- Slaven Bilic left 'very disappointed' by 3-2 Premier League defeat at AFC Bournemouth
- West Ham United led early on and equalised through Andre Ayew with seven minutes remaining
- Manager admitted his team should have played for a draw after leveling at 2-2
Slaven Bilic admitted his side should have played for a draw after leveling late in their 3-2 Premier League defeat at AFC Bournemouth.
West Ham United clawed their way back into a dramatic game at Vitality Stadium when substitute Andre Ayew slotted home with seven minutes of the 90 remaining.
However, with a host of attacking starters and substitutes on the pitch, the Hammers went forward one more time in search of a winner. Rather than snatching an unlikely victory, the Cherries pick Bilic’s side off with a last-minute winner scored by hat-trick hero Josh King, who had earlier missed a penalty and scored twice after Michail Antonio had opened the scoring.
“At the end I definitely felt we should have got something out of it,” said the manager, “but Bournemouth also played good and they showed great aggression and missed a couple of penalties too.
“We were good when we scored the first goal and then we had a few good opportunities and situations to maybe go two up, having taken advantage of their shock at missing the first penalty and then us scoring within a minute.
“After they scored the second goal, we were really good up until we equalised. After that, it’s hard to concede a goal. When it was 2-2 we should not have conceded a goal from a counter-attack, basically. We are disappointed, of course.”
West Ham had 15 of a relentless game’s 36 goal attempts, and seven of the 16 which were hitting their target, but the manager said his team should have known not to commit too many men forward as full-time approached.
Instead, Bournemouth threw bodies forward – as they had done all afternoon – and, when childhood Hammers fan Jack Wilshere’s shot was saved superbly by Darren Randolph, King was on hand to roof the loose ball and break the hearts of the 1,340 travelling supporters.
“At that moment we went for a third goal but basically with too many players,” Bilic observed. “We were very, very open and we lost the ball and then it was a good counter-attack from them. Darren made a good save, of course, but it went to their player and they scored.
“We are disappointed, especially because we had so many chances. At the end of the day, we scored two goals away from home and we should have got something out of the game.
“We had been on a good run and had been playing good and we showed good quality to equalise. We had pressure, but they were always dangerous on the counter-attack. Basically, when we made it 2-2 they can’t score, not from a counter-attack.”
At the end of the day, we scored two goals away from home and we should have got something out of the game
Slaven Bilic
The manager was asked for his thoughts on referee Bobby Madley’s performance, which involved awarding two spot-kicks to the home side, but turning down the visitors’ appeals for a late penalty when Andy Carroll’s cross hit Adam Smith on the arm.
There was also a debate around Bournemouth’s second goal, which was awarded after Mr Madley had discussed whether King had been offside when Benik Afobe – whose first-half penalty was saved by Randolph – knocked the ball into his path with his arm.
“After the second goal, the players asked for the handball, but to be fair it was a good goal,” Bilic said. “From the touchline I could not see it. I saw it afterwards and it wasn’t clear, but for me it wasn’t handball.”