Jarrod Bowen felt Saturday’s Premier League victory at Fulham was the perfect way to put defeat to Newcastle United in their previous game to bed.
The Hammers were hurting after shipping five goals to the Magpies at London Stadium, and used that hurt as fuel for the bounce back at Craven Cottage.
There, Bowen forced the match-winning own goal from Cottagers midfielder Harrison Reed with his dangerous low cross, a moment which ultimately ensured all three points would head back to east London.
West Ham’s victory owed much to their defensive resilience, though, as they nullified Fulham’s control of the ball with a strong shape at the back – one which refused to yield en route to a priceless clean sheet.
For Bowen, there was no better response.
“I said after the game on Wednesday it was embarrassing to concede five at home, so to go to Fulham and dig in to get a 1-0 result means everything,” he explained.
“We got in faces a bit more, put a press on and discomforted them. We knew they had two great centre-halves who come out and want to play, so we tried to stop that. Towards the end we were hanging on a bit, but you expect that away from home when you’re up against a top team.
“A 1-0 win and three points is massive for everyone, the fans, the Club and hopefully it will help us moving forwards now.
“Especially on the back of Wednesday night it was important to be solid, be compact and give a proper, disciplined away performance.”
Bowen was one of six players who kept their starting berths following defeat to the Magpies, and he had praise for the five who came in alongside them, saying their performance showed the squad is ready to step up and contribute in these important moments.
He added: “We’ve had a lot of games and we’ve got a lot of games coming up. The manager has always spoken about that, we’ve got a fantastic group and the lads are always raring to go. I think you’ve seen that with the changes that were made on Saturday.
“We’re back in European action this week and we’ve got nine games in April, so it’s important to keep the squad fresh and there’s a real togetherness here.
“I’ve always said it’s the best group I’ve ever played with and you could see that in the performance on Saturday.”
