Niclas Füllkrug explained how special it felt to notch his first West Ham United goal on home turf, despite ultimately being left disappointed that he and his teammates couldn’t hold on to the full share of the spoils against AFC Bournemouth on Saturday.
The Germany international was introduced to the action nine minutes into the second half, with the Hammers 1-0 down, and seconds after the hour mark had levelled the scores with a thunderous header from a James Ward-Prowse corner.
Such a strike marked his third in West Ham colours since his summer 2024 switch from Borussia Dortmund, and his first at London Stadium, and he admitted it had been a long time coming after a frustratingly injury-plagued campaign in which he has been limited to just 13 appearances in all competitions.
The goal, as well as Füllkrug’s physical presence up front, served as a boost to his team’s momentum against the Cherries, who rescued a point through Evanilson’s second of the afternoon with eleven minutes left, after Jarrod Bowen had made it 2-1 to the hosts with another header.
“It’s not about me, but I’m very happy to have scored in front of our home crowd,” Füllkrug said.
“I was waiting for that moment for eight months, to score here in the stadium. It hasn’t been the best season for me - I’ve been injured and out for a long time - so today I was really happy to feel the love from the crowd.
“I felt strong, but it’s not about me. It’s the job of a substitute to bring new energy and give the team a different option, because we needed a different dynamic in the game.
“We needed another option for our players further back to knock it forward, and after that we created a lot of chances, so I am happy with my impact and with how the team reacted to my substitution. The whole team tried to use me and bring me into position, which was good.”
While pleased with his goal, and full of admiration for captain Bowen’s overall contribution to the team, Füllkrug admitted there was a sense of what might've been in the dressing room after the Irons failed to secure all three points.
He continued: “Jarrod scored a very good goal. I think he’s come back really well after his injury, and he’s very important for us. He’s our captain for a reason, and I really enjoy playing with him. I think we fit together really well.
“Overall, I’d say I’m more disappointed than happy. I think we showed a good mindset and mentality to come back, and we were still creating good chances when we were 2-1 up.
“We were a little unlucky in some situations, and then for me, we’ve conceded a goal that was too easy.
“It’s from a free-kick on the halfway line, which was a little bit silly, so we have to try and perfect these details so that we don’t concede goals like that.
“But, still at the end we were trying to push and score a third goal, and we had chances. That’s why I feel a bit disappointed, and that we were a bit unlucky. It would’ve been a great way to mark our first home game for nearly a month, with the win.”
A point earned lifts West Ham up one place to 15th in the Premier League table with seven games of 2024/25 remaining, and with a tough-looking trip to leaders Liverpool up next.
Füllkrug is clear that the squad will fight for every point left on offer between now and the summer, and following away wins at the likes of Arsenal and Newcastle earlier this season, is confident they can cause problems at Anfield.
He added: “I think we can play against every team and make it difficult for them, because we have high-quality players.
“If we stick together we can win any game, but we know we have to prove that out on the pitch. We need to keep the energy up for the whole game, and have intensity throughout.
“You can see that in some phases of the game, sometimes we lose it and concede goals, but if we have it at Anfield, I think we can be successful there.”
