James Ward-Prowse was the unfortunate player chosen to discuss West Ham’s demoralising 5-2 defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace, a task no player would envy. Despite being played out of position in an attacking midfield role that clearly doesn’t suit him, Ward-Prowse provided a candid assessment of the game.
Describing the match as an “embarrassing” afternoon of football, Ward-Prowse didn’t mince words about West Ham United’s performance at Selhurst Park. Crystal Palace had quickly surged ahead with four goals within the first 31 minutes, effectively dismantling any hopes of a positive outcome for the Hammers, despite Michail Antonio’s goal in the first half.
The situation was further exacerbated by a bizarre own goal from Dean Henderson in the 90th minute, after Jean-Philippe Mateta had already secured his second goal and Palace’s fifth, sealing a disastrous day for West Ham.
Ward-Prowse highlighted the team’s lack of aggression and unity in defence as significant factors in their poor performance. “You can talk about how you play with the ball, but I think our lack of aggression and togetherness out of possession really cost us against Crystal Palace,” he explained.
Moyes half time silence: Ward Prowse said the team did not need explaining to
No excuses
He dismissed the notion that fatigue from playing on Thursday night could be used as an excuse. “If we aim to be a top team and contend for a European place, you can’t have a high-calibre performance against one of the best teams in the world like Bayer Leverkusen, and then perform as poorly as we did against Crystal Palace.”
He also noted that the team was acutely aware of their shortcomings at halftime, without needing further admonition. “We didn’t need anything said to us at halftime because we all knew what went wrong. You can’t allow any team in football to score goals as easily as we did, especially in the Premier League. It doesn’t matter if you’re playing a team at the bottom or the top of the table, they will punish you,” he concluded.