No, your eyes don’t deceive you: Pablo actually scored a goal for West Ham. Finally.
Against Premier League opposition too, funnily enough. The 22-year-old equalised on the stroke of half-time in the Irons’ Carabao Cup tie against Fulham to a huge ovation.
Nuno Espírito Santo’s side went on to lose the game 3-2, crashing out of the cup, but Pablo’s goal was a huge positive. For months, Hammers fans have wondered, “Will this be the game?”, and at last, the answer was “yes”. It was a well-taken poacher’s finish from a tight angle, and the celebration was even better.
Actually, maybe it wasn’t. The Portuguese striker flapped about a bit and wasn’t entirely sure what to do with his hands. It has been so long since he has hit the net, he has probably forgotten how to celebrate.
But it was such a heartwarming moment, genuinely one of the most emotional moments on a West Ham pitch in 2026. You could see in Pablo’s face how much finally getting off the mark meant to him.
Additionally, he was greeted with a great ovation from the crowd and his teammates. Substitute and skipper Jarrod Bowen appeared elated with the former Gil Vicente man as the players went down the tunnel at half-time.
It will be intriguing to see where Pablo’s season goes from here. Will this be a once-off, or will the goals start to flow now that he has opened his account? Hopefully, the latter.
I have previously compared Pablo to Crysencio Summerville, another player who couldn’t seem to buy a goal in claret and blue for the longest time. But after the Dutchman’s strike against QPR in January, he proved superbly prolific in front of goal for the remainder of last season.
However, an arguably even more interesting comparison is with West Ham cult hero Carlos Tevez. Although many agree that the Argentine international is a modern great of the East End, his Hammers career didn’t get off to a flying start.
In fact, it took 20 appearances for Tevez to register his first goal for West Ham – that’s just two fewer than Pablo’s record. Following that excellent free-kick against Spurs, Tevez scored six goals in the last nine games of the 2006/07 season to complete the “Great Escape” and earn himself a move to Manchester United.
My point is: sometimes players – even great players – need time.
That goal has been coming for a long time for Pablo. Now that he has opened his account, let’s hope that the floodgates will open and he’ll start scoring for fun. He needs it, and he deserves it.
