Van der Vaart reveals relief at Tottenham's opening goal against Bolton

29/03/2012 2:30:00 AM

The Dutchman spoke of his delight at seeing Ryan Nelsen's header break the deadlock in the 74th minute, claiming that he has never been so happy to see someone else score

Rafael van der Vaart has expressed his relief at seeing Ryan Nelsen get the opening goal in Tottenham's FA Cup tie against Bolton, claiming he has never been as happy to see his side score.

Spurs came out comfortable 3-1 but it was tense for much of the tie as the scoreline stayed at 0-0 until midway through the second half.

After his corner was met by Nelsen, Van der Vaart suggested that he had never before been so happy to see somebody else notch an opening goal.

“I spoke to the other guys and I can’t remember being so happy to score a first goal, and it wasn’t even me that scored," the midfielder told Spurs' official website.

“At certain points you are thinking ‘please, go in’, but after the first goal you saw the relief and that we were going to win the game.

“It was a great victory and we played some fantastic football, how a Tottenham team is supposed to play."

Tottenham are rated at 12/5 by Paddy Power to win the FA Cup this season.

The Dutch midfielder also spoke of his delight to have reached the semi-finals, giving Spurs the opportunity to play at Wembley, taking on Chelsea for the chance to advance to the final.

“It’s always been a dream to play at Wembley and now we are there," said the Dutchman.

“It’s a great semi-final against Chelsea, plus Liverpool against Everton, so for Spurs fans and football fans everywhere it will be a fantastic day.”