6:10am Monday 15th March 2010
FABRICE Muamba joked that the only person happier than himself as he netted his first goal for Wanderers would have been any punter who had placed a wager on him hitting the back of the net against Wigan.
The battling midfielder had started 59 Premier League games for the club without seriously testing a goalkeeper — and it would have been a brave man, or one with deep pockets, to have backed him to alter that statistic in Saturday’s derby.
But Muamba proved the doubters wrong by taking his first goal since the final day of the 2007-8 season with the skill and poise of a proven striker — perhaps making someone, somewhere, a very rich man indeed.
“I don’t bet but anyone who had me down to score must be having a great party right now,” laughed the midfield enforcer.
“You could say I surprised myself.
“It has been a long time coming but it has just been the perfect day.
“When the fans shout ‘shoot’ every time I get the ball, you do smile a bit.
“But it was great just to get the goal.”
Muamba raced to the dugout to celebrate his maiden goal with Owen Coyle, also pointing up to referee Mark Halsey — who recently made his remarkable comeback from cancer — and was sitting in the stands.
And he acknowledged the Wanderers manager’s role in transforming his fortunes in front of goal at the Reebok.
“The gaffer has been really supportive and has been willing me to take my opportunities when they come along,” said the England Under-21s star.
“It hadn’t come off until today, and it was great.
“But it wouldn’t have meant a lot unless we had got the result, and the way we played — the first half was good, but the second half was even better.
“The way we went about our business was great and we deserved to win.”
Muamba was not the only one to end a barren scoring run, and he also had words of praise for Johan Elmander, who set the Whites on their way to a 4-0 win with a 10th-minute strike.
“Johan has been getting a lot of stick about not scoring goals but I think he has shown what a great striker he is,” he said. “We’re delighted for him.
“People had put a lot of pressure on him.
“But I’m happy we could get a win for him because it was a great team performance as well.”
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