Andriy Yarmolenko sank to his knees, arms out, less in celebration it seemed than in exhaustion. His teammates surrounded him, their reaction less of joy than of something more profound. When the Ukrainian got to his feet, his mouth was tight as he tried to fight back the tears. In the end he could not and, as he walked back to his own half to restart the game, he wept openly. Even Aston Villa’s players applauded. Football can be a horrible sport, its ownership model perhaps addled beyond repair, but there are still times when it can provide moments of enormous poignancy and perhaps more.
“Goal for West Ham and Ukraine,” boomed the stadium announcer, “Andriy Yarmolenko.” Was that overdoing it? Perhaps. But the bombast matched the mood. This was a goal that set West Ham on the way to their second win in seven games, and that kept West Ham dreaming of Champions League qualification. But it felt a lot more important than that.
