- Collins disappointed to miss out on Chelsea draw after second half goal at Stamford Bridge
- Defender says goal was no consolation after opening day defeat
- Wales international ready to go again for Thursday's UEFA Europa League tie at Astra Giurgiu
James Collins said scoring on his return to the starting XI meant nothing as West Ham United were controversially beaten 2-1 in their Premier League opener at Chelsea.
The defender scored the Hammers’ equaliser at Stamford Bridge only for Diego Costa, who should arguably have been sent-off for a reckless late challenge on Adrian, to net the Blues’ 89th-minute winner.
For Collins, who helped Wales reach the semi-finals of Euro 2016, defeat was hard to stomach after a determined rearguard action looked to have earned a point in west London.
“It was tough,” said the No19. “I don’t think we played particularly well and didn’t deserve a win or maybe even a draw, but when you get to the 89th minute at 1-1, you should be hanging on to a point. Obviously we didn’t play as well as we could, but it would have been a great point.
“You never think you have done enough against Chelsea because they’re a class team. They had a dip last year but they were right back on form tonight and it was a tough game. We’re obviously disappointed.
“The goal is no consolation and I should score more, to be honest, the amount of time I go up for corners and that. It just dropped nice and I stuck it in, but it would have been nicer if it was the equaliser and we’d got a point.”
West Ham need to get over Monday’s disappointment quickly, as Slaven Bilic’s side head to Romania on Wednesday for a UEFA Europa League play-off round first-round tie with Astra Giurgiu.
He added: "We go on to the next one. We've got a tough game away in Romania, so we'll regroup, we''ll train on Tuesday, watch the video from the game and take what we can out of it."