged 18 is some tale. But a maiden international goal that was, and then well...wasn’t. How long have you got?
Luckily for us, Marshall has a bit of time on his hands. Watching a behind-closed-doors friendly at Rush Green Stadium, the 18-year-old is a week behind his U21s teammates in returning for 2023/24 due to his involvement with his country in June. This gives him a chance to recall that night once more.
With Northern Ireland trailing 1-0 to Denmark in a UEFA Euro 2024 qualifier, Marshall was told to enter the fray. A surprise because the young striker never thought his debut would arrive as he thought his team had used all their subs.
“I sat down to watch the rest of the game, thinking I wasn’t coming on,” he smiles. "And then there wasn’t much time to think about it. We were losing so it was: ‘get your kit on and try and make something out of nothing.’"
As Marshall speaks, you can tell he is still trying to convince himself it was not just a dream. Or a nightmare. All at once.
When he found the net nine minutes into his debut, it was the highest of highs. What followed was a seven minute wait. A VAR check. His last minute equaliser ruled out. "Agony," Marshall states. "The maddest couple of minutes of his life."
“All the players and coaches were around me making sure I was alright,” he adds, “but everyone was in disbelief at what had happened. It would have been a massive point for us, but…yeah…it wasn’t meant to be.”
Standing on the halfway line in Denmark was the best moment of his life. And also, the worst. A culmination of the joy that football can give, as well as what it can take away. A dramatic equaliser on debut ruled out. Where do you go from there?
There is no doubt that a lot of thoughts went through Marshall's head at that moment. His journey. His rise. And one that has happened with some speed.
Barely two years ago, the Belfast-born striker made his senior debut for NIFL Premiership outfit Linfield, a side he would play for on five occasions before moving to east London to pen scholarship terms in January 2022.
Then, after a breakout 2022/23, the young striker signed his first professional contract in December last year. He finished the season with 23 goals in 24 matches, won the league and scored in the FA Youth Cup final too.
Under Kevin Keen, Marshall was a vital part of a front three – alongside Divin Mubama and skipper Gideon Kodua – that became a cheat code at that level. “Our team was a joke last season,” Marshall smiles. And with 19 wins from 22 games, he has a point too.
What followed a successful Club season was a call-up to Northern Ireland U21s' training camp. And then being kept on by Michael O’Neil to train with the first team a couple of weeks later.
Nearly a month after first rocking up with the youth team, he was told the news. He rung his Dad 30 seconds later. 'I've been called up for the senior squad,' he said down the line. His Dad didn't believe him.
That journey spiralled to a senior debut and then a goal that was and then wasn't. But moments like that - should VAR chalk them off or not - make you want to keep working hard.
And a short chat with Marshall tells you this is a player who will give everything to push on after an incredible 2022/23. He is desperate to make it. For Club and country.
“Showing I can do it for Northern Ireland doesn’t look bad at a West Ham end,” he states. “Premier League 2 is the next level for me too, but we have to keep pushing and making that step. It’s been a good year, but hopefully, there is more to come."
Of course, football is an emotional rollercoaster but you get the feeling there are plenty more stories to come for Marshall. Ones, as a lad from Northern Ireland, he won't have any problem with being asked to tell.
