‘Christian Atsu was his best friend’ - Benjamin Tetteh emotional after goal vs West Brom

Hull City goalscorer Benjamin Tetteh showed plenty of emotion after opening his account for The Tigers in their 2-0 win over West Bromwich Albion on Friday evening. Many would understandably assume this was simply down to the fact it was his first goal for Hull, but there was plenty more behind it.

Having played club football in the country before moving to Humberside, Tetteh has had a difficult time following the news of the devastating earthquakes in Turkey. Not only that, but he was good friends with former Newcastle United winger Christian Atsu, who tragically passed away in the disaster.

It was an exceptional goal from Tetteh to open the scoring on Friday as he struck instinctively from a tight angle, powering the ball into the top right-hand corner. You could see the emotion instantly hit in the aftermath as he wheeled away in celebration, holding his hands to his face.

“He’s had an emotional few weeks. The earthquake in Turkey really affected him,” Hull head coach Liam Rosenior said post-match. “His best friend was Christian Atsu. He’s been in my office and really down about that. I’m sure he’ll dedicate that goal for him – it was an absolutely fantastic finish and hopefully he gets a few more,” Rosenior continued.

Tetteh’s strike completely changed the game as Hull gained momentum from that point on to claim all three points. That’s now 45 points from 35 games for The Tigers and they are now closer to the play-off spots than the bottom three. West Brom, meanwhile, will be devastated to fall further away from the top six.