Jarrod Bowen felt West Ham United were on the cusp of ending their four-game wait for victory when they overcame a half-time deficit to lead AFC Bournemouth in the second half at London Stadium on Saturday.
Bowen was a key figure in that turnaround, rising high to meet Mohammed Kudus’ cross with a header that gave Kepa Arrizabalaga no chance, after Niclas Füllkrug had earlier levelled with a fine header of his own.
However, the Irons were unable to hold on to that advantage, and Evanilson notched his second of the game eleven minutes from time to leave the Hammers skipper and his teammates deflated.
Having dug in and shown their character to get into a winning position, Bowen was disappointed that they did not see it through, but had praise for the way his team’s substitutes turned the tide in their favour.
“It’s really frustrating,” he admitted. “It's a point, but it feels like a loss, I think, just because in the first half we go in 1-0 down and then we’ve come out in the second half, got the two goals, and gone 2-1 up.
“We were pushing again then to either get another goal or just see the lead out, but we didn't do that. So, yeah, it’s really frustrating that in the end we drew the game.”
West Ham looked short of ideas when they trailed to Evanilson’s first of the game seven minutes before the break, but the introduction of Füllkrug and Carlos Soler early in the second half began to change the course of the contest.
Füllkrug levelled the scores with a thumping header, on his first home appearance since returning from a three-month absence with a hamstring injury, and Bowen was thrilled with the impact the Germany international made.
“I think everyone all season has played their part,” Bowen added. “The manager always says you can only pick eleven and people are going to be disappointed every week, but I think the important thing about the group is we've got a really hard-working group, people that want to do well.
“And you see that when people come off the bench, there's no disappointment. It's just trying to help the team as much as they can. And that's what's needed to be a successful team.”
