Sam Allardyce admitted West Ham United’s inability to see games out is becoming a serious problem
Sam Allardyce admitted West Ham United’s inability to see games out is becoming a serious problem after Saturday’s 1-1 Barclays Premier League draw with Stoke City.
For the fourth time in the last nine league matches, the Hammers allowed points to slip through their fingers by conceding an avoidable late goal.
This time, a throw-in four minutes into added time was hurled aimlessly into the Stoke half, from where the Potters launched a long ball forward that was flicked on to Marko Arnautovic, and the Austrian finished low past Adrian.
For Big Sam, whose side had led since Aaron Cresswell’s outstanding free-kick on eleven minutes, the sight of yet another late show from the opposition was almost too much to bear.
“Again, we were in the final throes and final few seconds where just needed a bit of experience, guile and composure to see the game out and we didn’t get that,” he observed. “Because we didn’t get that, instead of having possession of the ball in the opposition half, we gave the ball away, they punted it up the middle and won the knockdown and, from there, it was a very good piece of skill from Arnautovic.
“No doubt, we should have blocked it out by keeping possession in the opposition half and seeing the game out and that, for us, is another massive blow on the basis of what has happened previously to us.
“Last week at Leicester it was 1-1, should have taken the point and they scored in the 88th minute. Nine games ago, Man United equalised and Tottenham got a penalty in the final seconds of the game. That’s seven points in the last nine games we have thrown away in less than two or three minutes.
“Instead of sitting on a very confident and buoyant 50 points, we are thinking that is where we should be and that’s very disappointing. We have to handle this situation that we’ve allowed ourselves into far too often.
“A little bit of panic set in, but a bit more composure from the many experienced players we had out there meant we should have been able to handle it. We went 1-0 up with a fantastic goal and a fantastic start to the game, so for us it was a real cruel blow at that stage of the game.”
For the fourth time in the last nine league matches, the Hammers allowed points to slip through their fingers by conceding an avoidable late goal.
This time, a throw-in four minutes into added time was hurled aimlessly into the Stoke half, from where the Potters launched a long ball forward that was flicked on to Marko Arnautovic, and the Austrian finished low past Adrian.
For Big Sam, whose side had led since Aaron Cresswell’s outstanding free-kick on eleven minutes, the sight of yet another late show from the opposition was almost too much to bear.
“Again, we were in the final throes and final few seconds where just needed a bit of experience, guile and composure to see the game out and we didn’t get that,” he observed. “Because we didn’t get that, instead of having possession of the ball in the opposition half, we gave the ball away, they punted it up the middle and won the knockdown and, from there, it was a very good piece of skill from Arnautovic.
“No doubt, we should have blocked it out by keeping possession in the opposition half and seeing the game out and that, for us, is another massive blow on the basis of what has happened previously to us.
“Last week at Leicester it was 1-1, should have taken the point and they scored in the 88th minute. Nine games ago, Man United equalised and Tottenham got a penalty in the final seconds of the game. That’s seven points in the last nine games we have thrown away in less than two or three minutes.
“Instead of sitting on a very confident and buoyant 50 points, we are thinking that is where we should be and that’s very disappointing. We have to handle this situation that we’ve allowed ourselves into far too often.
“A little bit of panic set in, but a bit more composure from the many experienced players we had out there meant we should have been able to handle it. We went 1-0 up with a fantastic goal and a fantastic start to the game, so for us it was a real cruel blow at that stage of the game.”
We have to handle this situation that we’ve allowed ourselves into far too often
Much earlier, West Ham started well, going ahead when Cresswell bent a fantastic free-kick into Asmir Begovic’s top corner. From then on, however, Stoke held the upper hand, having two goals disallowed and seeing Mame Biram Diouf hit the inside of the post with a header.
At the other end, the Hammers huffed and puffed but could not work Begovic often enough, with substitute Carlton Cole coming closest by heading Stewart Downing’s cross wide on his 250th league appearance for the Club.
“We haven’t done enough to create a little bit more,” the manager continued. “What we needed was a clinical finish from somebody to ease the pressure and that was Carlton’s header, because that would have killed the opposition off.
“Stoke were taking chances and committing men forward, but we didn’t convert our chances and ultimately we got the massive knock-back by losing a goal with only 30 seconds to go.
“It was a terrific free-kick from Aaron, which should have been the winner but unfortunately it wasn’t.”
To added injuries to the insult of Arnautovic's late goal, Big Sam also suffered the sight of watching Enner Valencia and Diafra Sakho hobble off with foot and thigh injuries respectively – both of which will be assessed further on Monday.
“Enner was never going to be able to play the full 90 minutes, but he got a kick as well and we’re hoping it won’t be enough to keep him out for next week, because Diafra will definitely be missing. If it’s a thigh strain, depending on what grade it is, it could two weeks or it could be him missing the rest of this season, but we will wait and see.
“That leaves us very short on the front line with Andy being out, and means goals will be fewer and farther between than they used to be, so if we don’t get that defensive side right then the last six games are going to be tough for us.”
At the other end, the Hammers huffed and puffed but could not work Begovic often enough, with substitute Carlton Cole coming closest by heading Stewart Downing’s cross wide on his 250th league appearance for the Club.
“We haven’t done enough to create a little bit more,” the manager continued. “What we needed was a clinical finish from somebody to ease the pressure and that was Carlton’s header, because that would have killed the opposition off.
“Stoke were taking chances and committing men forward, but we didn’t convert our chances and ultimately we got the massive knock-back by losing a goal with only 30 seconds to go.
“It was a terrific free-kick from Aaron, which should have been the winner but unfortunately it wasn’t.”
To added injuries to the insult of Arnautovic's late goal, Big Sam also suffered the sight of watching Enner Valencia and Diafra Sakho hobble off with foot and thigh injuries respectively – both of which will be assessed further on Monday.
“Enner was never going to be able to play the full 90 minutes, but he got a kick as well and we’re hoping it won’t be enough to keep him out for next week, because Diafra will definitely be missing. If it’s a thigh strain, depending on what grade it is, it could two weeks or it could be him missing the rest of this season, but we will wait and see.
“That leaves us very short on the front line with Andy being out, and means goals will be fewer and farther between than they used to be, so if we don’t get that defensive side right then the last six games are going to be tough for us.”