Garth Crooks has heaped praise onto West Ham’s Ukrainian winger Andriy Yarmolenko after his superb goal against Aston Villa.
The 32-year-old came off the bench to open the scoring against Villa, and his celebration was understandably emotional amid all the turmoil in his home country right now.
Crooks was clearly moved by the moment, naming Yarmolenko in his Premier League team of the week.
“The moment the substitution was made my immediate thought was: ‘Does he have the mental strength to cope with Premier League football with everything else that must be going on in his life?'” Crooks said.
“Not only did the Ukraine international cope with the occasion but his goal was magical. Football has a habit of throwing up moments like this but to see an entire stadium rise to its feet in admiration of Yarmolenko’s goal and strength of purpose is about as good as football gets.
“This was an excellent win for the Hammers and keeps them in the hunt for a top-four finish.”