'It was a brilliant moment for me' - West Ham's Okoflex delighted to score vs Celtic

Irish-Nigerian winger Armstrong Okoflex has spoken of his happiness at scoring against Glasgow Celtic in a pre-season fixture staged at Celtic Park on Saturday, July 24.

Eight minutes after his introduction, Okoflex wrapped up the scoring with a brilliant left-footed shot into the bottom corner after his cross for Bowen was blocked.

The 19-year-old was on the books of Celtic for three years prior to his move to West Ham on a 2+1 year deal last month, and was happy that he was picked in the traveling party to Scotland by manager David Moyes.

Speaking to West Ham TV, Okoflex stated : "It was a brilliant moment for me. I’ve worked hard this pre-season, I got gifted this opportunity which I’m grateful and I was just really excited to come on and I was happy with the goal.

"I think I found out about the [Celtic] fixture after I signed, but once I saw the fixture I was like ‘I need to make the squad!’ so I was happy I made the squad and I’m grateful for the opportunity.

"Today was a special day. In Scotland, the [COVID] rules are still tough, so they only had 18,000 when they usually have 60,000 here.

"It was always special to come and play here and I just happened to get on the scoresheet and that’s something I’ve been working on, so it’s just nice to score."

Though Okoflex was signed for West Ham U23s, he will be aiming to make his competitive first team debut for the London club when the season begins.

Apart from the win at Celtic, he also featured in pre-season matches against Leyton Orient and Reading.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel