Iraola rues Bournemouth's defensive lapses in dramatic West Ham draw

Iraola watched on as Evanilson put the Cherries ahead as part of a dominant first half on Saturday, capitalising on a mistake by Alphonse Areola to finish from close range.

However, two West Ham headers in seven second-half minutes from substitute Niclas Fullkrug and captain Jarrod Bowen turned the game on its head, with Bournemouth struggling to create as much in the final third after the break.

But Evanilson sealed a share of the spoils in the 79th minute, turning the ball home after being found by Dean Huijsen's header, with the goal given after a VAR review for offside.

Though the result moved Bournemouth up to ninth in the standings, they are now winless in their last six Premier League games, their longest such run for over a year since going seven without a win in February 2024. The Cherries also recently exited the FA Cup to Manchester City.

They ended this contest bossing most of the match metrics, including a greater expected goals (xG) total of 2.15 to West Ham's 0.65.

And having been on top for much of the match, Iraola conceded that it felt like two points dropped, rather than a point gained.

"You have to value one point here, but I think you probably value it more when you don't deserve it, and I don't think this is a good point because we were closer to winning it," Iraola said.

"Evanilson has been helping us all season. He broke his foot and has had to rest a little bit but he is finishing very strong at the end of the season.

"We are scoring lots of goals, but the reason why we are not winning is from the other side. We could not concede two goals in this game, really.

"It's not a game where you should be conceding two goals. We conceded from two crosses. From very little we conceded two and it has cost us a lot. We are not being effective [defensively].

"When you have better chances you are not feeling happy with a point."

Graham Potter, meanwhile, was delighted with the result, with the Hammers now unbeaten in their last eight Premier League games against Bournemouth (W3 D5), with each of the last four ending level.

But having gone ahead after the break, West Ham were unable to hold their lead. They are one of just three sides that are yet to win a Premier League game in which they've trailed this season, along with struggling duo Southampton and Ipswich Town.

There were questions asked by the West Ham bench about the awarding of a free-kick that eventually led to Bournemouth's equaliser, though Potter was quick to overlook that and praise the impact of his substitutes.

He said: "I haven't seen it back to be honest. I have nothing to comment on. But obviously we're disappointed with how we defended the goal. But how soft the free-kick was, I'm not sure.

"Substitutes helped us and apart from the first five or 10 minutes of the second half, I thought the team were fully committed. It was a tough match, absolutely.

"First half I think there was a period where we dropped a little bit. Apart from that it was OK without being great. But it was a tough Premier League game and a hard-earned point."