West Ham were held to a 0-0 draw at home by Bournemouth, missing out on a chance to significantly close the gap to safety.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are currently two points behind Nottingham Forest, who host Liverpool on Sunday, and four points behind Tottenham ahead of a north London derby with Arsenal, as reported live on Sky Sports.
West Ham had 20 shots for an expected points total of 2.82, but had just three shots on target and could not find a way past goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic, who made a crucial save late on from former Bournemouth striker Callum Wilson’s toe-toe effort.
Bournemouth, unbeaten in seven league games, had four shots on target, but their best moment came at the end of the second period when winger Ryan drove in from inside his own half, curling his shot just wide of the left post.
Crisencio Somerville was West Ham’s brightest player. His speed and unpredictability caused problems for Bournemouth, including a deflected shot late on that hit the roof of the net.
West Ham striker Tati Castellanos also missed the target in the second half with a powerful overhead kick, and Jarrod Bowen’s shot from close range in stoppage time made a frustrating night for the hosts even worse.
Nuno ‘disappointed’ by draw but proud of spirit
West Ham manager Nuno Espirito Santo said:
“We started very well, started very well in almost every game with the chances we created and ended up scoring and that changed the dynamic, that was the intention.”
“Overall, not just at the start of the game, but until the end of the game, we were close, really close, and that’s the feeling of sadness that’s with us and feeling like we almost could have won it and we didn’t get it.
“But at the same time, we performed well, we competed well, we were solid, we didn’t allow too many situations, but it was really close, so that’s why we’re sad.
“I am proud, because I truly believe that everything starts from there (having the spirit). And you have known me for many years, I believe that everything starts from there (having the spirit). You have to put your body on the line, you have to keep a clean sheet, and that is always the objective we should carry out as a team.”
“It has to continue and it has to start after tomorrow, but we are already thinking about the clean sheet again. We have talent up front so we can always create.”
Iraola’s values point to West Ham
Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola:
“Good points for us. I didn’t like our performance in the first half. I think we were much better in the second half. At least the game was more open, we had chances, we went for the goal, we hit the posts.”
“They had some good moments, but the game we wanted to play was more like a second half than a first half, and we never looked like a threat to them.
“I am focusing on this because it is not an easy place to come to this stadium now, because they are going as well as we are and they need a result and you can feel it from the start.
“We knew they were going to start well, but we still couldn’t match their early intensity. So it definitely wasn’t the best of the series, but I think the away game in these circumstances was a good point for us, all things considered.”
Bowen: We had a chance to win.
West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen told Sky Sports:
“We played with energy and created some chances. We had one point but we could have converted it into three points, which would have been ideal.”
“We will take every point in this situation and take the positives from the performance.
“We need points, but we also need performances to match them. And we didn’t lose any games, which is important. This season, we played well but there were some games that we lost because we were frustrated.
“I think we had a chance to get the three points. We need confidence, but we also need results.”
