Captain Kurt Zouma admitted there was an overwhelming sense of disappointment and frustration in the West Ham United dressing room following a dramatic 3-4 defeat at Newcastle United in the Premier League on Saturday.
The Hammers had led 3-1 at St James’ Park with less than a quarter-of-an-hour to go after Michail Antonio, Mohammed Kudus and Jarrod Bowen strikes, but a second penalty from Alexander Isak, who had earlier put the Magpies in front from the spot, and a late Harvey Barnes brace turned the game in the hosts' favour.
Anthony Gordon was shown a red card for kicking the ball away in eight minutes of added time, but ultimately West Ham were unable to mount a second comeback of their own to secure a share of the spoils, and now sit just one place and one point ahead of the Magpies in the standings, having played one game more.
“It’s a bad day for us,” said Zouma, speaking to TNT Sports. “Everyone was upset after the game, especially with the way things changed from being 3-1 up.
“We were playing really well, but then we stopped. They put us under a lot of pressure and we couldn’t cope with it, and in the end they managed to get the goals that got them the win.
“Credit to them. They had nothing to lose and went for it when they were 3-1 down, and I think their substitutes made a difference. When they made it 3-2 we knew it was going to be hard with their fans, but we just didn’t do enough and it’s incredibly frustrating.”
With eight games of the Premier League campaign remaining, attention quickly turns to Tuesday night’s visit of London neighbours Tottenham Hotspur, who remain in the hunt for a UEFA Champions League place.
Zouma says a quick turnaround on the pitch is a good thing, and is hopeful he and his teammates can right the wrongs of Saturday’s defeat back under the lights at London Stadium.
He added: “There are still a lot of games to play this year, in the league and in the UEFA Europa League [where the Hammers are through to the quarter-finals], and we’ve still got a lot to play for, so we can’t dwell on this disappointment.
“We have another game to get ready for on Tuesday night, so we need to move on quickly. We’ll try and learn from our mistakes today, and though we know Tottenham are a good team, hopefully we can get a result in that match.”
