Slaven Bilic's disappointment at losing the lead against Man City was overtaken with his pride at the performance
It is a marker of how far West Ham United have come this season that Slaven Bilic could talk with a tinge of disappointment that his side were pegged back by Manchester City in Saturday’s 2-2 draw.
The Hammers were denied a famous double over the Citizens by Sergio Aguero’s 81st minute leveller, after Enner Valencia’s double had sandwiched the Argentine’s first goal.
West Ham were terrific, with Dimitri Payet pulling the strings in midfield and Valencia leadling the line brilliantly – leading to Bilic’s feeling of pride overtaking that initial disappointment.
He said: “When you play like we played tonight and you are 2-1 up at home with ten minutes to go, of course you are disappointed when you finish 2-2 – especially when you hit the post in the dying seconds of the game.
“We were closer to winning, but nobody can deny that they didn’t deserve the point, because they had chances. They scored two goals and they hit the post twice too.
“We are a little bit disappointed but that only shows how well we played. You are never happy with the point, but much more than that I am proud of my team and the way we presented West Ham tonight."
The Hammers were denied a famous double over the Citizens by Sergio Aguero’s 81st minute leveller, after Enner Valencia’s double had sandwiched the Argentine’s first goal.
West Ham were terrific, with Dimitri Payet pulling the strings in midfield and Valencia leadling the line brilliantly – leading to Bilic’s feeling of pride overtaking that initial disappointment.
He said: “When you play like we played tonight and you are 2-1 up at home with ten minutes to go, of course you are disappointed when you finish 2-2 – especially when you hit the post in the dying seconds of the game.
“We were closer to winning, but nobody can deny that they didn’t deserve the point, because they had chances. They scored two goals and they hit the post twice too.
“We are a little bit disappointed but that only shows how well we played. You are never happy with the point, but much more than that I am proud of my team and the way we presented West Ham tonight."
West Ham’s start could not have been better, with Valencia scoring inside the first minute, but they then had to recover from adversity when first Aguero equalised, then Carl Jenkinson went off injured – and Bilic was pleased with their response.
He continued: “It was a great start – a great goal and everything.
“Then, first it’s 1-1 from a controversial penalty, shall we say, then Carl Jenkinson was injured so we put young Sam in such a demanding game when he was not even supposed to be on the bench.
“It gave him a chance to play and he played really well, if not excellently. For me it was very important that we showed stability after 1-1. We were really contesting the game tonight, that’s my point of view. We were not good, we were excellent.
“You have to defend well, you have to defend with numbers, you have to be aggressive then you have to be good on the ball if you want to penetrate them and we were all that.”
Bilic also had high-praise for his two-goal striker Valencia, who showed just what he is capable of.
He added: “We didn’t talk about Enner since the beginning of the season, only because he got injured before the start of the season.
“His quality has always been sky-high and not only goals, everything. His contribution, he’s great in the air, he’s got a great touch and he’s torturing the defences that have to play against him.
“He deserved this kind of performance."
He continued: “It was a great start – a great goal and everything.
“Then, first it’s 1-1 from a controversial penalty, shall we say, then Carl Jenkinson was injured so we put young Sam in such a demanding game when he was not even supposed to be on the bench.
“It gave him a chance to play and he played really well, if not excellently. For me it was very important that we showed stability after 1-1. We were really contesting the game tonight, that’s my point of view. We were not good, we were excellent.
“You have to defend well, you have to defend with numbers, you have to be aggressive then you have to be good on the ball if you want to penetrate them and we were all that.”
Bilic also had high-praise for his two-goal striker Valencia, who showed just what he is capable of.
He added: “We didn’t talk about Enner since the beginning of the season, only because he got injured before the start of the season.
“His quality has always been sky-high and not only goals, everything. His contribution, he’s great in the air, he’s got a great touch and he’s torturing the defences that have to play against him.
“He deserved this kind of performance."