Declan Rice says that beating Tottenham at Wembley on Wednesday night was the highlight of his fledgling career.
The 18-year-old defender played the full 90 minutes as West Ham sent Spurs crashing out of the competition thanks to a superb second half comeback, having been 2-0 behind at half time.And Rice - who has made seven first team appearances since his full debut at Burnley on the opening day of last season - was in no doubt that it was the finest moment he is yet to experience.
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"After coming to Wembley as a fan to watch many, many times, to get onto the pitch and beat Tottenham was an amazing moment for me," he told West Ham's website.
"After the first half, most people thought we were down and out - but we had a big get-together at half-time in the changing room and, in the second half, came out and showed what we’re about.
"I’ve never been part of something like this before. I can’t stop smiling. It’s the best night of my life!"
Although Rice is likely to return to the bench for tomorrow trip to Crystal Palace, he firmly believes that Wednesday's win at Wembley will provide a springboard to better things for the squad.
"We said at the start of the season that we wanted to have a really good cup run and we’ve had three good results now," he added. "We’re really confident, especially after beating a top side like Spurs.
"Without a doubt, now we’ve beaten Spurs, it’ll give us confidence going into a big game at Crystal Palace on Saturday because the camp is buzzing."
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Meanwhile Wednesday night's match winner, Angelo Ogbonna, also feels that the confidence boost from beating Spurs on their own turf will prove instrumental.
"It’s given us a good mentality going into the next match and it’s given us confidence," he added. "We showed really good form so we are excited for the match [against Palace].
“It’s important for us. They are a different type of team to Tottenham in the style they play, but we know it will be tough. We have to take it step-by-step and make sure that we are doing it on the pitch."
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