Sam Byram is determined to help the Hammers overturn a first leg deficit in their UEFA Europa League qualifier
- West Ham United suffered 2-1 defeat to Slovenian side NK Domzale on Thursday
- Sam Byram played the 90 minutes in UEFA Europa League third qualifying round first leg
- Hammers welcome Domzale for London Stadium opener in return leg on 4 August
The Hammers suffered a disappointing loss on a frustrating night in Ljubljana, as a double strike from Matic Crnic ensured the home side would be taking a slender advantage into the return game.
But with another week’s preparation under their belts, Byram is sure West Ham will put up a better showing in the first game at their new home to turn the tie around.
“We’ve got the second leg to focus on now,” he said. “We’re disappointed to lose here as we thought we would be coming away with a result.
“There are things to work on and we can’t dwell on it now. We just have to look to the next one. They’re probably a bit fitter than us [at this stage in their season], but in all fairness we should be beating teams like that.
“We have better quality and we play in one of the top divisions in the world so we’re disappointed with the result.”
UEFA Europa League third qualifying round second leg Ticket information
On a personal level, Byram was happy to be back in Slaven Bilic’s starting XI for the first time since the home Premier League win over Sunderland on 27 February, and is keen to play his part as the Hammers look to overturn Domzale’s lead.He explained: “It was my first experience of the Europa League and I really enjoyed that. It is just a shame about the result.
“We flew back on Thursday night and have a day to recover, but then we’ll regroup and work towards the next one. Hopefully we’ll do better at home.
“It’s going to be our first game at the new Stadium and it is exciting times for the Club.
“We won’t let ourselves get too down. There are things to work on, but we will go into the next one positively and we’re looking forward to the second leg.”