Match-winner Winston Reid said back-to-back Premier League victories and clean sheets would give West Ham United a ‘big boost’.
The New Zealand captain struck a dramatic last-gasp winner to fire the Hammers to their second home league success of the season on Saturday – a 1-0 win over bottom club Sunderland.
Reid, whose goal was the 100th of Slaven Bilic’s managerial reign, came when Dimitri Payet worked a free-kick to the defender on the edge of the penalty area, where he took a touch before slamming a low, left-foot shot into the bottom corner.
“Obviously I’m happy that we got the three points and we can continue to move up the table,” he said. “It was really good for us. We needed this win, especially at home, because we haven’t been doing well lately at home, so it was very important to get the win.
“I was a bit surprised to find myself in that position. Dimi has got the ball and I fancied him more than me, so I was expecting him to shoot, but he passed it to me. I managed to get my head up and was aware of the situation, fired off a shot and it went in.”
While Reid and his teammates celebrated with the vast majority of the 56,785-strong London Stadium crowd, Sunderland appealed in vain for offside against Jonathan Calleri, claiming the Argentine had impeded goalkeeper Jordan Pickford’s vision.
Television replays suggested otherwise, and referee Bobby Madley allowed the goal to stand.
“There wasn’t any talk about that after the game – I think we were just happy to get the win, obviously!” Reid revealed.
“There is always going to be debate about those sorts of decisions, but fortunately it went our way. I haven’t seen the footage, but I’m just happy for the win, really.”
Three more points at Goodison Park, where the Hammers came from two goals down to win last season, and the indifferent start to the season will start to disappear in the rear-view mirror.
“We need to pick up more and more points,” Reid stated. “We’d like to be up near the top of the table and it’s important. We’ve got a young squad - Edimilson is one and he came in and did very well for us in that position – so it’s important that they don’t feel there is pressure on them, and a lot of us senior players have been talking about that.
“We’ve got a strong squad, we’ve got great belief and so it’s nice to get back-to-back wins.”
While the defender was naturally pleased to score his first of the season, he was equally delighted with a second clean sheet in the space of eight days.
Having secured two 1-0 wins in the Premier League, a similar result in Wednesday’s EFL Cup fourth-round tie with Chelsea will do the No2 just fine.
“One-hundred per cent, if there’s one thing you pride yourself on as a defender, it’s keeping clean sheets,” he confirmed.
“Prior to the Palace game, we had been conceding far too many goals than we’d have liked, so we were pleased with the last two games.
“It’s a team game and the most important thing for us was the three points and the big boost it has given us. Now we can move on to the next game against Chelsea.”