West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen has admitted the dressing-room mood was understandably low after the Hammers were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw at Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday afternoon.
After coming from behind to snatch a late point at Old Trafford just days earlier, the script flipped at the Amex Stadium. Bowen struck in the 73rd minute to put West Ham ahead, only for Brighton’s Georginio Rutter to slot home a late leveller, a goal that survived a lengthy VAR check.
Softfootball earlier reported that West Ham fans were furious after the final whistle, with many insisting that VAR is ruining football following the decision to let Brighton’s equaliser stand despite appeals for a handball in the buildup.
Bowen, speaking after the match via west ham official X handle, admitted the team was gutted not to take all three points, especially after controlling large stretches of the game.
It’s disappointing. Obviously, the other night at Manchester United, we go 1-0 down and then get a goal to go 1-1. It’s a different emotion tonight, and to be ahead for around 20 minutes and feel like we were going to win the game, then not, is disappointing.
I felt as if we were comfortable in the game. I thought we were disciplined, we competed really well, and it was just that we didn’t do enough to see out the game.
The controversy surrounding Brighton’s equaliser dominated the post-match discussion, but Bowen insists he maintains trust in the match officials and VAR operators despite the frustration.
Sometimes things go against you. But ultimately, I think you have to trust the technology that we’ve got, and if that’s the consistency levels and they want to say that they didn’t see a handball, that’s fine.
But we have to stick by that through the season as well. We’ve seen a lot of handball decisions this season and it’s probably the one grey area in the Premier League in terms of what’s given and what’s not given.
We trust the referees. We trust the VAR to get involved if they think something needs getting involved with, and they didn’t today, so we have to accept that.
WATCH part of his post match reaction below:
Despite the disappointment, Bowen believes the team has rediscovered a collective belief — one strong enough to push them up the Premier League table in the coming weeks.
