David Moyes had positives to take from Wednesday night’s Premier League defeat to Liverpool, but said his team needed to be more ruthless in front of goal.
Liverpool notched one in each half - Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain adding to Mohamed Salah’s first half penalty - to take the points, despite a disciplined defensive performance from the Hammers.
They stayed in the game throughout, and Moyes was happy with their application. Now, he would like to see more from them in the final third when they take on Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday.
“I thought we did a lot of good things and were tactically well-organised, but ultimately you still need to score goals,” the manager said.
“We made the chances to score those goals - obviously you can talk about the opportunities Liverpool had because they get them in every game, but I thought we limited them a bit tonight and made one or two ourselves.
“We’re a bit disappointed with the goals, we’re disappointed with the penalty kick, we’re disappointed that they scored from a counter-attack from our corner, but not disappointed overall with the players’ performances. I thought they all did well.
I thought we did a lot of good things and were tactically well-organised, but ultimately you still need to score goals
David Moyes
Moyes was also happy for youngster Jeremy Ngakia, who gave a good account of himself on debut at right-back.
“I thought he did really well tonight,” Moyes added. “He probably got caught out a wee bit with the strength and speed in the first ten minutes, but he grew into the game and did very well as it went on.
“He did a lot of good things, so I’m really pleased for him.”
The Hammers completed the loan signing of Tomas Soucek from Slavia Prague prior to Wednesday's match, and having seen what he is capable off on the international and UEFA Champions League stages, Moyes is looking forward to seeing him in Claret and Blue.
"I hope he brings what I’ve seen him bring when he’s played for Slavia Prague or the Czech Republic, which is he’s scored quite a few goals from midfield," he added.
"He’s big, he’s athletic, hecan cover ground and he’s also played as a holding midfield player as well. He can give us cover for Declan Rice and Noble in that position, but he also adds to it in that we’ve got a midfield player who can get goals as well."
