‘It was so emotional for me’ - Ukraine international Andriy Yarmolenko after scoring in West Ham win
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Published 14/03/2022 at 09:30 GMT
Ukraine international Andriy Yarmolenko says it has been “so difficult” to concentrate on anything other than what is going on in his country, after scoring in West Ham’s 2-1 win over Aston Villa. The forward came off the bench to get the opening goal, but he says it was “impossible to train” when the conflict first started as he “was just thinking about my family and my people”.
Andriy Yarmolenko says he was overcome with emotion after scoring the opener for West Ham in a 2-1 win over Aston Villa
Image credit: Getty Images
West Ham’s Ukraine international Andriy Yarmolenko was overcome with emotion after scoring in the 2-1 Premier League win over Aston Villa, after saying all he can think about is “the Russian army is killing Ukrainian people.”
The forward was in tears after he came off the bench to score the opening goal in his first appearance for the club since Moscow began its invasion.
Yarmolenko received a standing ovation from both sets of supporters when he was introduced in the second half at the London Stadium and after putting his side ahead, all of his team-mates embraced him.
"It was so emotional for me because of the situation in my country," he told Sky Sports.
"It is so difficult for me right now in this moment thinking about football because every day, the Russian army is killing Ukrainian people.
"I just want to say thank you to my team-mates, who support me all the time, every day. To West Ham fans, they also support me and Ukrainian people and also to all British people, because we feel you support us.
"I felt the support from the fans and I tried to give everything on the pitch because I know how important the game was for us today. I'm not ready for 100% because the last two weeks I train maybe three or four times.
Since 26 February, I had to rest for four days because it was impossible to train; I was just thinking about my family and my people. I just tried to give everything on the pitch.
Manager David Moyes called it a “special moment” and said the whole team applauded him when he returned to the dressing room after the game.
"Football has a huge appeal all around the world and I hope in some way if you big it up enough it will do something to help stop this, and maybe give the Ukrainians something to shout about that they are seeing we are talking about it in this country all the time. The goal was important, but the message more so,” Moyes said.
"The other games he did not feel right, and when I spoke to him yesterday, he has not done a lot of training, just a few days. He's lost a bit of weight which is understandable.
"He has family members in Ukraine and family here, and Lukasz Fabianski has been a really big help to him, regarding getting into Poland as well. So there has been a real team spirit effort, a real team effort behind the scenes."
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