James Ward-Prowse could not have hoped for a better West Ham United debut after his two assists helped the Hammers defeat Chelsea in their Premier League home opener.
The England midfielder set up goals for Nayef Aguerd and Michail Antonio early in each half as the Irons shrugged off the disappointment of conceding an equaliser and being reduced to ten men by Aguerd’s red card to secure another famous victory over the Blues at London Stadium.
The Hammers have now won on four and lost just one of Chelsea’s last seven visits to E20, and Ward-Prowse was central to this latest success, first whipping a corner to the far post for Aguerd to head home, then picking out the run of Antonio, who held off Lewi Colwill before powering his shot beyond Robert Sánchez, with a lofted through ball.
The new No7’s trademark energy was evident too as the hosts worked hard to keep a side coached by his former Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino at bay, particularly after Aguerd had been dismissed for two bookable offences.
Speaking to West Ham TV, Ward-Prowse also showed humility in thanking his teammates and the Claret and Blue Army for helping the Club make a perfect start to 2023/24 on home turf.
James, what a way to make your introduction!
“Yes, it was a fantastic day, a dream debut in many ways! It was an incredible atmosphere and a real honour and pleasure to play in this stadium in front of so many fans, and to get a positive result was huge for us and you could see how much it meant to everybody at the end.”
Everybody has spoken about your set pieces since you joined and it only took you seven minutes to show us what all the fuss was about?!
“It was something we worked on during the week. We trained here in an empty stadium the other day and we did a few good ones and I felt the pressure to deliver in front of everybody and thankfully I did today and it was a fantastic finish and the first of many, hopefully!”
For the second goal, it must be a dream to have someone like Mick making those runs in behind?
“Yeah, it is. It’s my first time obviously playing with Mick and you know his quality and what he can bring you and you can see he used his strength to get the team up the pitch and he got everybody together. He did that so many times today and gave us a breather. I thought he was fantastic for us.”
It wasn’t always pretty, but it was a hard-fought victory?
“We were playing against a very good Chelsea team who dominate the ball and have a lot of possession, so we had to ride our luck at times, which we did, but I thought we earned that through the hard work and togetherness we showed and you could feel around the place that there was a growing belief throughout the game and it was no surprise we went on to get the third goal.”
How has your whole day been for you, your first matchday at London Stadium as a West Ham player?
“It’s been an incredible week and I can’t speak any more highly of the Club, and the player care team who have done a fantastic job. Everyone has looked after me, Ingsy (former Southampton teammate Danny Ings) has shown me the ropes and how it goes and it’s just a fantastic environment to be in and I’m absolutely honoured to be here. It’s a fantastic group of lads and the good feelings in training are coming through to the matchday, as well.”
What went through your head walking out in front of 62,500 fans as West Ham player for the first time?
“Goosebumps, for sure! You don’t get to play in special atmospheres every week, but this place is special. The Club is steeped in history and you can feel it around the place and the fans gave us the boost we needed today.”
How important will our home form be this season?
“It’s huge for every team, so we’ve made a good start and now it’s about building and looking towards the next fixture and trying to back this result up with another positive one next week if we can.”
