By Louis Nixon

Taty Castellenos scored his first goal in Claret & Blue, and it proved to be the winner, whilst his passion also propelled the Hammers onwards. 

Across the game, Taty seemed to have his moments of good and bad. The beginning saw the forward struggle to get into the game, but from the moment Pablo was substituted on, it seemed to unlock a world of potential towards Taty, who created the opportunity for the first goal and scored the second goal, which ended up being the winner. 

Across the game, on several occasions, Taty ended up giving the crowd the energy, persistently going up to the fans and raising his arms, raising the spirits that might’ve died initially and it was excellent to see a bit of fight across 120 minutes from a player who’s newly joined the Hammers, it certainly wouldn’t be a shock to see him become a fan favourite.

Furthermore, some fans may be quick to say, that it was against QPR, and that nothing can be taken from the game… but the truth is, we’re a struggling side that’s been picked apart mentally in games and today, to see us go down and pick back up, will 100% reinstate confidence amongst this side, it will provide belief going into the next round of the FA Cup and the Premier League which we’ve desperately needed, this could prove to be a vital turning point in the season. 

Taty across the match had an 81% accurate pass percentage and also created 2 chances across the match, one of which, of course, converted into a goal. Additionally to the goal he scored and created, he also had a blinding strike from range, which nearly went in, but it was saved by the QPR goalkeeper.

From creating chances to thrilling energy levels, Taty is slowly shaping himself into becoming a staple piece that the Hammers have been needing for years. Unfortunately, the arrival of Taty might’ve come whilst we were down and out, but it’s fair to say that what he’s brought is most definitely an improvement to what we had.