Ben Johnson took a long and deserved ice bath after helping West Ham United freeze out Brighton & Hove Albion at London Stadium.
The right-back made his first Premier League start of the season and celebrated the occasion by shutting out the Seagulls as West Ham United made it four top-flight clean sheets in a row and consolidated sixth place in the table.
Tuesday’s result completed an unbeaten festive season for the Irons, who had previously defeated Wolverhampton Wanderers, Manchester United and Arsenal without conceding a single goal.
“It’s a good start to the year personally and collectively, a very good point and going unbeaten against a very good Brighton team this season and not conceding against them [tonight] is some feat, so congratulations to all the boys for what we’ve done over the Christmas period as it’s been a successful one,” he told West Ham TV.
For the 23-year-old, his resilient performance vindicated the hard work he has put in at Rush Green and the patience he has shown to wait for his opportunity, which came after Vladimír Coufal was ruled out through illness.
Indeed, with the Czech and six other regulars missing for a variety of reasons, a shutout and a point were reward for the resilience shown by not just Johnson, but the likes of Angelo Ogbonna, Dinos Mavropanos and, above all, goalkeeper Alphonse Areola, who made eight important saves.
“The whole squad is full of quality with me, Saïd Benrahma and Pablo Fornals coming in tonight and Dinos and Ange coming in in the last few weeks and putting in real good performances and keeping us at a level where we’re looking up rather than looking down,” the No2 observed.
“That’s testament to the boys coming in that when we don’t play we work hard, we train well and are professional so that, when the time comes and the manager needs us, we take the opportunity and I feel like the boys did well tonight.”
For Johnson personally, it was rewarding to be back out on the pitch from kick-off in the Premier League for the first time since May 2023, and in front of a capacity home crowd to boot.
“It’s a great feeling, obviously,” he confirmed. “I’ve had a couple of appearances in cups and in Europe, but to play in the Premier League is just so different as the competitiveness and the intensity are why we do this job and why we enjoy football.
“To get my first start of the season is just a good feeling and the hard work I’ve put in over the last few months has paid off.”
While dislodging Coufal from the team permanently may prove tough, Johnson knows from the 92 appearances he has made in Claret and Blue that he has the quality required to play at the highest level.
“It’s just about finding that rhythm again,” he explained. “It’s a competitive squad and it’s not like I expect to play every week, but when there’s an opportunity for me to come in and play and help the team I’ve got to be bang on it and be as concentrated as I can.
“We had a few illnesses and I’ve come in and I think I did a steady job for the team and to keep a clean sheet on a personal note was a good thing.
“Of course I want to keep my place in the team [for Sunday’s home Emirates FA Cup third-round tie with Bristol City], keep going and get as many games as I can for the rest of the season and to play in all the competitions is good, so I’m looking forward to the game on Sunday.”
