Captain Jarrod Bowen admitted feeling a mixture of emotions following West Ham United’s 1-1 Premier League draw with London rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
The 28-year-old notched his tenth Premier League goal of the season just shy of the half-hour mark, hitting the milestone for the third time in Claret and Blue, to cancel out Wilson Odobert’s early opener.
The Hammers enjoyed more possession than their opponents (56%), and bettered their tallies for shots (eleven to seven), tackles (29 to 14) and passes (423 to 341), but were ultimately forced to settle for a share of the spoils on home soil, which extended their winless run to eight games.
Bowen, who went close to notching a winner with a header around five minutes from the end, said: “I think there is a mixture of emotions after today. It’s frustrating because I think the game was there to be won. I think we probably could have done more to win the game, but we had chances and the keeper made a good save from my header late on.
“But with the state of the game when we went 1-0 down, it was important we stuck together and showed a bit of character. We managed to react and get that goal to get back in the game, which was good. It’s just whether there was a little bit more that we could have done maybe to win the game.
“Scoring goals is something I pride myself on, and all I’ve tried to do ever since I signed back in 2020 is to come in, work hard for the team and try and score goals week in, week out. Ultimately, as an attacker, that’s what you’re judged on. Long may it continue that I keep scoring goals for this Club.”
Maurading full-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka chipped in with the assist for Bowen’s strike, his third of 2024/25, and the latter was quick to shower praise on a player he feels has been a shining light in a largely disappointing campaign overall.
The whole Irons squad will now shift their attentions to bouncing back to winning ways away at Manchester United next weekend, their first of three remaining games in which they will be looking to boost their run to the summer break.
Bowen added: “Aaron’s been brilliant ever since he’s walked through the door last summer. He’s been in the Premier League for a number of years now and he’s shown his quality and consistency week in, week out here.
“He got another assist today, and it was good because that was a real part of the game we knew we could exploit, with them holding the line and trying to play offside. It’s a pleasure to play with Aaron and have him in our ranks.
“I think I spoke last week after the Brighton game about how it’s easy to say the season’s done, we can’t get relegated and there’s nothing to play for. But this is a Club that prides itself on hard work and passion. There are three games left to go, and we’re all determined to go and win some games, because ultimately this season we haven’t done enough as a group of players to be high enough in the table.
“Last week I spoke about self-pride, and it’s exactly the same message this week. It’s self-pride to go out there every single week, because the worst thing is to come out of a game and think you could’ve done more.
“But I think talk is cheap, and we have to show it. We know we should be in a better position and have done better, but we’re here now and it’s down to us to win those remaining three games. That’s got to be the mindset to play for this Club.”
