Declan Rice was left disappointed after West Ham United fell to a narrow defeat at Tottenham Hotspur in the Carabao Cup fifth round on Wednesday, but highlighted positives his team could draw from their display.
The Irons responded well in north London to a tricky recent run of form, providing the majority of the attacking thrust against the hosts as David Moyes’ side registered more goal attempts, corners and greater possession.
The clearer chances also went the way of the team in Claret and Blue, particularly in an open and entertaining first half, but it Tottenham who led at half-time when Steven Bergwijn and Lucas Moura scored from close range either side of Jarrod Bowen’s smartly-taken equaliser for the Hammers.
The result prevented West Ham from reaching their first Carabao Cup semi-final in eight seasons, but the nature of the display was promising and perhaps warranted more.
Rice reflected: “It was obviously the quarter-final of a Cup in which we’ve beaten two top teams already [in Manchester United and holders Manchester City].
“We wanted to come here tonight and win again. We want to win a trophy, and we’ve just come up short again tonight, which is very disappointing, but I feel like there are a lot of positives to take.
“Other than the two goals which we gave away, which were really sloppy, I think we were really good tonight. We looked much better than we have in recent times, which is the main thing.
“I feel like to come here and play like we did, take the ball, move it, pass the ball and get in behind them… We just didn’t have that cutting edge, which we’ve been missing recently, but there were positive signs there, to be honest.
“I thought we had a lot of chances in the first half, and in the second half we weren’t as good in terms of creating chances, but I feel like we played the better football. There are positives to take, even though it was a defeat.”
West Ham were impressive in their response to falling behind to Bergwijn’s opening goal midway through the first half, piling waves of pressure onto their hosts which culminated in Bowen turning smartly and finishing well just over three minutes later.
Yet in the same manner as they had equalised, they then conceded, Moura tapping home within two minutes of Rice’s team claiming parity.
The vice-captain admitted: “They always say that you’re most vulnerable after you score. We just switched off, which is something you can’t do, especially in a Cup.
“Obviously we were playing Spurs and all the lads were up for it. I was buzzing and rallied up, I was ready to go out there and give everything, like all the lads were, but to come up short again is gutting and hard to take.
“There’s now a game on Sunday, which we have to take very seriously and move on to.”
The fixtures continue to fly thick and fast in Rice and West Ham’s direction, with three in seven days over the festive period, starting with a Boxing Day Premier League clash with Southampton at London Stadium on Sunday.
“We’ll be ready. We’ll be ready for it,” Rice declared. “We’re footballers, it’s our jobs, it’s what we do.
“It’s so important we pick up points now because there are a lot of teams around us in our position who want to take over us, and it’s getting really tight.
“A win can change everything, a loss can change everything, so if we want to stay in the top half of the table, competing for the top four, we really need to push and give it everything.”
Rice concluded by paying tribute to the nigh-on six-thousand strong Claret and Blue Army whom he went over to applaud at half-time, and who did their side proud in north London on Wednesday night.
He observed: “They’re the best. Obviously they’re the best. I’ve said it time and time again.
“They don’t stop singing. All day, I could imagine them buzzing for this game, getting here. We’ve had fond memories here before, fond memories against Spurs, and it would have been nice for them to have got one over the home crowd tonight, but it wasn’t meant to be and we’ll be back again.”