James Tomkins admitted West Ham United killed their own chances of success in their unhappy Halloween defeat at Watford
James Tomkins admitted West Ham United’s Halloween horror show resulted in a deserved defeat at Watford.
The Hammers saw their unbeaten away record and seven-match unbeaten run ended by a Hornets side which took advantage of two terrifying mistakes.
First, Andy Carroll was robbed by Nathan Ake, who crossed for Odion Ighalo to score seven minutes before half-time, before the Nigerian doubled his side’s lead when a cross slipped through Tomkins’ legs four minutes after the break.
“It’s obviously disappointing because of the manner in which we lost, that’s the biggest thing,” the No5 began. “I think everyone wasn’t at the races like we normally are, so that’s the most disappointing thing.
“We went down to ten men and that gave us no hope, but it was always going to be hard to come back from 2-0 down, who are hard to beat at their place.
“The manner of the goals, obviously AC could have done better and I could have cleared the second one. The striker has finished them well, but they could have been stopped and prevented, which was disappointing.
“Everyone can probably hold their hands up and say they did not do as well as they could, so that’s the massive disappointment.”
While most West Ham fans would have expected at least a draw from a trip to the newly-promoted Hornets, Tomkins said the Hammers did not take their hosts lightly.
With Troy Deeney leading the line and Ighalo running in behind and harassing Tomkins and James Collins – who was sent-off for a late tackle on the match-winner – all game long, the No5 praised Quique Sanchez Flores’ hard-working Hornets.
The Hammers saw their unbeaten away record and seven-match unbeaten run ended by a Hornets side which took advantage of two terrifying mistakes.
First, Andy Carroll was robbed by Nathan Ake, who crossed for Odion Ighalo to score seven minutes before half-time, before the Nigerian doubled his side’s lead when a cross slipped through Tomkins’ legs four minutes after the break.
“It’s obviously disappointing because of the manner in which we lost, that’s the biggest thing,” the No5 began. “I think everyone wasn’t at the races like we normally are, so that’s the most disappointing thing.
“We went down to ten men and that gave us no hope, but it was always going to be hard to come back from 2-0 down, who are hard to beat at their place.
“The manner of the goals, obviously AC could have done better and I could have cleared the second one. The striker has finished them well, but they could have been stopped and prevented, which was disappointing.
“Everyone can probably hold their hands up and say they did not do as well as they could, so that’s the massive disappointment.”
While most West Ham fans would have expected at least a draw from a trip to the newly-promoted Hornets, Tomkins said the Hammers did not take their hosts lightly.
With Troy Deeney leading the line and Ighalo running in behind and harassing Tomkins and James Collins – who was sent-off for a late tackle on the match-winner – all game long, the No5 praised Quique Sanchez Flores’ hard-working Hornets.
Everyone can probably hold their hands up and say they did not do as well as they could, so that’s the massive disappointment
“It’s a hard place to come,” he continued. “People say that we were going to one of the lesser teams, with no disrespect to Watford, but this is a hard place to come and give full credit to them because they did well and are a hard team to beat.
“They play with two up front, which can be quite a handful. Not many teams play two up front now, but they were physical and hard to deal with.
“We thought maybe we could dominate in midfield with the numbers we had in there, but we didn’t seem to do that, so that’s another thing. It’s hard to put your finger on why, but there were a number of things we didn’t do well.
“They pressed us in numbers and they have good spirit here, which are good things. We didn’t get complacent. We expected a tough game here.
“We went in at half-time 1-0 down but thought we could get back in the game, then went 2-0 down and couldn’t do it, so it just wasn’t to be.”
Next up comes the visit of Everton, who Tomkins made his West Ham debut against as a teenager back in March 2008.
The Essex-born defender says the Hammers will not lick their wounds, but will instead look to extend their recent good form at home when they host Roberto Martinez’s Toffees.
“We’ll look to put this behind us as quickly as we can. We will reflect on the few positives we can take out of the game – AC got a full 90 minutes and obviously Enner Valencia played and different things like that – and look at what we can improve on.
“Everton at home is a massive game for us and hopefully we have turned our home form around, so we look forward to that.”
“They play with two up front, which can be quite a handful. Not many teams play two up front now, but they were physical and hard to deal with.
“We thought maybe we could dominate in midfield with the numbers we had in there, but we didn’t seem to do that, so that’s another thing. It’s hard to put your finger on why, but there were a number of things we didn’t do well.
“They pressed us in numbers and they have good spirit here, which are good things. We didn’t get complacent. We expected a tough game here.
“We went in at half-time 1-0 down but thought we could get back in the game, then went 2-0 down and couldn’t do it, so it just wasn’t to be.”
Next up comes the visit of Everton, who Tomkins made his West Ham debut against as a teenager back in March 2008.
The Essex-born defender says the Hammers will not lick their wounds, but will instead look to extend their recent good form at home when they host Roberto Martinez’s Toffees.
“We’ll look to put this behind us as quickly as we can. We will reflect on the few positives we can take out of the game – AC got a full 90 minutes and obviously Enner Valencia played and different things like that – and look at what we can improve on.
“Everton at home is a massive game for us and hopefully we have turned our home form around, so we look forward to that.”