Jarrod Bowen said he thrived off the pressure of slotting in West Ham United’s winning goal against Manchester United from the penalty spot, with the Hammers’ captain securing the impressive 2-1 triumph in injury time at the end of the second half.
After substitute Crysencio Summerville notched his first goal for the Club in the 74th minute to make it 1-0 at London Stadium, Julen Lopetegui’s charges looked destined for only a share of the spoils when Casemiro equalised nine minutes from time.
But a VAR check following a Matthijs de Ligt challenge on Danny Ings led to referee David Coote awarding West Ham a late opportunity from 12 yards, and Bowen made no mistake to strike his fourth goal of the season and seal a third three-point haul of the campaign.
“I knew it was probably going to be me taking the penalty, because Lucas [Paquetá] has been taking them and he had gone off, and I wanted to take it,” our No20 said. “I enjoy that kind of pressure, knowing that it’s a chance to score a winning goal right at the end.
“It took a long time with the decision and everything, but I didn’t think about missing - I just thought about sticking it in the back of the net. You just have to stick to what you know, and thankfully I managed to do that.
“I think we’ve played better than we did today in other games and not come away with anything, but we stuck it out and we’re all really pleased with the result. Credit to the players and to the fans that stuck with us until the end - we needed that lift, and hopefully we can keep progressing going forward now.”
With two of West Ham’s five substitutes - Danny Ings and Summerville - combining to put the hosts in front, Bowen credited the impact of the whole squad during the win over the Red Devils, and highlighted the importance of every player for the remainder of the season.
And after two home wins in a row, the 27-year-old has challenged his teammates to build on this latest result next time out on the road at Nottingham Forest, and ultimately continue climbing up the Premier League table.
He added: “I spoke in the dressing room about having a successful squad and wanting to win, and that requires everyone - not just the eleven starters. It requires everyone, including those guys on the bench, and those who are injured or suspended.
“We all want the same thing - we all want to win. Crysencio is one example - I’m sure he’s been frustrated at times with his playing time, but he trains well and he’s one of the nicest people I’ve met, and now he’s got his reward.
“We need everyone, and now it’s up to us to build on this positive result. We’ve been in this position before and not backed it up, but we showed a really good mindset today and we need to do what we can to pick up positive results in the two games we’ve got left before the next international break.”
