Carroll beats Giroud to goal of the month prize

Andy Carroll

Andy Carroll's sublime show of athleticism for West Ham United on Jan. 14 has beaten Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud's opportunistic contortionism on New Year's Day for the Premier League Goal of the Month award. The victim of these superlative efforts was, on both occasions, Crystal Palace. Carroll's strike was a key moment in West Ham's resurgence post-Dimitri Payet. The Geordie helped vanquish memories of a 5-0 home defeat to Manchester City eight days earlier by exceptionally dispatching the second in a 3-0 win over the Eagles.

Olivier Giroud

"I'm delighted to have won the Goal of the Month competition, especially given how good some of the other goals were," Carroll told the Irons' website.
"As soon as I hit it I knew it was in, I got a good connection and knew it would hit the back of the net. It's definitely the best goal I've ever scored, one I'm very proud of."