Michail Antonio is adamant West Ham United's UEFA Europa League semi-final is far from over after a 2-1 defeat by Eintracht Frankfurt in the first leg.
The Hammers found themselves behind in the opening moments of Thursday’s contest at London Stadium through Ansgar Knauff’s headed effort, but Antonio levelled the tie in the first half by stabbing home Kurt Zouma’s header back across goal.
Daichi Kamada would score from close range in the second half in a match that also saw the Irons would hit the post twice through Jarrod Bowen and Saïd Benrahma, while the former would hit the woodwork again with a spectacular overhead kick in second half stoppage time.
Despite the loss, and the knowledge that the Irons did not put their best foot forward in the first leg, Antonio knows progression to the final rests on the return clash in Germany.
“Today probably wasn’t one of our better performance but one thing we like about this is it's two legs,” the striker said. “This was just the first leg and next week we’ve got to go again, so it’s all to play for. We’ve been in this situation before with Sevilla so we’ve got to go there, put in the work, and you never know.
“It was a slow start. One goal down. It’s not how you want to begin the game but, from there we carried on, we got playing well, we got control of the game and created a few chances. We didn’t take them today but it’s not over.”
Antonio’s finish against Frankfurt was the forward’s first since scoring the FA Cup fifth-round tie away to Southampton, and the No9 was delighted to get amongst the goals once again.
“It was definitely me who scored," he confirmed. "It hit me and Declan [Rice] would have definitely given it to me, knowing how long I’ve not scored for.
“I’ve been very frustrated at myself, not scoring goals. Everyone has been telling me I’ve been playing well, so not to worry, but for me personally, goals are what I’m playing for. I’m a striker and that’s what people want from me. I’ve got a goal today and hopefully I can get more as I go.”
While the first leg at London Stadium, in front of an incredible home support, did not go in West Ham’s favour, a confident Antonio believes the Irons have the calibre to overturn the deficit next Thursday and progress to Seville.
“The overriding feeling is we’re here to win it,” he added. “We’re in it to win it. We’ve got another game to go.
“One thing for us is no matter where we go, we believe we can beat anybody. We’re going to go there and try to win.”
