After six Premier League games without a victory, West Ham United skipper Jarrod Bowen thought that run was about to end at Brighton & Hove Albion.
Two assists from the right-hand flank – the first for Mohammed Kudus and the second for Tomáš Souček just seven minutes from time – had wiped out Yasin Ayari’s opener and taken the visitors to the brink of a 2-1 victory.
But all the east Londoners’ hard work was ultimately to count for nought, as first Kaoru Mitoma headed an 89th minute leveller, then Carlos Baleba struck an even later winner.
It felt like rough justice for a Hammers side who had looked bright for large portions of the South Coast clash, but Bowen said the final outcome means he and his teammates need to look at themselves once again.
This was the third game in a row the Irons had seen points slip through their grasp in the dying moments – following the 2-1 loss at Liverpool and 1-1 draw at Southampton – and for the skipper, that was what hurt the most.
“It's obviously gutting. Of course it is,” he reflected.
“I just think the manner of the game, how it went, to lose [like that] is just sickening.
“But we have to look at ourselves again. I don't think it's the first time this season that we've been in a winning position and not ended up picking points from the game.
“This is the Premier League, it's the toughest league. You've got to be on it for 100 minutes if it takes that long.
"So, yeah, like I said, it's sickening because I thought when we got ourselves in front, we were in a good position. But ultimately we weren't. And some results hurt more than others.”
With four games remaining in the Premier League season, Bowen reiterated the importance of snapping this winless streak as soon as possible.
For that to happen, he knows the Hammers need to be on top of their game throughout the contest, and not only until they get themselves into a winning position.
With Tottenham Hotspur next up at home, he says there has to be a reaction at London Stadium.
“Any game that you lose is difficult, but the last two weeks we've conceded in 90 plus minutes,” he added., “And before that as well, we've had games where we've been leading or taking a point and we've lost the game.
“We're the ones out on the pitch that have to defend for our lives for 100 minutes if it takes that. And I don't think we've done that well enough. We have to look at ourselves and dust ourselves down.
“We've got four big games to end the season. We've got Tottenham at home next week, which is a massive derby for us. So that's one where we have to bounce back.
“It's about all of us together, digging in together and playing as a team. We did that, I thought, in the second half especially, but it's about us now being together in these moments. One thing that we can't do is let the season go.
“We play for a club that turns up with 60,000 fans week in, week out and we're 17th in the Premier League. If we can accept that, we shouldn't be here. So this is why the last four games are so important, because we have so much to play for.
“Our own pride for one, the fans' pride [for another], because like I said, playing in front of 60,000 week in, week out, being 17th, you can't be happy with that as a player for West Ham United.”
