Tomáš Souček gave an honest assessment at the final whistle of West Ham United’s 1-1 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion on Wednesday night, saying the Hammers were frustrated both by the result and their performance.
Souček opened the scoring with a fifth minute header against the Seagulls, and although Brighton enjoyed more of the ball from there on in, the Hammers still looked like taking all three points until Neal Maupay levelled in the final minute.
The Czech Republic midfielder felt the disappointment at coming so close to victory, but admitted that his team need to play better in order to keep their charge near the top of the Premier League table going.
“We were winning 1-0 and maybe should have had the second goal but we conceded, so we are disappointed,” he said.
“It’s frustrating for us because this was one we wanted to win today. [The equaliser] was a bad goal for us because we didn’t clear our box after the first moment when the player crossed, then they scored a nice goal. I have to say it was a nice goal, but it was our mistake and we should play better than that.
“We should keep the ball better and maybe we didn’t deserve to win for our performance, but we were so close to doing so, so it’s disappointing.”
On the positive side, Souček was on the scoresheet for the first time since the opening day victory over Newcastle United and he is aiming to kick-start a run of goals as the Hammers tackle a busy December.
“I was happy to score the goal and help the team at the start,” he added. “It has been a long time since I scored in the first game of the season so I hope I will add many goals in the future.
“I look forward to this period because we only play games. It’s the best time for us and I look forward to every game, and it’s another important one for us against Chelsea on Saturday.”