Northern Ireland striker Callum Marshall made his long-awaited Premier League debut when he came on as a substitute in West Ham United’s 2-0 defeat at Arsenal at the weekend.
On the hour mark Hammers boss Nuno Espírito Santo introduced the 20-year-old into the action at the Emirates Stadium in place of German international Niclas Fullkrug, and the former Linfield player admitted it was a relief to finally get some Premier League minutes under his belt.
“It’s been a long time coming, so I’m just happy that I got on the pitch,” Marshall told West Ham TV.
“I’ve been on the bench a few times now. I was on the bench when David Moyes was here and then a couple of times under Graham Potter, but this is obviously the first time I’ve got on, so I’m just thankful to the gaffer."
“Obviously he hasn’t seen much of me yet,” he added. “But hopefully in the weeks to come, when I get back from Northern Ireland duty, he’ll get to see more of me and I can show him that I can affect games and bring a bit of energy, which I tried to do today, but it was a hard game to affect the way it was going.
“[With my late headed chance] I should have scored, but it is what it is. Hopefully, if I get on again, I’ll put the ball in the back of the net and finally become a Premier League goalscorer.”
Elsewhere in the Premier League Justin Devenny came on as a substitute as Crystal Palace saw their long unbeaten run come to an end following a 2-1 defeat at Everton, while Conor Bradley was again subbed at half-time as Liverpool fell to a third successive defeat after going down 2-1 at Chelsea.
Northern Ireland defender Trai Hume started Sunderland’s 2-0 loss to Manchester United at Old Trafford and Daniel Ballard impressed when he came off the bench shortly before half-time for his fifth appearance of the season.
“We know at this level, you can’t start that slow and expect to be in the game,” Hume told the club website.
“However, we came out in the second half and we were better. We created a few chances and probably should have taken them. We were poor in our decision making but we know that.
“We’re disappointed we lost the game. We know why but we’ll try and keep the positivity.”
On the goalscoring front winger Paul Smyth headed home an 84th minute winner to secure all three points for QPR in their 2-1 victory at Bristol City, and Shayne Lavery scored as Cambridge United beat Crawley Town 3-1 in League Two.
In the Scottish Championship Ronan Hale found the net for the ninth time this term as Ross County chalked up their first league win of the new campaign with a 2-1 home success over Raith Rovers.
Meanwhile, in the Championship in England, Jamie Donley managed some game time with Stoke City for the first time since the end of August when he played the final 10 minutes of the 1-1 draw at Blackburn Rovers.
Midfielder Callum Burnside, who joined Alloa Athletic on loan from Rangers last week, made his debut for the Scottish League One outfit in their single-goal defeat at Queen of the South.
In the SWPL Cup Kerry Beattie scored and also weighed in with an assist as Aberdeen Women progressed to the next round of the competition with a 3-1 home win over Kilmarnock Women.
Finally, Under-17 international Joel Kerr scored both goals in West Ham United’s 2-1 U18 Premier League Cup success against Nottingham Forest.
