Marko Stamenic | Scoring was an emotional moment
Marko Stamenic dedicated his first Swansea City goal to the memory of his father Nikola, after helping Vitor Matos’ side to victory against Oxford United.
The New Zealand international opened the scoring when he arrived at the far post to head home Josh Tymon’s free-kick, getting him off the mark in Swansea colours following his summer arrival from Nottingham Forest.
The 23-year-old recently returned to action following the tragic passing of his father in October, and he admitted that scoring the goal was an emotional moment after a difficult period for him and his family.
And he was also happy to play his part in contributing to a valuable three points.
“It means a lot, it is always emotional thinking about that, about someone so close to me and close to our family,” he said.
“That goal was definitely dedicated to him, the hard work we had together to get me to where I am now. There is a huge part missing for me but I know he is watching from above.
“I am really happy for the goal and really glad to contribute to the team.
“We have gone through changes as a club, they have been positive so far but we need to keep building on that.
“It has been really good working with the gaffer, he is enthusiastic and I really like the character he brings to the club and the team.
“We understand and believe in his ideas, and I think that translated into this performance.”
The win came after the squad and head coach Matos spent a full week on the training pitch for the first time since the Portuguese’s arrival in SA1.
And Stamenic felt the performance showed the benefits.
“I think that performance summed up the week of training we have had together,” he said.
“It is three huge points that we have been working on, and we were able to put it together into one performance, we worked hard for the sleeve, for each other and that’s when the rewards will come and we got those rewards with three points.
“We are stoked to be back to winning ways and we want to build on this now.”