MY ACCOUNT
Andriy Yarmolenko said he was grateful for the support being shown to himself and the Ukrainian people after scoring West Ham’s opener in a 2-1 win over Aston Villa.
The winger, who is second to Andriy Shevchenko (48) in Ukraine’s all-time goalscoring charts after netting 44 goals for his country, poked into the bottom corner on 70 minutes to set the Hammers on their way to victory at the London Stadium.
Yarmolenko was making his first appearance since being granted a period of leave by West Ham boss David Moyes after Russia invaded his homeland last month and was welcomed with a standing ovation when introduced from the bench in the second half.
After marking the occasion in the perfect manner with his goal, the winger expressed gratitude for the support he has received in an emotional post-match interview.
“What happened today, it was so emotional for me,” the 32-year-old told West Ham’s media channels.
“You know the situation in my country, it’s so difficult for me, at this moment, to think about football because every day in my country, Russia’s army kills Ukrainian people. So, it was so emotional.
“To be honest I don’t know what to say, it’s just so emotional. I just want to say thank you to my team-mates, who support me all the time, every day.
“To the West Ham fans, who support me, who support the Ukrainian people, I also want to say thank you.
“I want to say thank you to all British people, because we feel that you support us.
“For me it’s really important to feel support from the manager, from team-mates, and from the fans. When I feel it, I give everything for the fans and for the club.”
Yarmolenko’s neat turn and finish represented his eighth goal in the Premier League, with just two more required for him to match former Tottenham man Serhiy Rebrov as the highest-scoring Ukrainian in the competition’s history.
The goalscorer also admitted he is not yet at 100 per cent, having been left unable to train in the immediate aftermath of the Russian invasion of his country.
“I felt the support from the fans,” Yarmolenko added. “I just tried to give everything on the pitch, because I knew how important the game was for us today.
“I’m not 100 per cent ready, in the last two weeks I trained maybe three or four times.
“Since February 26 [two days after the invasion began], for me, it was impossible to train, I was just thinking about my family, about my people.
“I just tried to give everything on the pitch.”
