Zeiko Lewis says he is delighted to have opened his scoring account and seeing his hard work starting to pay off at new club Sacramento Republic.

The Bermuda forward got his name on the score sheet in a resounding 6-0 thrashing of Portland Timbers U23s in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup at Health Park on April 7.

He also had an assist during what was his first full 90-minute appearance for Western Conference side Sacramento since joining them from USL Championship rivals Charleston Battery late last year after agreeing to terms of an undisclosed deal.

“It always feels good to get on the score sheet,” Lewis told The Royal Gazette. “Hopefully this is the first of many and I continue to help my team every and any way that I can.”

The 27-year-old’s arrival at the club was delayed due unforeseen circumstances, which curtailed his preseason preparations.

He finally joined up with his new team-mates on March 7 and made his debut five days later, after coming on as a second-half substitute in Sacramento’s 3-1 win at home to El Paso Locomotive to open their season.

“It feels good to see that the work that I have put in since I have gotten here is paying off,” Lewis added. “It has been a long road and a lot of extras and running and playing that I needed to do to catch up.”

Sacramento missed out on the USL Championship Play-Offs last year after finishing the regular season seventh among the eight-team Pacific Division.

Lewis signed off on a high from Charleston who also failed to reach the postseason play-offs having finished sixth in the eight-team Atlantic Division during the regular campaign.

The exciting player scored five goals and provided ten assists, the fourth highest in the league, in 22 appearances in his final season with the Eastern Conference side.

He was also the club’s most valuable player last season and led their scoring in 2019 and 2020.

Lewis was also ranked eighth by Inside Caribbean Football on their list of the top players within the Concacaf region plying their trade in the United States last year.