Aaron Cresswell hailed the manner in which West Ham United combatted a disappointing first-half performance to come from behind and beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 at Molineux.
The 34-year-old took to the field as a 54th-minute substitute for Jarrod Bowen with his team 1-0 down courtesy of a Pablo Sarabia penalty, but Lucas Paquetá got them back on terms with a spot-kick at the other end with little over quarter-of-an-hour remaining.
West Ham capitalised on the swing in momentum and James Ward-Prowse scored direct from a corner to snatch the lead, before a late VAR check ruled out a Max Kilman equaliser to send all three points to east London.
“We were really sluggish in the first half,” Cresswell said. “We couldn’t get to grips with the game, and the boss told us that at half-time.
“It was night and day in the second period, though. We kept the ball and were a threat going forward, we got the goals and we could have had another.
“I’m not sure what happened with the decision for Wolves’ overturned goal at the end. I couldn’t tell on the pitch, but thankfully it went our way.
“We’ve had a few that have gone against us recently, so we were pleased with the decision, and overall I think we deserved the win.”
Cresswell joked there had been discussions among the players about whether Ward-Prowse meant his incredible set-piece strike six minutes before time, but he was clear the most important thing was that the ball nestled into the back of the net.
Victory in the West Midlands served as a boost to the Hammers’ hopes of European qualification ahead of Thursday’s UEFA Europa League trip to Bayer Leverkusen, where the former England international is eyeing another positive result.
“I don’t know if he [Ward-Prowse] meant it, but his delivery is amazing and his ability from set-pieces is amazing,” Cresswell added. “Thankfully it went in, and it was a really good moment.
“We want to take momentum from today into Thursday now. We know it’s going to be really tough there, but we’re ready for it.
“We’ve got a few really important weeks coming up, and we’ve got to stay positive. We’re still in the hunt for success in the Premier League and in Europe, and we’re going to do the best we can in every game.”
