Slaven Bilic bemoaned West Ham United’s slow start at St James’ Park on Saturday, as two Newcastle United goals inside the opening 15 minutes ended the Hammers’ eight-match unbeaten Barclays Premier League run.
Fresh from Tuesday’s emphatic win at Bournemouth, Bilic’s side were caught cold in the north east. After just six minutes, Moussa Sissoko’s deft lay-off invited Ayoze Perez to shoot and the Spaniard promptly curled home with precision from 20 yards.
Then, Daryl Janmaat skipped past Aaron Cresswell and squared for Georginio Wijnaldum to thump home from point-blank range.
Though half-time substitute Nikica Jelavic profited from Chancel Mbemba’s ill-judged backpass to halve the deficit in the 49th minute, West Ham were ultimately unable to produce an equaliser, leaving Bilic to rue a costly first-half display.
He told West Ham TV: “For West Ham it was a game of two halves. We started badly, to be fair, and very soon they were two up and we were in a kind of shock. It was then hard to stop them because they started to play with confidence and belief in the quality that they always had.
“We couldn't match it and they were much better in the first half. We needed half time to get back in shape and the condition that is required when you play in the Premier League."
The Hammers were an altogether different proposition after the break and, following Jelavic's opportunistic strike, might have snatched a point late on, as Rob Elliot repelled Cheikhou Kouyate's downward header. But, all in all, Bilic conceded that Steve McClaren's men were worthy of all three points.
“The second half was much better from us, we scored a goal and then we had a few chances and at the end we had a great chance to equalise.
"We have to be fair and say they also had a few chances on the counter attack but we took that risk and unfortunately we didn't score.
“We have to be fair and realistically say that they were better on the day and they deserved to beat us. Unfortunately, it's the end of the positive run and now we have to come back in shape and prepare for our next game.”
It is not the first time this season that the Hammers have had to recover from a disappointing first-half showing and Bilic was at a loss to explain his side’s difficulty in getting going.
“We have had a few first halves like this, without any particular reason,” he confirmed. “We knew that we were playing against a good team that is underachieving, at a great stadium and with really great fans.
“Simply, it's very difficult to come back. If you're one down in the Premier League, you have to open up and that leaves them space to score another goal or to create chances. And it’s very hard to come back after you're 2-0 down.
“But one goal can change everything. We scored at a good time, so there was enough time. We took risks and from those risks we created a few chances. We had a great chance at the end of the game.
“Overall, I told the players, if you play like this in the first half and you get punished with two goals, it requires a small miracle to come back and it doesn’t happen very often. We have to start the game like we started the second half.”
Though the unbeaten run is over, Bilic insists there is still plenty to smile about, not least the Hammers’ spirited second-half response and the prospect of a showdown with Manchester City at the Boleyn Ground next weekend.
“The positive thing is that we came back, in terms of character, in terms of turning the game a little bit around,” he added.
“We're going to stay positive and we're going to try to eliminate those things that were not good on Saturday. We have a week in front of us and we have a great game to look forward to.”
Fresh from Tuesday’s emphatic win at Bournemouth, Bilic’s side were caught cold in the north east. After just six minutes, Moussa Sissoko’s deft lay-off invited Ayoze Perez to shoot and the Spaniard promptly curled home with precision from 20 yards.
Then, Daryl Janmaat skipped past Aaron Cresswell and squared for Georginio Wijnaldum to thump home from point-blank range.
Though half-time substitute Nikica Jelavic profited from Chancel Mbemba’s ill-judged backpass to halve the deficit in the 49th minute, West Ham were ultimately unable to produce an equaliser, leaving Bilic to rue a costly first-half display.
He told West Ham TV: “For West Ham it was a game of two halves. We started badly, to be fair, and very soon they were two up and we were in a kind of shock. It was then hard to stop them because they started to play with confidence and belief in the quality that they always had.
“We couldn't match it and they were much better in the first half. We needed half time to get back in shape and the condition that is required when you play in the Premier League."
The Hammers were an altogether different proposition after the break and, following Jelavic's opportunistic strike, might have snatched a point late on, as Rob Elliot repelled Cheikhou Kouyate's downward header. But, all in all, Bilic conceded that Steve McClaren's men were worthy of all three points.
“The second half was much better from us, we scored a goal and then we had a few chances and at the end we had a great chance to equalise.
"We have to be fair and say they also had a few chances on the counter attack but we took that risk and unfortunately we didn't score.
“We have to be fair and realistically say that they were better on the day and they deserved to beat us. Unfortunately, it's the end of the positive run and now we have to come back in shape and prepare for our next game.”
It is not the first time this season that the Hammers have had to recover from a disappointing first-half showing and Bilic was at a loss to explain his side’s difficulty in getting going.
“We have had a few first halves like this, without any particular reason,” he confirmed. “We knew that we were playing against a good team that is underachieving, at a great stadium and with really great fans.
“Simply, it's very difficult to come back. If you're one down in the Premier League, you have to open up and that leaves them space to score another goal or to create chances. And it’s very hard to come back after you're 2-0 down.
“But one goal can change everything. We scored at a good time, so there was enough time. We took risks and from those risks we created a few chances. We had a great chance at the end of the game.
“Overall, I told the players, if you play like this in the first half and you get punished with two goals, it requires a small miracle to come back and it doesn’t happen very often. We have to start the game like we started the second half.”
Though the unbeaten run is over, Bilic insists there is still plenty to smile about, not least the Hammers’ spirited second-half response and the prospect of a showdown with Manchester City at the Boleyn Ground next weekend.
“The positive thing is that we came back, in terms of character, in terms of turning the game a little bit around,” he added.
“We're going to stay positive and we're going to try to eliminate those things that were not good on Saturday. We have a week in front of us and we have a great game to look forward to.”