Hart: 'It means the world'
Wednesday, 11 August, 2010
Goalkeeper speaks about England's victory against Hungary.
England goalkeeper Joe Hart reflected on his first start for the Three Lions and admits it was more than a relief to see captain Steven Gerrard fire the team to victory against Hungary at Wembley.
The visitors had taken a somewhat fortuitous lead against the run of play with a goal that didn't even appear to fully cross the line midway through the second half, but Hart and his team-mates shrugged off that setback and turned the game around thanks to Gerrard's brace.
With frustration growing at Wembley both on and off the pitch at the prospect of defeat, the joy was there for all to see at full-time and Hart tried to put into words just how pleased they were to get the new season off to a winning start.
“It means the world, I think Stevie (Gerrard) and the boys' celebrations show it," he said.
"We were just as frustrated as everyone else, as Hungary had come here to do a job. They treated the game with a lot of respect and tried to get a result and they almost got it.
“I’ve said before, we went to the World Cup and teams set their stall out against us and it's very difficult and hard to break teams down.
"I think it was almost a good thing, them getting a goal.”
Hart was also quick to praise the turn-out of supporters, with over 70,000 England fans in attendance so soon after the disappointment of the World Cup campaign.
“There were a lot of fans in there and we’re very grateful for it," he added.
"Because we could have turned up to an empty stadium tonight, so that just shows how good they are. And towards the end when Stevie lit it up, everyone was happy."