Super Eagles striker Josh Maja scored his first goal of the 25/26 EFL Championship campaign to help West Bromwich Albion secure a crucial 1-0 win over Norwich City on Wednesday night, Footynaija.com reports.
Maja, who returned from a lengthy spell on the sidelines in August, was making his first EFL Championship start for the Baggies this season after five consecutive substitute appearances against the likes of Leicester City, Middlesbrough, Derby County, Stoke City and Portsmouth.
The 26-year-old striker wasted no time in repaying his manager’s faith as he opened the scoring for West Brom courtesy of a fine 20th minute strike. That goal proved to be the winner and Maja could barely hide his delight after making such a massive impact.
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What Josh Maja said
“It was amazing to be in the starting XI after a while,” Maja told the club’s official website.
“I was really looking forward to the opportunity to play and I thank the gaffer for giving me the chance. I enjoyed myself. Scoring the winner was a brilliant feeling, but earning the win was the most important thing tonight. Hopefully we can push on from here.
“Scoring goals is one of my strengths and I hope to carry on scoring goals and being part of a winning team. I want this to be the start of a spell for me where I score as many goals as possible, which is what any forward wants.
“It’s difficult to describe the feeling of scoring in detail, but it was definitely a rush. I had that feeling a few times last season and it’s great to get off the mark this season. It’s a blessing.
“I think we’ve started the season quite well and I’ve been coming back from injury. For me, it’s been about getting as fit as possible, training well and being ready when called on. The staff have done an amazing job to help me get back to a position of being ready and I thank them for that massively.
“I think tonight was the perfect time to come in, score and help the team win the game. Tonight’s win is a massive confidence boost for us because this league isn’t easy and it’s difficult to win away matches. We’ve come away with three points after suffering for some moments. That shows the character we have.”
Maja will be hoping to retain his starting position when West Brom travel to The Den for their clash against Millwall on Saturday, October 4.
