Vladimir Coufal believes his West Ham United teammates owe a debt of gratitude to the “brilliant” Darren Randolph following last night’s 3-1 Premier League win at West Bromwich Albion, speaking to the Hammers website.
Life as a back-up goalie is never an easy one, collecting splinters on the bench rather than shots on the pitch, waiting for an unfortunate injury to open up the most fleeting of opportunities.
But after Lukasz Fabianski went down in the warm-up at the Hawthorns, Randolph seized a rare chance to make his mark as West Ham all but secured Europa League football with just one match day remaining.
Making only his third appearance of the season, the experienced Ireland international was rock solid between the sticks and pulled off a decisive save from Semi Ajayi while the scores were level.
“During the warm-up, Lukasz got injured and Darren had to play instead. He did a brilliant job in my opinion, like always,” right-back Coufal said after the game.
“It wasn’t the first time this season Lukasz has got injured during the warm-up and it’s a difficult situation for everyone, especially the goalkeeper.
“(Randolph) did a brilliant job and I have to praise him and everyone has to say ‘thank you’ to him because it was a big save from Ajayi and he maybe saved us in the game.”
While Randolph stood strong at one end, Tomas Soucek and Michail Antonio both reached double figures for the season, either side of Angelo Ogbonna’s 82nd-minute strike.
The Hammers are now three points clear of seventh-place Tottenham heading into the final day clash against a Southampton side with nothing to play for.
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