Jarrod Bowen continued where he left off as he returned to the West Ham side with a goal, despite the eventual 2-1 defeat to Champions League chasing Chelsea.
The West Ham captain missed five matches after suffering a foot injury against Liverpool at the end of December. But with over a month on the sidelines, Bowen returned with a bang as he latched onto Levi Colwill’s underhit backpass and made the most of Tosin’s poor defending before finishing expertly past Filip Jørgensen.
This topped off an excellent opening 45 minutes for Graham Potter’s side at Stamford Bridge. however, the second-half was completely different for Bowen and his teammates. The Blues began to dominate the match before goals from Neto and a Wan-Bissaka own goal turned the game on it’s head.
Bowen felt like the Hammer should have come away with at least a point, but it wasn’t to be. The 28-year-old said: “I hate being injured, not being part of the team and not being out there helping the lads. It was never a question of how long I could play tonight. It was just ‘put me out there so I can run around and be back with it’.
“I ended up playing 90 minutes and, yeah, it felt good out there. I just wish we were sat here speaking having got something from the game and not losing it.
“It’s a disappointing night, ultimately, with the result. There were things that maybe went a little bit against us. A deflected goal and a questionable foul on the halfway line and, then right at the end, Mo [Kudus]’s chance as well that gets blocked [by Tosin Adarabioyo].”
“So, yeah, it was disappointing from being in the lead at half-time and coming away losing.”
In the events leading up to Pedro Neto’s equaliser, Bowen was fouled off the ball by Levi Colwill, a foul that the referee or his assistants really should have spotted, and therefore would have prevented Chelsea from levelling it up. The Wan-Bissaka own-goal was just a combination of bad luck which unfortunately meant Chelsea too all three points. But all in all, it was yet another impressive performance from Potter and the team.
“I don’t think we did well enough after it went 1-1 and then conceding again so they make it 2-1.” Bowen said. “There are lots of things for us to learn, but then, on another day, Mo’s chance at the end [goes in]. The guy makes a great block.
“Aaron [Wan-Bissaka] has made a good block on the cross [from Cole Palmer for the second Chelsea goal] and it flies in the back of our net. Tonight was one of those nights and, of course, you want to be positive, but you never want to lose a game.”
Jarrod Bowen spoke about the feel good factor around the club at the moment: “I think it’s a really exciting time. Obviously, you’ve got Prowsey (James Ward-Prowse) coming back now as well [from a loan spell at Nottingham Forest], which is a real buzz for the lads.
“And you’ve got Evan [Ferguson] from Brighton as well, and it will be good to meet him. There are obviously players coming back from injuries too, so, there’s really good players coming into the group. On to Brentford…”