Mark Noble revealed he was determined to take the last-gasp spot-kick that gave West Ham United a valuable 1-0 victory against Liverpool.
When Jamie Carragher fouled Freddie Ljungberg in the penalty area, there was only one thought in the 20-year-old's mind - especially as he had scored from the spot in the only other penalty awarded to the club this season against Birmingham City back on 18 August. With a smile, he said: "We have only had two this year. I scored the first one, so my record was 100 per cent.
"No one was going to go against me," he added, well aware that Dean Ashton was moving towards the ball and also fancied his chances against penalty expert Pepe Reina in the Liverpool goal. "I was taking it no matter what. As soon as I picked up the ball I thought Reina's got a reputation...but I was so confident that I was going to score, I didn't feel that nervous."
Alan Curbishley could not hide his praise for Noble's all-round contribution. "For a young boy he has shown great maturity," the manager said. "He really looked as if he was enjoying himself tonight. I left him out a couple of times just before Christmas and he was playing with an injury. He had this hernia problem, and he never told anyone. In the end he had to have it done. The rest he had has done him good."