West Ham United midfielder Tomáš Souček stated his disappointment and sadness after the 3-2 Premier League loss to Brighton & Hove Albion, but expressed the team's determination to recover quickly from the defeat.
With a victory needed to secure a first top-flight success since February, Graham Potter's side were on the front foot from the early stages but fell behind when Yasin Ayari curled a stunning strike into the top right corner from the edge of the box.
West Ham were level three minutes after the restart with Mohammed Kudus firing home from close range before Souček, who had earlier been denied by the crossbar, marked his return to the starting XI by ghosting in at the back post to meet Jarrod Bowen’s cross with a stooping header which flew beyond Bart Verbruggen and into the bottom corner.
It looked like a precious win was on the cards, but substitute Kaoru Mitoma stole in to equalise after 89 minutes, then Carlos Baleba popped up with virtually the last kick of the game to earn the Seagulls maximum points with another long-range strike.
“Obviously, we are all disappointed, and it's hurting a lot because it's not the first time [it has happened],” said Souček. “It's happened against Southampton, Liverpool, Everton and in other games. We were winning after 88 minutes, and then in the end we lost the game, so it's hurting a lot for us, and now we are not in a great mood.
“We were so happy with how we played in the second half [until the last five minutes]. We created a couple of chances, then we got level, and I thought I’d scored the winning goal.
“We were happy with how we played for 85 minutes. I think we were on it, showed how we wanted to play and what we wanted to show our fans, but obviously we cannot just switch off and think we have won the game already. We have to be focused for 100 minutes, even if there’s a bit of extra time. It just shouldn't happen.”
The defeat extends our winless run in the top-flight to seven games, and Souček, who has been a part of the soaring highs to the difficult lows during his almost five-and-a-half years at the Club, has commended our travelling supporters and is looking for a swift response to the loss when we face Tottenham Hotspur next weekend.
“Some people think it’s bad luck, some think it’s a coincidence [that we have lost too many late goals], and some have said other things, but I think it's all together,” admitted Souček.
“I would say if we were more focused, it would not happen. It's about mentality, and we need to be stronger. In the past, we were the team who always scored the last-minute goal, and we got the points, and we were very high in the table because of that.
“It's the Premier League, so we have to be focused on that (not conceding late on in games) and prepared. We need to be the team that has more power at the end, and today wasn't the case.
“We have to learn from this, and I think now, for us, the biggest challenge is the next game because it's against our biggest rival, so I think in that game we can show how much we care about our Club.
“I think it's been hard to take this season. We want to do much better in every aspect, but now, I would like us as a team and our fans to be all together and to be ready for the game, because even in this season, in difficult moments, we can play one nice game and can be happy and show that we are united and all together.
“I think that all week we will be thinking about that (victory over Tottenham), and I believe that the fans will help us at home. I promise that the whole team and I will do everything to beat Tottenham because that's our now most important aim.”
