Former West Ham United youngster Toni Martinez gave Deportivo Alaves’ survival hopes an almighty boost on Sunday as the La Liga strugglers secured a remarkable 4-3 comeback win at Celta Vigo.
Few would have given relegation-threatened Alaves much of a chance away to a Celta side who swept Lyon aside in the Europa League last-16 a few days earlier. Especially when Claudio Giraldez’s in-form hosts raced into a 3-0 lead inside 37 minutes.
But while West Ham slipped to defeat at Aston Villa and squandered their chance to leapfrog Tottenham towards the bottom of the Premier League, an instantly-iconic Toni Martinez performance saw Alaves put a three-point buffer between themselves and Real Mallorca in 18th.
A very underwhelming Villa Park defeat! 🙄
Describe THAT performance in one word…
Martinez, who scored 26 goals in 31 games for West Ham United’s reserves between 2016 and 2019, ignited what he himself calls a ‘historic’ victory as he pulled one back on the stroke of half-time at Balaidos.
Martinez then helped to reduce the gap to one as he robbed a Celta defender to assist Angel Perez. The one-time Valencia, Porto and Oxford striker then drilled in a long-range equaliser before Abde Rebbach completed the turnaround.
Toni Martinez inspires La Liga survival bid as West Ham United slip
“Right now, I’m a bit speechless after such a historic match for us,” Martinez told the official Alaves YouTube channel. “We started the game very poorly; we didn’t feel comfortable at all, neither on nor off the ball.
“And well, in the end, a team like [Celta] doesn’t forgive you. They had three shots and scored three goals.
“I think our goal in the first half was crucial to keep us in the game. Finishing [the first-half] at 3-1 gave us a different feeling. The boss [ex-Watford chief Quique Sanchez Flores] did an amazing job at half-time; we completely changed the dynamic and saw a totally different team in the second-half.
“We wanted to take the game to them, and that’s exactly what happened. It’s been a dream afternoon. A historic comeback.”
Where would West Ham be right NOW if we hadn’t sacked Graham Potter? 🤔
Let's here your views!
Taty Castellanos and Pablo Felipe flop at Villa Park
West Ham have never actually come from 3-0 down to win a match in the Premier League era. The closest they came was when Manuel Lanzini beat Hugo Lloris with that screaming volley during a topsy-turvy six-goal derby thriller at Tottenham in 2020.
Such a comeback never appeared on the cards at Villa Park. Pablo Felipe still hasn’t scored a West Ham goal while Taty Castellanos failed to record a single shot on target for the fifth time in eleven top-flight games.
Toni Martinez is clearly not struggling in that department. In eleven La Liga appearances since mid-January, the late-blooming number nine has scored or assisted seven goals; three of those coming away to an unsuspecting Celta.
“Goals and assists are important to me,” a triumphant Martinez beamed. “Helping today with two goals and an assist is very special, especially hitting the target I set for myself; surpassing ten [goals in all competitions].
“I’m at eleven now, and I want many more to keep helping the team. Above all, when goals lead to three points, it’s much more satisfying.
“We’re going all the way to the end.”
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