Bowen gives West Ham helping hand past Bournemouth in Carabao Cup
Ben Bloom at the London Stadium
Date published: Wed 28 Aug 2024 21.56 BST

Days after being controversially denied a winner against Newcastle, an exasperated Bournemouth manager, Andoni Iraola, bemoaned another refereeing error for knocking his side out of the Carabao Cup.

With the game at West Ham goalless and seemingly heading for penalties, Mohammed Kudus's 88th-minute shot flew into the net via Jarrod Bowen. Replays showed it had struck the West Ham captain's arm but with technology not in use for the early stages of the competition, the goal went unchecked.

The decision provided a cruel irony after Bournemouth were left cursing the video assistant referee on Sunday for ruling out what would have been a stoppage-time Premier League winner against Newcastle.

"It's obvious that we are not making these mistakes, but we are paying the consequences," said Iraola. "This is very, very obvious and we are out of the competition because of the mistake of a referee.

"They scored with the arm. It hits his arm. I don't know what we have to do to change something, but obviously it's costing us a lot."

Asked about the lack of VAR, he said: "If there was VAR it would have happened another thing or mistake. We've seen that very recently.

"We haven't won [against Newcastle] because there is VAR. We are out of the cup [against West Ham] because there is no VAR. It's not about VAR, it's about taking the correct decisions."

The goal provided a scrappy conclusion to a decidedly dull encounter. Fortunate to receive the ball at his feet when Bowen was dispossessed, Kudus's shot smashed straight into his teammate and ricocheted into the net from a couple of yards to provide Julen Lopetegui with the ideal 58th birthday present and secure a third-round tie at reigning champions Liverpool.

It was a fortunate win for a team containing the bulk of the £100m-plus talent signed over the summer but who rarely provided much threat.

When they did, it primarily came through the left-side pairing of Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Crysencio Summerville. The former Manchester United defender - deployed at left-back after an injury-enforced alteration to the original named XI - flourished on his audition for a regular starting spot, carving attacking routes through the opposition defence and expertly dispossessing Justin Kluivert when the Bournemouth substitute was put through on goal.

Yet despite finding dangerous positions, Summerville twice missed chances to put the hosts ahead, blazing wildly over the bar soon before half-time and curling inches wide after the break.

"They have to adapt as soon as possible," said Lopetegui of his new players. "But in the meantime we have to compete and this [result] is good news because they are competing.

"We suffered for moments, but to win each match you have to suffer and we have to keep with this mentality to overcome difficulties."

Bournemouth twice came close to taking the lead. Dango Ouattara's acrobatic backheel with the last kick of the first half forced Lukasz Fabianski into a smart low save, while Marcus Tavernier whipped a free-kick across the face of goal where it flicked off the far post. But the referee's decision was to prove decisive, yet again.

Daily Mail: MATCH FACTS
West Ham: Fabianski, Wan-Bissaka, Todibo, Kilman, Cresswell, Alvarez, Bowen, Ward-Prowse, Soucek, Summerville, Fullkrug
Bournemouth: Neto, Smith, Huijsen, Senesi, Hill, Scott, Christie, Ouattara, Tavernier, Sinisterra, Jebbison
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