Jarrod Bowen was close to tears as he celebrated scoring the goal which won West Ham the Europa Conference League.
Bowen raced on to Lucas Paqueta’s brilliant pass in the 90th minute and slotted past Pietro Terracciano to earn the Hammers a 2-1 victory over Fiorentina in Prague.
It secured the club’s first piece of silverware since the 1980 FA Cup and their first European trophy since 1965.
Bowen told BT Sport: “You always say you want to score in the last minute and to do it here in front of these fans, I thought I was going to cry.
“I’m so happy. We haven’t had the best season, myself included, but to do it tonight, I’m over the moon.
“I think in my position you make that run 10 times you might get that ball once. As soon as you get it you’ve got to put it away.”
Bowen had earlier won the penalty from which Said Benrahma opened the scoring but Giacomo Bonaventura equalised just four minutes later for the Serie A side.
BOWEN’S ON FIRE 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ac2hmtM7p5
— West Ham United (@WestHam) June 7, 2023
But with the game appearing set to head to extra-time, Bowen struck his 13th goal of the campaign and earned West Ham a place in next season’s Europa League.
The England international added: “Never (have I felt like this in my life). This is the biggest game of my career. The emotion, there was time for one more chance. I’m just so happy. I’m over the moon.
“I’m thinking of the party tonight. Listen to it. Listen.”
Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie
Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.
Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.