Jarrod Bowen says West Ham United men's team have no choice but to dig in and make sure they come out on the right side of those margins when they return to action against Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Having won 3-0 at Nottingham Forest before the international window, the Hammers were brought back down to Earth on Saturday, losing by the same scoreline to Tottenham Hotspur at London Stadium.
After creating the better chances in the first half, the Irons conceded early in the second, lost Tomáš Souček to a red card, then saw the game run away from them as Spurs added two more goals.
For captain Bowen, it was a chastening experience, and one he says he and his teammates need to feel deeply and turn that feeling into motivation to win their next derby at home to the Eagles this coming weekend.
“In the first half, I thought we did OK,” Bowen said. “I thought we had a couple of chances, and got a couple of crosses into the box on the front foot. For the majority of the first half, we defended the set-pieces really well. We knew Thomas Frank from Brentford, we knew he's inventive with set-pieces. He had some real success over the years with it.
“So we knew we had to be on our 'A' game, and they did have the corners [in the first half], we defended them well. We were in a good position at half-time, but then the goal we conceded from a set-piece – these are the details that we need to look at ourselves and just take pride in keeping the ball out the back of the net.”
The Irons’ hopes quickly vanished in the midst of the red card and second goal which followed swiftly, and Bowen said the only option they had was to work hard and keep their heads up.
“Those set-pieces are the finest of margins in football, and then we had a red card, which makes it a totally different game,” he continued. “With ten men and being 2-0 down, you have to dig in, roll your socks up and just face the medicine that you've got.
“There was nothing else that you can do. You can't feel sorry for yourself, anything like that.
“The fans are disappointed, as we all are. We were all on a real high when we beat Forest before the break, but in football you can go from high to low really quickly.
“We're disappointed, the fans are disappointed, I'm disappointed. Everyone's got quality in the Premier League, but against this sort of opposition, you can't give them easy goals, cheap goals. That's ultimately what's cost us.”
