Martin Samuelsen said it felt amazing to score the winning penalty in the U21 Premier League Cup final
Development Squad winger Martin Samuelsen said it felt amazing to bag the winning penalty in Wednesday night's U21 Premier League Cup final shootout to beat Hull City.
The Norwegian youth international, who praised his side's character as they lifted the trophy, scored the crucial spot kick after Marcus Browne, Reece Oxford, Sam Byram and Stephen Hendrie had all held their nerve previously.
West Ham led 1-0 from the first leg of the final at the Boleyn Ground and were seconds away from clinching the trophy in normal time at the KC Stadium, before the Tigers bagged a late 93rd minute strike.
But after a goalless extra 30 minutes, all Terry Westley's five penalty takers confidently found the back of the net, while goalkeeper Raphael Spiegel saved superbly from Hull's Daniel Batty.
After winning the Cup for the Hammers, Samuelsen said: "It feels amazing. It was a fantastic effort from the boys from the first to last minute.
"With the goal coming [late], it was difficult and we were tired after 90 minutes but we kept going to the end and showed good character in the penalty shootout.
"We knew the game wasn't over [after 90 minutes] and that we were capable of scoring another goal, and we were unlucky not to. Stephen [Hendrie] had a good shot and we had some good chances but I think we did really well to keep on going."
The 19-year-old revealed he'd been studying Hull goalkeeper Rory Watson's movements closely during the spot kicks, and it ultimately paid off.
"Considering I missed my last penalty in a shootout, it was good to score for me," he continued. "I saw the goalkeeper go left, right, left, right so I knew he would go left, so I just put it to the right.
"The save [Raphael made] was incredible. He had to really reach for it and it was a really good save. Throughout the whole game he made some really good saves for us that kept us in the game.
"One header he saved onto the crossbar and he's a fantastic goalkeeper who will go far in the game."
The Norwegian youth international, who praised his side's character as they lifted the trophy, scored the crucial spot kick after Marcus Browne, Reece Oxford, Sam Byram and Stephen Hendrie had all held their nerve previously.
West Ham led 1-0 from the first leg of the final at the Boleyn Ground and were seconds away from clinching the trophy in normal time at the KC Stadium, before the Tigers bagged a late 93rd minute strike.
But after a goalless extra 30 minutes, all Terry Westley's five penalty takers confidently found the back of the net, while goalkeeper Raphael Spiegel saved superbly from Hull's Daniel Batty.
After winning the Cup for the Hammers, Samuelsen said: "It feels amazing. It was a fantastic effort from the boys from the first to last minute.
"With the goal coming [late], it was difficult and we were tired after 90 minutes but we kept going to the end and showed good character in the penalty shootout.
"We knew the game wasn't over [after 90 minutes] and that we were capable of scoring another goal, and we were unlucky not to. Stephen [Hendrie] had a good shot and we had some good chances but I think we did really well to keep on going."
The 19-year-old revealed he'd been studying Hull goalkeeper Rory Watson's movements closely during the spot kicks, and it ultimately paid off.
"Considering I missed my last penalty in a shootout, it was good to score for me," he continued. "I saw the goalkeeper go left, right, left, right so I knew he would go left, so I just put it to the right.
"The save [Raphael made] was incredible. He had to really reach for it and it was a really good save. Throughout the whole game he made some really good saves for us that kept us in the game.
"One header he saved onto the crossbar and he's a fantastic goalkeeper who will go far in the game."