West Ham United’s Joe Hart was “bitterly disappointed” his side could not hold out for a win against Crystal Palace despite a sensational showing by the goalkeeper.
Finishes from Chicharito and Andre Ayew put the Hammers in control at half-time but a penalty from Luka Milivojevic and a late Wilfried Zaha effort earned the Eagles a 2-2 draw.
Zaha’s 97th minute leveller was particularly harsh on Hart, who had put on a brilliant showing to deny Palace a number of opportunities.
The 30-year-old made an amazing double save in the first period to deny James Tomkins and then Zaha in very quick succession, and also fantastically tipped away a Yohan Cabaye free-kick in the second-half.
It’s a little bit speechless in the dressing room...it’s two points dropped – as simple as that. I'm bitterly disappointed
Joe Hart
Unfortunately, despite Hart’s best efforts, it wasn’t enough to earn the Irons a first away league win of the campaign.
“I can’t believe we’ve done that,” Hart said after the game: “I can’t believe we’ve fought all the way to the end and then been so unprofessional at the end.
“It’s a little bit speechless in the dressing room. No one does things on purpose in this team but it’s two points dropped – as simple as that. I hadn’t switched off but it was a good finish by Zaha, through legs, and I’m bitterly disappointed.”
Hart made seven saves for West Ham in the draw at Palace, easily a league high, with Jonas Lossl of Huddersfield Town closest to the England international with four.
Four of those saves by Hart were diving, with the shot-stopper making some great efforts to keep out Palace in the contest.
Furthermore, Hart claimed the ball a massive seven times, each without fail, in the contest, showing just how dominant in his area the goalkeeper can be.
The West Ham goalkeeper has given credit to Palace for their effort in fighting back but has called on the team to learn from their errors in time for the next match, against Liverpool.
He said: “Football’s a funny game. I thought Zaha and Sako played well and, in giving credit to them, I thought we played well. You’ve got to keep the ball in the corner, it’s that simple, and you can’t let people keep running through you and getting chances.
“Today counts for a point but that’s about it. We learn simple things. We obviously shouldn’t have given away a penalty so early in the second half. Mark Noble said at half-time that on Wednesday we were 2-0 down, and the game was by no means over.
“Palace fought well and we’re disappointed. But we’ve got to learn from it. The beautiful thing about football is it gives us another chance next week to play at home, against Liverpool, and we have to iron out the negatives and take the positives, and move on.”