Diafra Sakho has revealed that he was pleased to put an early dent in his 20-goal target for the 2015-16 season by scoring twice in West Ham United's 3-0 Europa League win over Lusitanos.
Sakho netted a brace before half time, while James Tomkins added another after the break at Upton Park as the Hammers drew first blood in the two-legged affair with their Andorran counterparts last night.
Victory represented a first step on the long road toward reaching the group stages, and the Senegalese striker is delighted with his team's start.
"Two down, now 18 more for the 20!" he told the club's official website. "It's important to win the first game at home. Every fan came to see the team play, and the young players did well for us today.
"It's difficult to play against a team who every time play back, and so it was important for me to score the first goal. Every player is happy with the result, but we're not finished because we also need to win next Thursday.
"We need to stay focused and go away to win at Lusitans. All the qualifying rounds are important - we want to have six games in this competition before the league starts, and now we have five more to win."
The second leg will take place in Andorra next Thursday.
Shane Callaghan
