West Brom goal hero dedicates strike to family

Sep 16 2009 by Chris Lepkowski

"Dad is here for two and a half weeks. It is very good timing and I will dedicate that one to him.

"He has been the biggest influence on my career. He is the one that got me into the game through watching him play and him taking me to training.

"He has always been there for me no matter what it is, whether it’s on the field or off the field.

"It was great to have him here.

"When I was young there was a big temptation to go into rugby because that is the main sport there and everybody kept telling me to go into rugby but my mum told me not to because she thought I might get hurt so you can put that down to her."

Wood hopes there will be more to come after scoring his first goal.

"It is amazing to get my first professional goal," he added.

"It is a weight lifted off you because you know you’ve done it and you can push on from there.

"As I turned the ball sat up nicely and I thought ‘why not have a crack with my right foot?’

"Thankfully for me it went in. It was a great goal for my first one and I am over the moon about it.

"But hopefully it’s the first of many."