Michail Antonio believes West Ham United can take huge heart from their performance at Southampton.
The Hammers fell two goals down and lost Marko Arnautovic to a first-half red card, before roaring back through a brace of superb finishes from Chicharito, only for Charlie Austin’s last-gasp penalty to break Claret and Blue hearts.
Antonio himself produced an all-action display on his return from four months out with a hamstring injury, reminding everyone of his power and ability to fashion chances out of nothing.
“It was devastating, really, we managed to get back to 2-2 from 2-0 down, but what a way to lose it!” said the No30, whose shot led to Chicharito’s first goal on the stroke of half-time.
“I’m not going to make any comments about what actually happened, but the boys were devastated to lose it and we are just going to have to pick ourselves up and go again.
“There were loads of positives we can take from the game, especially from the second half, so we’re going to take them away and get ready for Newcastle.
“There is lots of frustration. The boys are still in the dressing room now and all talking about it, saying they can’t believe what’s actually happened. I don’t really know what you want me to say!”
There were loads of positives we can take from the game, especially from the second half
Michail Antonio
Antonio was among those hugely impressed by the impact made by Chicharito, who reacted quickest on two occasions to finish clinically after Fraser Forster had saves from the winger and Diafra Sakho respectively.
“What a massive purchase we’ve got in Chicharito!” he exclaimed. “He is a fox in the box and he has shown the quality of player we have managed to bring in.
“We have just got to move forward. I’m getting back to my fitness and I’m starting to look sharp like I was at the beginning of last season, so hopefully I can keep progressing with that and start putting the ball in the back of the net.”
The belief West Ham showed to draw level when the odds were stacked against them impressed Antonio, who insisted there is absolutely nothing wrong with the spirit in the camp, despite the fact they have now lost their opening two Premier League matches
“It shows there is nothing wrong in the camp, that we all believe in each other as we kept pushing forward and slinging balls in the box,” he said.
“Basically, we had two balls which deflected and Chicha was in the right spot because he’s a fox. Hopefully we can keep putting balls in the box and he can keep scoring goals.”
Next up is a trip to newly-promoted Newcastle United and Antonio is sure the Hammers can get off the mark at St James’ Park.
“We will be three games into the season and we need to get some points on the board, then we have Huddersfield at home and the season can start from there,” he said.
He saved his final word for the Claret and Blue Army, who created a superb atmosphere at St Mary’s Stadium with their non-stop singing and support for their team, even when circumstances were conspiring against them.
“They were the atmosphere,” he observed. “They helped, they pushed us and managed to get us back into the game and the penalty just took it away from them in the final minutes of the game.”