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Canaries goal-scorer so proud to become first Cuban to score in the Premier League
Onel Hernandez scored for Norwich in the 87th minute against Manchester United Picture: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images - Credit: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd
Becoming the first Cuban player to score a Premier League goal still meant a great deal to Onel Hernandez, even if it came in a losing cause for Norwich City.
The 26-year-old was an integral part of last season's title success in the Championship, with eight goals and 11 assists from 40 games, but has missed much of the opening months of this season.
He came on as a substitute during the 4-1 loss at Liverpool on the opening weekend of the season, to become the first Cuban to play in the Premier League, but then injured his knee when he slipped on the stairs at home.
After returning to fitness recently, Hernandez came on at half-time of Sunday's 3-1 home loss to Manchester United, salvaging some pride with a fine individual effort to score a late consolation.
The winger said: "Of course I was dreaming since I was a kid about the Premier League, it's the best league in the world and to score a goal, it's incredible.
It was the first Premier League goal of Onel Hernandez's career Picture: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images - Credit: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd
"I'm happy and proud of that, we have to keep going on and work hard for more."
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On being the first Cuban to score in the top tier of English football, he added: "That's incredible, I think I will have a lot of messages from a lot of Cubans, so I'm proud of that."
Hernandez replaced Todd Cantwell at the break, with Marco Stiepermann also coming on for Mo Leitner, as Daniel Farke reacted to a first half which had seen two goals conceded as well as two penalty saves from City keeper Tim Krul.
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He continued: "I tried to help my team with what I had, it's not only me, it's the team as well and we have a lot of good players.
"But I think we have to really work together because it's not the Championship any more, it's the Premier League and only a team wins the game."
Having missed seven of the Canaries' games so far this season, Hernandez admitted it has been a tough spell.
"It's horrible, that's for sure, I hate it," he reflected. When you see your team and maybe sometimes you think you can help them but you can't, it's frustrating.
"You can't do anything, it's horrible, not a nice feeling, I hate it. When this happened I was very upset but I could do nothing about it, I'm back now and I'm happy for that."
Aaron Wan-Bissaka's challenge on Onel Hernandez drew penalty calls, only for an offisde decision against the Norwich winger Picture: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images - Credit: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd
