Samuel Iling-Junior described Friday’s sensational solo strike against Leicester City at The Hawthorns as an “incredible buzz”.
The winger picked up the ball on the halfway line, drove up to the edge of the box, danced his way around Foxes defenders and slotted into the bottom corner to give Ryan Mason’s men a 1-0 lead.
The goal came ten minutes into his full Baggies debut on a night where the hosts suffered late frustration as a result of Leicester’s late equaliser.
Sam said his special moment is a sign of the hard work the squad are putting in on the training pitches, but accepted the group have to learn to close games out when in a strong position and playing well.
A terrific team move! 👏
Poetry in motion for Samuel Iling-Junior's first Albion goal. ⚽️🎥 pic.twitter.com/V69gNeido7— West Bromwich Albion (@WBA) September 27, 2025
Iling-Junior said: “I couldn’t have asked for a better goal and a better way to start the game on what was my first start for the Albion.
“I think the goal shows the work that we’re putting in as a team with the manager because we played forward quickly and broke the lines.
“I’m really thankful to Aune (Heggebø) because his flick to me was perfect. As soon as I got the ball I just started running with it. I was going to play it to Pricey because I was scanning, but I decided to carry on going and things just happened naturally.
“It was such an incredible buzz. It’s always such a good feeling to score any goal, but to do it on a night like that and on my full debut was brilliant.
“It gives your confidence a boost and helps put the fans on my side. Playing football with full confidence always brings out the best in players and moments like the one I had on Friday certainly help.
“I want to build that trust with everyone and show the players, the manager, the coaching staff and the fans that I’m capable of producing exciting moments and making a big contribution to the team.
“I was really pleased to be given an opportunity on Friday night and I’ll be working hard to get more of those.
“We’re learning as a team and we’re growing as a team. We saw what happened on Friday and it was so disappointing after what was, in my opinion, a very good performance. We know we have to put the game to bed.
“We will grow as a team by learning from these moments, but we have to make sure we learn.”
Albion have a busy week coming up in the second tier with two away fixtures at Norwich City on Wednesday night and then Millwall on Saturday afternoon.
The Baggies are set to travel around 600 miles for the pair of encounters, but Sam insists he’s excited for the challenge and says the squad are determined to return home from both victorious.
Iling-Junior added: “We know we’ve got a big week coming up with the two long away trips to Norwich City and Millwall.
“There are two ways you can look at the week. You can complain about it, or you can just get on with it. I like to get on with things.
“Three points in both games would be perfect and that’s what’s on our mind, not the distance or the fact we’re away. We’ve got a job to do and we’ll be doing our best to make sure we head home with two victories.
“Norwich will want to change their momentum, but it’s our job to make sure we change our own momentum. We want to make sure we get the win because we’ve put in performances recently which have deserved wins, but we’ve not been able to get over the line.
“The opportunity to get over that frustration comes around quickly in this league and that’s what Wednesday is, a chance to react positively.”
