West Ham United’s James Ward-Prowse hails dream debut

James Ward-Prowse admitted his West Ham United debut had been ‘a dream’ after beating Chelsea at London Stadium.

The England international saw his right-wing corner headed home by Nayef Aguerd to give the hosts an early lead, before Chelsea levelled and missed a penalty.

And his through ball sent Michail Antonio away to fire home a second for the Hammers early in the second half to restore their advantage.

Lucas Paqueta’s injury-time penalty capped a memorable 3-1 victory and Ward-Prowse told whufc.com: “It was a fantastic day, a dream debut in many ways! 

“It was an incredible atmosphere and a real honour and pleasure to play in this stadium in front of so many fans.

“And to get a positive result was huge for us and you could see how much it meant to everybody at the end.”

Ward-Prowse was signed from Southampton for £30million, following the sale of Declan Rice to Arsenal, and arrived with a reputation for his set-piece skills.

And he was delighted to pick up a pair of assists in his first outing, adding: “It [the corner] was something we worked on during the week. We trained here in an empty stadium the other day and we did a few good ones.

“I felt the pressure to deliver in front of everybody and thankfully I did and it was a fantastic finish and the first of many, hopefully!

“It’s my first time obviously playing with Mick and you know his quality and what he can bring you and you can see he used his strength to get the team up the pitch and he got everybody together. 

“He did that so many times and gave us a breather. I thought he was fantastic for us.”

The Hammers had to work hard to take the points, after being reduced to 10 men midway through the second half when Aguerd was sent off for a second bookable offence.

David Moyes’ men had just 24 per cent possession on the day, but Ward-Prowse praised their togetherness and the club in general.

“We were playing against a very good Chelsea team who dominate the ball and have a lot of possession, so we had to ride our luck at times, which we did,” he said.

“But I thought we earned that through the hard work and togetherness we showed and you could feel around the place that there was a growing belief throughout the game and it was no surprise we went on to get the third goal.

“It’s been an incredible week and I can’t speak any more highly of the club, and the player care team who have done a fantastic job. 

“Everyone has looked after me. Ingsy [Danny Ings] has shown me the ropes and how it goes and it’s just a fantastic environment to be in and I’m absolutely honoured to be here. 

“It’s a fantastic group of lads and the good feelings in training are coming through to the matchday, as well.”

As for his first experience of being a home player at London Stadium and what the atmosphere might do to help the team’s cause this season, Ward-Prowse was clear in his mind.

“You don’t get to play in special atmospheres every week, but this place is special,” he added. 

“The club is steeped in history and you can feel it around the place and the fans gave us the boost we needed.

“It’s huge for every team, so we’ve made a good start and now it’s about building and looking towards the next fixture and trying to back this result up with another positive one next week if we can.”

West Ham head to in-form Brighton on Saturday (5.30pm).