ROMAIN Esse could not hide his delight after scoring a ‘special’ first Coventry City goal against former club Millwall.
The on-loan Crystal Palace winger scored on 11 minutes to put the Sky Blues ahead at the Coventry Building Society Arena.
Esse found the net in just his third appearance for the club, after hitting the post in Coventry’s M69 derby win against Leicester City.
And the 20-year-old thanked Sky Blues boss Frank Lampard for allowing him to express himself on the pitch following a frustrating first half of the campaign at his parent club.
Esse said: “It felt amazing. It’s a moment that was very special to me.
“We won the game which was the main goal but I’m happy to get my first goal for the Sky Blues.
“It was strange [scoring against Millwall]. I respect Millwall a lot for how they helped me grow from a boy to a man.
“Celebrating against them isn’t the best but it’s been a difficult period for me, not playing a lot [at Crystal Palace].
“Being giving a chance from the gaffer here and expressing myself and getting my first goal felt very good.
“After hitting the post [against Leicester] I was thinking ‘when is my goal going to come?’
“But I’m delighted to get my goal and I want to keep going now.”
The Sky Blues needed another late goal from Haji Wright to take the three points after Mihailo Ivanovic drew the visitors level just before the half-hour mark.
And Esse believes the home side’s collective character on the pitch helped Coventry battle to another hard-fought victory.
Esse added: “I just want to kick on, keep working hard and delivering the three points for the team.
“We’ve got a strong bunch of lads and the [collective] character shows in the game.
“We’ve very close to each other. Whenever we need to get through something, we always manage.
“That’s dedicated to the manager and the staff who set certain principles which we all abide by and it shows on the pitch.”
Coventry are next in action against Norwich City on Monday, January 26 with kick-off at 8pm at Carrow Road.
