It was worth the wait for Pedro Obiang.

After 54 games and 19 months in Claret and Blue, the Spanish midfielder hit the back of the net for the first time in the Hammers’ 3-1 victory over Southampton on Saturday.

Obiang’s long-range strike gave Slaven Bilic’s men a 2-1 advantage on the stroke of half time and it was a lead they never relinquished on a successful day on the South Coast.

Obiang dedicated the goal to his seven-month old son Jeremih and said he hopes to follow it with another one more quickly than his first.

“It feels very, very good to score my first goal for West Ham," he beamed. “This goal is for my baby because I am now a dad, and I am very happy because many times I have seen the other guys score. I’ve enjoyed that and now I have scored, so I am very happy.

“One time before, the same ball arrived and I tried to cross. When it came to me again I thought ‘it’s your time’. If I score, then ok, and if not, no worries. This time I scored!

“It was important for us to go in front at that stage. We started the game well, but they scored quickly and we needed to recover. We did that, and then after my goal we had a really nice game.”

Obiang was thrilled with the way his team bounced back from their defeat to Manchester City in midweek.

He added: “For the team, for the supporters and for the Club this is great, because after the game against Manchester City we were all angry. That’s normal, but after today we can be calm for this week and try to take another three points on Saturday against West Bromwich.

“I’m happy for the supporters – we had over 3,000 of them there on Saturday and they come every time.

“The support at Southampton is not new for me, I know we have nice supporters. They come to us every time, whether we have lost or won, so I tell them [we want] to continue like this.”