Reece Burke thrilled to send West Ham through to FA Cup fourth round

West Ham’s FA Cup saviour Reece Burke said he had goosebumps after scoring an extra-time winner against Shrewsbury on Tuesday night.

Penalties loomed at the London Stadium as West Ham were held to a goalless draw by their League One opponents for the second time in nine days.

But after 202 scoreless minutes, the tie was settled by Burke’s first ever goal for his boyhood club, an instinctive strike that cannoned in off the crossbar.

“I was over the moon,” Burke told West Ham’s official club website.

“I just thought I’d keep my eyes on it and hit it as hard as I can and it went in, so I was really pleased. I had goosebumps when the ball went in and if you watch my celebration, I didn’t know what to do.”

Burke, born in Newham and a lifelong West Ham fan, joined the club’s academy aged nine and made his senior debut in the FA Cup four years ago against Nottingham Forest.

The 21-year-old’s strike against Shrewsbury came on his 14th appearance for the club.

“I had 14 of my family here watching, so they’ll be very happy for me,” Burke said.

“I‘m sure my dad will be buzzing. It’s unbelievable to score for my club, where I’m from, and it was really needed.

“We would have like to have won the game in normal time, but it obviously went to extra-time and we didn’t really want penalties.”

West Ham go through to the fourth round where they will face either Bournemouth or Wigan, who play their replay on Wednesday. David Moyes’ side also host Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday.

Shrewsbury, meanwhile, turn their attention back to securing promotion to the Championship, with Doncaster the visitors to the New Meadow this weekend.

“It should give them belief and confidence because we’ve gone toe-to-toe with West Ham – not quite the full line-up but still some very good players in both games – and we’ve not looked totally out of place,” manager Paul Hurst said.

“That should bode well for the rest of the campaign in the league.”