West Ham ace Andriy Yarmolenko lifts lid on ’emotional’ time amid conflict
West Ham winger Andriy Yarmolenko has opened up on the Ukrainian conflict, thanking the British public for their support during such “emotional” times.
The 32-year-old featured in a matchday squad for the first time since the Hammers faced Kidderminster Harriers in the FA Cup in February.
In true fairy-tale fashion, the Ukrainian came off the bench to score the opener in a 2-1 win for the Irons over Aston Villa.
“It was so emotional for me, because you know the situation in my country,” Yarmolenko told Sky Sports.
“It’s so difficult for me at the moment to think about football because every day in my country the Russian army kills Ukrainian people. It was so emotional. I don’t know what to say.
“I just want to say thank you to my teammates who support me all the time, every day.
“West Ham fans support Ukraine and Ukrainian people, and I also want to say thank you to British people because we feel your support.
“I’m not ready 100 per cent yet because, over the last few weeks, I have only trained three or four times.
“Since February 26th, I’ve only rested for four days because, for me, it was impossible to train, I was just thinking about my family and my people. I just try to give everything on the pitch.”
Couldn’t write it
Wow, what a brilliant story. If anyone deserved to score yesterday, it was Yarmolenko.
It was such a relief to see the Ukrainian international back in the squad after a long time out but not many thought he would even come on, never mind make the impact he did.
The forward has gone through such a tough time recently and will continue to do so until this conflict is resolved.
He needed that goal badly and the reception he got from the fans inside the London Stadium will hopefully give him the determination to return to action on a regular basis.
It was a very hard fought game against a very in-form Steven Gerrard side who made life rather uncomfortable for the Irons.
But they did what they needed to do and dug deep for all three points to keep the Hammers’ unlikely dreams of finishing in the top four alive.
In other West Ham news, Declan Rice can’t settle with the Irons out of loyalty – Dean Jones.
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