Tuesday, 22nd April, 2014
West Ham United winger Stewart Downing has expressed his disappointment at losing to Crystal Palace at home and praised Tony Pulis for reorganising the Eagles this season.
West Ham lost to Crystal Palace at Upton Park last Saturday when a Mile Jedinak penalty in the 59th minute helped the Eagles register a 1-0 away win over the Hammers.
"It was a frustrating afternoon for us, especially in the second half", the 29-year-old told the club’s official site. "First half I thought we played some decent stuff towards the end, created a few chances and the keeper's really kept them in it.
"They are a hard team to break down. They make it difficult for you and I think it proved that way on Saturday.”
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The former Liverpool winger believes that the moment the Eagles scored first it became an uphill task for the Hammers to come back as Pulis has done a good job in organising Crystal Palace’s defence this season.
"The first goal meant so much and we stressed during the week that if we could get the first goal the gaps might appear, then we could create more space.
"It wasn't to be and they've done that to many teams this season. Credit to them, Tony Pulis has got them organised and they've got results.”
Crystal Palace are ahead of West Ham in the league at the moment, but when Pulis took over from Ian Holloway in November last year, the Eagles were at the bottom of the Premier League on four points from eleven games.
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