Crysencio Summerville was frustrated figure after West Ham’s 0-0 bore draw with Everton on Saturday afternoon.
Both sides failed to create many chances at London Stadium on Saturday, but the Dutch winger came closest to breaking the deadlock. Summerville was played through expertly in between Ashley Young and James Tarkowski by Lucas Paqueta. The former Leeds man took the ball in his stride perfectly before running in on goal. His shot rolled past Pickford as it looked headed for the back of the net, but it hit the base of the post and bounced out.
On the opportunity, Summerville said: “We were looking for the goal, and I’m a bit frustrated with myself that I wasn’t able to score. I just need to carry on working at the training ground and make sure that next time I’m in that position it finishes with a goal.
“I think we’ve all got mixed feelings after that,” Summerville said. “We recovered from a slow start, I think we showed a lot of character in the second half, and in the end we were unlucky not to come away with the win.
“At half-time the manager [Julen Lopetegui] said we were playing like we were a bit afraid, and we weren’t sure why, but in the second half we were much more like ourselves.”
The match as a whole was a frustrating one for both sides. The first half was starved of any real chances with the biggest one falling to Jarrod Bowen in additional time, only to be denied by a save by Jordan Pickford. Summerville also got involved crucially defensively in the first half. The Dutchman made an incredible back-tracking run to make a last ditch challenge on Abdoulaye Doucoure, which looked set to be an almost certain goal.
“We are a team, and I will die for the team,” added Summerville. “It was a bit of a strange action, but I was determined to lot let him score, and I managed to do that.
“The clean sheet is good, and we have to take the positives into the international break now and come back stronger. We know overall this season it’s not been great, but there are good things and we are confident we can keep building.”
The second half was a big improvement for the Hammers. Substitute Danny Ings went agonisingly close in the closing stages, he was denied by an excellent save from Jordan Pickford. However, it was the defence that impressed throughout the whole ninety minutes, earning just their second clean sheet of the season.