James Tomkins was pleased to come away with a point in the end against Norwich
James Tomkins admitted to a sense of relief in the dressing room as West Ham United twice came from behind to secure a point against Norwich City on Saturday.
Cheikhou Kouyate's stoppage time leveller extended the Hammers' unbeaten run to a fourth game and kept them third in the table, but not before they were given a real scare by newly-promoted Norwich.
Goals from Robbie Brady and Nathan Redmond twice had West Ham in difficulty, so defender Tomkins was delighted with the resolve they showed.
"We're relieved to come away with a point," he admitted. "They put us under a lot of pressure towards the end of the second half.
"They started a lot brighter than us too and got their goals, so we're quite happy to come away with a point even though we obviously wanted three points at the start of the game.
"A lot of us were quite heavy-legged having played extra time in the game in midweek. That took it's toll on us and we didn't start the game well. The crowd got behind us and things got easier for us.
"We put pressure on them in the second part of the first half and wanted to go out in the second half as we ended the first. I think we did that but didn't get the goal.
"They've then scored with a great finish from Redmond and we showed a lot of team spirit to come back with a last-minute goal."
West Ham are third in the league following a strong start, but Tomkins says that does not mean they will rest on their laurels going into next weekend's game at Sunderland.
He added: "We're just taking each game as it comes. We've done exceptionally well against the big dogs away from home, but at home against the teams not in that category it's shown that anyone can beat anyone in the Premier League.
"Norwich have had a great start and to be honest it's a good point at the end of the day."
Cheikhou Kouyate's stoppage time leveller extended the Hammers' unbeaten run to a fourth game and kept them third in the table, but not before they were given a real scare by newly-promoted Norwich.
Goals from Robbie Brady and Nathan Redmond twice had West Ham in difficulty, so defender Tomkins was delighted with the resolve they showed.
"We're relieved to come away with a point," he admitted. "They put us under a lot of pressure towards the end of the second half.
"They started a lot brighter than us too and got their goals, so we're quite happy to come away with a point even though we obviously wanted three points at the start of the game.
"A lot of us were quite heavy-legged having played extra time in the game in midweek. That took it's toll on us and we didn't start the game well. The crowd got behind us and things got easier for us.
"We put pressure on them in the second part of the first half and wanted to go out in the second half as we ended the first. I think we did that but didn't get the goal.
"They've then scored with a great finish from Redmond and we showed a lot of team spirit to come back with a last-minute goal."
West Ham are third in the league following a strong start, but Tomkins says that does not mean they will rest on their laurels going into next weekend's game at Sunderland.
He added: "We're just taking each game as it comes. We've done exceptionally well against the big dogs away from home, but at home against the teams not in that category it's shown that anyone can beat anyone in the Premier League.
"Norwich have had a great start and to be honest it's a good point at the end of the day."