Eight minutes later, the full-time whistle finally blew and jubilant pandemonium ensued as manager David Moyes, his players and staff raced onto and around the pitch, arms raised, huge smiles on their faces. In the stands, supporters, who had never known an emotion like it, embraced, many with tears of joy streaming down their faces.
Returning to that moment, 365 days on, will send hairs on the backs of those same supporters’ necks standing up on end.
“To give them a European trophy is incredible,” Bowen told West Ham TV, seconds after the final had ended. “I make that run ten times a game and I might only get the ball once but, when I got it I had to put it away. I had a lot of time and I was a bit nervous running through, so to see it go in, I was like…”
Bowen’s words trailed away as he relived his instantly historic moment in his head, before he summed up his feelings perfectly in one sentence: “You always say you want to score the winning goal in the last minute, but to do it for this Club, for these fans, it’s the best moment of my life!”