Michail Antonio of West Ham United warms up ahead of kick-off during the FA Cup match between Derby County and West Ham United at Pride Park, Derby on Monday 30th January 2023. (Photo by Jon Hobley/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Michail Antonio has now shared with The Footballer’s Football Podcast what West Ham United’s players had to say about their Saturday warm-up at St James’ Park.
The Hammers earned a hard-earned point against Newcastle United over the weekend, but they didn’t start well.
Joe Willock thought he had opened the scoring in the first minute, but VAR overturned his effort.
Callum Wilson scored Newcastle’s first goal just two minutes later, racing through on goal and beating Lukasz Fabianski.
David Moyes’ side made a poor start to the game, but they clearly felt confident during the warm-up.
Declan Rice told Sky Sports that it was probably the best pre-game preparation the Hammers had this season.
Antonio has now echoed the Englishman’s post-match thoughts and shared what his teammates were saying about their pre-game warm-up.
What West Ham players had to say about their pre-match warm-up before the Newcastle game
“The first three minutes were completely insane. “I’m not sure what it was, but let’s just call it madness because what I find crazy is that our warm-up was so sharp,” Antonio explained.
“We were ablaze. We went in and were like ‘the warm-up is flames, we’ll go out there and bring the warm-up into the game’.
“And then bang goal. VAR saved the day. ‘Sugar,’ I thought. Okay, minor, nothing to see here, let’s go. Begin again.
“Boom, Callum with a goal. I was like, ‘this is a goal,’ as soon as he was through on goal. I was enraged. And then when you finished it, I was like, “Wait a minute, this guy’s getting a hat trick, and I’m not even going to the party!”
Newcastle frequently start games quickly, and despite what was clearly a positive pre-match experience for the Hammers, they were under pressure for the first 15 minutes.
But David Moyes’ side responded well, with Luca Paqueta bringing them back level just after the half-hour mark.
It was a crucial point for West Ham against a strong Newcastle side. The Hammers are just one point above the relegation zone, but Moyes will be encouraged after seeing his team improve in recent weeks.
