Cheikou Kouyate said West Ham United should have killed off the Foxes on Saturday
Cheikhou Kouyate apologised for Saturday’s 2-1 Barclays Premier League defeat at Leicester City but insisted the squad would learn from the experience.
The Senegal midfielder netted his fourth goal of the season at the King Power Stadium, but was one of a host of Hammers to pass up opportunities to secure a valuable victory over the struggling Foxes.
Kouyate hit a post and saw an long-range effort clawed aside by Kasper Schmeichel, while the Danish stopper also denied Stewart Downing and Carl Jenkinson – and those misses proved costly as Andy King scrambled home a late winner for the bottom side.
“It was a bad day for us and it was not nice to lose the game,” said the No8, who was restored to his normal, preferred midfielder role. “Normally, I would score the second goal and the game is finished. I had two chances but I didn’t take them. We were not lucky on Saturday, so it was a bad day.
“Leicester were giving it everything and attacking and attacking. They were playing with four or five strikers, three defenders and two midfielders, so they took a chance. This is football and on Saturday Leicester won.
“For West Ham, we fought, but we could not win the game. After Adrian made a stop from the penalty it boosted the whole team and we were very good for a moment after that. I scored and were playing easily and normally we would score a second goal.
“It was a problem for the team to score the second goal. Every time I score and we lose, it is not good for me and it means nothing. If we score and we draw or win, that’s good.
“I had a chance when I took the ball and hit the post, and then the second time their goalkeeper saved it. I had three chances and scored only one goal, when I needed to score two or three times.
“It’s good for our experience because we need to learn how to kill the game.”
Kouyate closed his whufc.com interview by expressing his sympathy for the 3,300-plus Hammers who travelled to Leicester for Saturday’s game.
“I am sorry for all the supporters and I want to thank them all. Normally we would win this game, but on Saturday we didn’t. They supported the team fabulously, but the result was bad. We thank you and say sorry for this result.”