- West Ham United PL2 were beaten 3-1 by Brighton in the Premier League Cup on Thursday
- Djair Parfitt-Williams scored the Hammers solitary goal
- Terry Westley says his players need to learn from their mistakes
The Hammers were aiming to bounce back after their defeat to Fulham in Premier League 2 on Monday but were edged out by goals from Jayson Molumby, Jesse Starkey and Joe Ward.
Djair Parfitt-Williams got the home side back in the contest and made it 1-1 after Molumby’s goal, but the Seagulls scored twice in the final 20 minutes to seal the three points.
The result halts the Irons' faultless start to the defence of their Cup crown, as Brighton move above them in Group E.
“We still tried to play some pretty stuff and got caught on more than one occasion. We just said in the dressing room: you have to learn quickly as a professional athlete. You can’t keep making errors,” said Westley.
“In the last two games, we’ve played alright in patches. Tonight when it went 1-1 there was only one team that was going to go on and win but and error has cost us, similar to Fulham on Monday.”
The Hammers shaded the first half, especially when Marcus Browne almost squeezed the ball into Casper Ankegren’s bottom corner, but were hit with a suckerpunch five minutes before half-time.
Molumby’s long range effort squirmed under keeper Raphael Spiegel to put the away side ahead.
Westley’s side emerged from the break with more intensity and equalised when Parfitt-Williams nodded the ball into the net after Browne’s corner.
The Hammers pushed for a winner, and looked the more likely, before Henrik Bjordal found Starkey with a pass and the midfielder slotted the ball past Spiegel.
The home side almost bounced back immediately through Toni Martinez but the result was confirmed when substitute Joe Ward beat Spiegel to put the Seagulls top of Group E.
“We’ll dust ourselves down and get back on the training pitch. We’re developing players and those habits have to be worked on,” added Westley.