West Ham United's Jarrod Bowen admitted to feeling 'a massive weight off the shoulders' after netting in their 2-0 win over Premier League rivals Wolves.
Bowen drove home a left-footed shot in the second half to seal the points at London Stadium, after Italian striker Gianluca Scamacca had broken the deadlock with a stunning effort before the break.
And the 25-year-old Bowen was relieved to open his domestic acccount, having scored 18 goals in all competitions last season.
"Scoring the first Premier League goal is a massive weight off the shoulders," he told whufc.com.
"I scored a couple in Europe but the first Premier League goal is the one you want.
"I had a couple of chances today and when you’re not scoring some people say you should be dropped, but you keep plugging away, keep doing the basics.
"I always do the basics every single day and I know the belief I’ve got in myself and from everybody around me that I’ll score goals.
"Today I’m delighted obviously with the goal, and with the victory as well it’s perfect."
Scamacca's 29th-minute strike against fellow strugglers Wolves was the first time West Ham had found the net in the first half this campaign.
And Bowen agreed it was important to get their noses in front against opponents who had struck just three times in their opening seven matches.
"It was really important to score the first goal," he added.
"We’ve gone behind too many times for our liking at the start of the season and that has meant we’ve been chasing the game.
"To go 1-0 up and be more in control of the game was great. It was a great finish from the big man and he’s been excellent so he thoroughly deserves today."
A second victory in eight outings allowed David Moyes' men to climb out of the drop zone to 15th and Bowen said it was important to restart their season well after the international break.
Now he is hoping they can find some consistency and momentum in the lead-up to the next international break - for the World Cup in Qatar next month.
"It’s just what we needed. We hadn’t made the start we wanted and then we’ve had an international break when we could regroup our thoughts and go again to get ready to be on the front foot," he said.
"We wanted to be a bit more clinical and dominant with our performances. I thought today we suffered without the ball, but what this manager does is make us a tough group to beat and break down.
"You saw on the counter-attack the chances we had and we scored two well-taken goals. A clean sheet as well which the defenders will love and it’s a massive three points for us with a lot of games coming up.
"Hopefully this is the first of many wins we can pick up along the way."
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