Sammie Szmodics might have made himself a West Ham cult hero without ever playing for his boyhood club after what he did at Spurs.
There is absolutely no love lost between West Ham and bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
After Millwall, Spurs are West Ham’s fiercest opponents.
The Hammers are still smarting from that embarrassing 4-1 defeat at Tottenham a few weeks ago.
The pathetic nature of West Ham’s collapse in that big game is a big black mark against Julen Lopetegui’s reputation.
Best player Mohammed Kudus has missed the three games since and will sit out the next two as well after his head loss which left three Tottenham players on the deck.
West Ham went into their game against Everton this weekend amidst reports defeat could see Lopetegui sacked.
The Irons and Toffees played out a 0-0 draw labelled the worst game of the Premier League season so far.
Despite calls from fans for Lopetegui to be sacked, the Spaniard remains in post at the time of writing.
The weekend wasn’t a complete blowout for the Hammers, though.
Whenever Tottenham Hotspur lose, the sun shines that bit brighter in east London.
That’s just how it is with football rivalries.
So Ipswich going to Tottenham’s own back yard and beating them 2-1 has gone down well at West Ham.
Now it’s just got even better.
West Ham fans will love what Szmodics said after win over Spurs
West Ham fans will absolutely love what Sammie Szmodics said after the shock win over Spurs.
The Hammers were heavily linked with a move for Szmodics ahead of the summer.
The midfielder is a West Ham fanatic and even has a season ticket at the London Stadium.
Szmodics has never hidden his love for the Hammers and was flattered by links to his boyhood club in the summer.
Then with Blackburn, Szmodics was said to be a big target of former boss David Moyes.
The Scot’s departure put paid to any fairytale move, though, as Szmodics joined Ipswich Town instead.
Now he’s gone and done the next best thing by scoring against Tottenham and dedicating it to West Ham.
Hammer Szmodics scored a brilliant overhead kick to put the Tractor Boys 1-0 up at Spurs on 31 minutes.
Liam Delap made it 2-0 and Ipswich held on to seal their first win since returning to the Premier League.
With West Ham academy graduate Ben Johnson also key to the surprise victory, this was a win made in east London.
And made all the sweeter for Hammers fans on hearing what Szmodics had to say afterwards.
Star dedicates Tottenham goal to West Ham
“It felt incredible,” Szmodics expressed post-match.
“We truly deserved this win. Our performances in recent weeks have been solid, and we finally got the reward for our efforts. This venue is challenging for any team, but we worked hard for those three points.
“This is a fantastic feeling, one of my best goals in one of the best stadiums. I’ve never scored another overhead kick, so I’ll cherish this one.”
As he left the pitch, Szmodics was cheekily asked if the win held a special significance as a West Ham supporter.
His reply sealed cult hero status without ever having kicked a ball for the club.
“Of course!” Szmodics said with a grin.
“That’s for all the West Ham fans out there!”
Related Posts
