David's Debut Strike

ON loan French forward David Bellion made the perfect start to his Hammers career at Sheffield Wednesday, scoring the decisive final goal in Hammers 4-2 Carling Cup Second Round win.

The Manchester United player came on as a second-half substitute to put the game beyond Wednesday's reach, and was delighted to get his name on the scoresheet in his first game back after injury.

"It is great for my confidence to score on my debut," he said. "That was my first game since the 12th May, so I knew it was going to be tough to get back into it straight away.

"My main aim was just to try and get the feeling back of playing competitive football. It took a few minutes for me to feel my way into the game, but after that I felt good.

"It was a great ball from Bobby Zamora that set up my chance, and I just wanted to make the best of the opportunity. The ball broke well for me and I was just glad to finish it off.

"It was a great moment for me, but it's even more important that we won 4-2 and are through to the next round."



David's first strike in the claret and blue came at a crucial time in the match, with Wednesday on top and pushing for an equaliser.

"At the time were struggling a bit," he admitted. "We needed another goal to make sure of the win. But it was a good performance from the team. There were some young players who got their chance to play and did very well.

"We played with a lot of confidence and I was very pleased for the team."

It has been something of a remarkable recovery from David. Since arriving at Upton Park in August he has regained fitness quickly, having broken his leg at the back end of last season.

He went into the side at Sheffield Wednesday without so much as a Reserve outing under his belt, but showed few signs of rustiness.

"I came back about two weeks earlier than expected," he explained. "I did a lot of work with Steve Allen and his physio team and it felt the right time to come back.

"I worked very hard to get back to fitness, came through a lot of running and felt strong enough to get back playing.

"I am glad that my first game back is out of the way now and I can concentrate on pushing further into the team.

"Hopefully I can push my way onto the bench and then go from there. This is a very good team with some excellent players and it will be tough for me to get into the team at the moment.

"We have been playing well and that is tremendous for the Club.

"I will need to build my fitness, but that comes with matches and that's what I need. I will have to build my match fitness step by step and it is up to the manager when and where he wants to play me.

"The main thing is that I am settled at the Club and there is a great atmosphere. It is a family club and there is great spirit among the players and staff.

"The manager and staff have a good set-up and I am looking forward to the rest of the season."