West Ham United were unable to find a result to cap Łukasz Fabiański’s 350th Premier League appearance at Brentford on Sunday afternoon.
The top-flight stalwart reached the landmark in west London, but it was Brentford who took the three points thanks to first-half goals from Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa.
And despite seeing a second half Danny Ings ‘goal’ ruled out by VAR, West Ham were indebted to a string of saves from Fabiański, who ensured that Brentford did not add more to their tally.
“We are disappointed with the final result,” the No1 stated, “but the performance in the first half we did not match Brentford’s energy.
"Our start was promising but then we made a big mistake for the first goal and then got punished through one of Brentford’s strengths: the long throw-in.
“We tried to show a lot more in the second half and I think we did a little bit better. They still had some chances, but we controlled it a little bit better so in the end it was a disappointing game for us.
“But I think, at this stage of the season, we have something massive in front of us and you could see that the manager made a lot of changes.”
Fabiański was of course alluding to the second leg of West Ham’s UEFA Europa Conference League semi-final, with the Irons needing a draw or better at AZ Alkmaar to reach the final following a 2-1 first-leg win last Thursday.
And so, while the No1 was disappointed to have not mathematically secured West Ham’s Premier League safety, he admits it was important that the Irons rotated in preparation for Thursday’s match.
“Mathematically, we are not safe,” Fabiański stated. “We can’t feel like it is done. Obviously, like I said we have a huge moment in this season and in the history of this football club [to come on Thursday] to get to the final of a European competition and the manager has made a lot of changes.
“But we are not fully safe, but we are in a decent [position] with two games to go and we have to make sure that next week at home against Leeds we get the win we need to be safe, for sure.
“But we have to look at the bigger picture and next week is really important for us. Everyone understands the situation.”
With Alphonse Areola selected in Europe this season, Fabiański has been a regular in the Premier League XI in 2022/23.
Another solid showing between the sticks was not enough to record a win to cap his 350th Premier League outing, but the No1 was delighted to reach the tally.
“I am very proud of this achievement; it is a big number,” he stated. “And especially, if you look at my history and the start of my career in the Premier League, I don’t think many people would have thought I would reach that number.”
