Joe Hart is not used to this, at all.
The West Ham United keeper is used to battling for the top spots in the table, and at worst was a mid-table scrapper with Torino last season.
[ RECAP: Palace 2-2 West Ham ]
But his Irons tossed aside a 2-0 lead at Crystal Palace on Saturday, a silly decision from Michail Antonio allowing the Eagles to race to the other end and score a 97th minute equalizer through Wilfried Zaha.
Hart was baffled. From the BBC:
“I can’t believe we have done that. We fought all the way to the end and then we have been so unprofessional. It is two points dropped. As simple as that.”
It could cost manager Slaven Bilic dearly, with the under fire boss hoping his team’s midweek League Cup fight back at Tottenham would’ve lifted the team into a promising place.
Instead, West Ham’s snared just a single point and sit 13th instead of 10th. Those margins, frankly, are killing the Hammers.
“It feels like a defeat. We knew that the game was not over at 2-0 up at half-time. I am very disappointed with the penalty, but the way we conceded the leveler was very disappointing. We needed to keep the ball and we made the wrong decision with Michail Antonio choosing to cross the ball rather than keep it.”
Antonio was in the Palace corner deep into stoppage time, but instead dribbled toward the goal mouth before meekly giving away possession.
West Ham is one of the more infuriating sides in the Premier League, capable of sublime goals like Javier Hernandez’s opener but also just as adept at tossing aside leads in calamitous fashion. That, ultimately, feels like it will be Bilic’s undoing.
