- Pedro Obiang says West Ham United did everything but score the winning goal at Watford
- Hammers fell a goal behind early on but dominated for long periods thereafter
- Andre Ayew grabbed equaliser but visitors found a winner impossible to come by
Pedro Obiang says West Ham United did everything but score the winning goal at Watford on Saturday.
The Hammers dominated for long stretches at Vicarage Road after conceding an early goal, but had only Andre Ayew’s second-half equaliser to show for their efforts come full-time.
West Ham unleashed 13 shots on Heurelho Gomes’s goal, but just two of them were on target, leaving Obiang, his teammates and manager Slaven Bilic feeling frustrated.
“We took a goal too early and we found some difficulties in the first half,” Obiang observed. “In the second half we played totally different, like we normally play, pressing and creating chances, but we couldn’t get the second goal.
“In the changing room after the game we spoke about the fact we had a lot of the ball and a lot of chances near to their goal, but we didn’t decide to do it, and because of that we drew the game.
“Watford didn’t have too many chances aside from their penalty and one in the final minute, but for 60 minutes we played totally better than them.”
While West Ham may not have found a winning goal, Obiang felt they did many good things at Watford, where they enjoyed 64% possession and created the vast majority of chances.
Central to their performance were the form of Manuel Lanzini, who caught the eye in a No10 position after half-time, and Michail Antonio, who gave everything playing as a lone centre forward.
The pair combined for West Ham’s goal, which was scored by Andre Ayew after Antonio’s shot had rebounded off both posts.
Watford didn’t have too many chances aside from their penalty and one in the final minute, but for 60 minutes we played totally better than them
Pedro Obiang
“Manu is our number ten and he needs to demonstrate every time that he is now our top player, so we need to use him every time we have the ball, because he has confidence and he tries to create chances,” Obiang explained.
“I am very happy for Andre, as I am very happy for every player when they come back from injury. From the start, he was injured but now he is starting to play a little bit and we need to keep going with him because he can do good things.”
Finally, Obiang echoed the sentiments of every West Ham player by expressing sympathy for former Hammer Mauro Zarate, who suffered a serious-looking knee injury in Saturday’s game.
“I wish he was OK because he is a friend,” said the Spaniard. “When I saw him on the floor I was thinking ‘No, the poor guy!’ because it is the same knee he injured when he was with us.
“I will call him and wish him a recovery, because he is a good guy and he was playing really well.”