IRELAND INTERNATIONAL Dara O’Shea reflected on a proud moment as he led West Brom out in the Championship for the first time on Saturday.
A good day got better for the 23-year-old, who scored one and created another in his side’s 5-2 victory over Hull.
The result saw the Baggies move up to 13th in the table and the game was another milestone for O’Shea, who joined West Brom from St Kevin’s Boys in 2015 and has already made over 100 appearances at senior level.
“The emotion I’m feeling the most right now is immense pride If I’m being honest,” O’Shea told the club website.
“I’ve been here since I was 16 and just to play for the first team is a massive honour, but to lead the team out as captain in a league game is special.
“I’ll never forget this moment.
“I didn’t know I was going to be captain until before the game so it kind of came at me quite fast. The boss mentioned it in the team meeting before the game. I saw my name up to play and it had captain next to it too.
“I was just really happy when I saw it.
“I just prepared exactly the same way and approached it like I would any other game, to be honest.
“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do here, be a captain. I’m just really happy to have achieved it.”
The Irish defender endured a difficult season last year. He suffered a fractured ankle and ligament damage while playing in Ireland’s World Cup qualifier with Portugal and this setback meant he missed a large portion of the campaign.
However, the Dubliner has recovered well since then, starting all five of West Brom’s Championship games so far this season and helping register their first league win since the start of the campaign yesterday.
“It was almost a perfect afternoon and I say almost because I would’ve wanted us to have kept a clean sheet,” he added.
“I’m really disappointed we’ve conceded two goals in that game.
“Scoring goals is what we’ve been lacking of late. We’ve been playing well but we haven’t been scoring and we haven’t been winning. You need to score to win games and we’ve managed to get five today, which is really pleasing.
“It’s massive for the boys and the whole team. It proves what we are trying to do is right. Goals will come. It’s a really positive day.
“I’ll take the goal if they want to give it to me, but as a defender, I’d rather have kept a clean sheet.
“Everyone back home has been messaging me. I’m going to enjoy this moment and try and take it all in.”
