West Ham United travelled to the south-coast to face Brighton & Hove Albion, bringing with them confidence and more importantly the ability to take their chances in front of goal. 

Coming from a fantastic home win against Manchester United last week, Manuel Pellegrini and his men showed on Friday night at the Amex Stadium that inconsistencies and missed chances still plagues the East London side. 

Interviewed after the game by Sky Sports, Pellegrini reflected, “We didn’t play in the first half in the way we must.

“We talked before the game that it would be decided by one or two balls and we were unlucky to lose the game in the end.

A poor first half by the Hammers allowed Glenn Murray to score the only goal of the game. The Chilean expressed his disappointment from his sides missed opportunities. “We created three clear chances in the second half. They had just one [in the first] and they scored.”

The 65-year old continued, “I think we played well [in the second half], we dominated, we created chances but we just didn’t score."

First defeat in four games

Pellegrini understands the importance of consistency and not to lose matches from the amount of chances the Hammers created, even from a poor start, they did dominate the second period enough to warrant an equaliser, as well as possibly even a victory.

“We had another team in front of us, who played at home and played well also. They didn’t create too many chances, but it was not a game we should lose," the Chilean claimed. 

Fabian Balbuena, Lucas Perez and Marko Arnautovic had clear attempts to score and stamp their authority on the game in the second half but couldn't find the net.

Irons still improving

The ex-Manchester City boss was clearly frustrated by the manner the Irons lost. Pellegrini knows that the Hammers will always concede chances but when you are creating opportunities, you should be taking them, the Chilean said, “We made a mistake to lose the ball in midfield, and after that it continued with the marking inside the box, but the problem is that we created three clear chances in the second half but didn’t score.”

The positives to take from the match? The Hammers are playing very attractive football, which many quarters have commented on the transformation from the first few games in the season. 

Pellegrini finally added, that his side still needs to be more clinical in front of goal. “The team is in progress. We didn’t play a bad game today, but we must continue improving," he concluded. 

West Ham’s next match against Tottenham Hotspur at home will give Pellegrini and his men time to keep improving during the international break. The Chilean will be looking to bounce back from this lose and Spurs is the perfect match to get three points.

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