Neeskens Kebano was delighted to end his ‘long, long wait’ for his first Fulham goal after he notched the injury-time winner against Wigan Athletic on Saturday.
The Congolese winger, introduced as a second half substitute by Slavisa Jokanovic with Fulham 2-1 down to the Latics at Craven Cottage, produced the perfect finish to guide home Tom Cairney’s precise pass in the final seconds of stoppage time and keep the Whites’ Championship play-off hopes alive. Kebano, just back from African Cup of Nations duty with his country, had previously made twelve appearances for the Cottagers without finding the net.
Speaking after the final whistle to FulhamFCTV, the 24 year-old shared the sense of relief in the home dressing room after coming from behind to win a topsy-turvy encounter:
They are very, very happy because it was a tough game. We played to the end and we put all we could put into this game. I think we made this game hard for ourselves because we did some mistakes and we concede some goals that we could avoid, but the most important thing is to win that game – so we are happy.
It was my first goal so, first of all, I am very, very happy with my first goal because I was waiting for a long time to score even one goal. I thought that I would score maybe before, but I don’t know how many games have already been played and I have had to wait a long time to score my first goal and tonight I’m happy.
Kebano was mobbed by his Fulham team-mates after his composure at the crucial moment salvaged all three points for the home side and admitted his joyous celebrations underlined just how together the whole team is.
Of course. I’m sure that all of my team-mates were very happy for me because I was waiting for a long time and they showed to me that they like me and we are very, very close to each other so we are very happy and we just go forward with the same spirit.
