David Moyes, the manager of West Ham United, expressed his admiration for Ghanaian midfielder Mohammed Kudus, who played a key role in the Hammers’ victory over Backa Topola in the Europa League.
The midfielder from the Black Stars marked his debut with a goal that helped West Ham stage a comeback at the London Olympic Stadium.
Kudus made his first start for the club since joining the English side during the summer transfer window from Ajax.
After Topola took an early second-half lead through Petar Stanic, West Ham was given a lifeline, thanks to Kudus, who pressured Nemanja Petrovic into scoring an own goal in the 66th minute. Shortly thereafter, the former Ajax star gave West Ham the lead, with Thomas Soucek completing the comeback nine minutes before the end of the game.
Moyes, reflecting on Kudus’ performance, commented, “I thought Mo started the game really well and the team was playing well in the opening 20 minutes. He faded away, but in the end he came up with one and maybe two goals, I’m being told, so I’m really, really pleased for him,” said Moyes after the game.
“He’s made a good start, we like him a lot and we’ll edge him in when we get the opportunities in the right moments to do so. I’m pleased because we needed someone to come up with goals tonight and he was the one who did it.”