Reggae Boy Michail Antonio, now playing second fiddle to a 23-year-old six-foot, five-inch Italian striker, sealed all three points with an injury-time goal as West Ham United came from behind to defeat Fulham 3-1 in the English Premier League on Sunday.
The 32-year-old Antonio, who came on as an 80th-minute substitute, cashed in on a comedy of errors in the 91st minute at London Stadium.
After his initial shot was saved by Bernd Leno, the German goalkeeper and Tim Ream got in each other’s way trying to clear, inadvertently presenting the striker with an open goal.
Antonio had replaced Gianluca Scamacca, who scored for a third-successive game in the 62nd minute with a chip after a hint of handball.
Having had to bide his time following his £32 million (US$35.4 million) move from Sassuolo in the summer, Scamacca has now taken his Hammers’ tally to six goals in 12 appearances.
Fulham, who were forced to use Reggae Boy forward Bobby Reid as a makeshift defender, led after six minutes as Andreas Pereira rifled home from a tight angle.
However, Pereira then fouled Craig Dawson from a corner and Jarrod Bowen scored the penalty.
Michail Antonio, who this season lost his place in the Hammers XI to Scamacca, showed he had a point to prove, bustling through and driving into the empty net to seal the win after entering the contest late.
In the fifth-tier National League on Saturday, 27-year-old Jamaican striker Junior Morias notched his fifth goal in six games – and sixth in all for the campaign – but Dagenham & Redbridge had to settle for a point in a 1-1 home draw against Southend United
Substitute Callum Powell’s 79th-minute equalizer earned Southend the point after the Daggers led in the 19th minute through Morias, whose right-footed shot beat on-loan Stoke goalkeeper Blondy Nna Noukeu.
Morias later went off, but the extent of the Kingston-born striker’s injury was not immediately known.
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