The Hammers were humbled in the FA Cup fourth round by the Dons, who are struggling in League One.
West Ham United winger Felipe Anderson has spoken out about his side’s shock 4-2 defeat to AFC Wimbledon in the fourth round of the FA Cup, admitting things didn’t go to plan and left the team really hurting.
On paper, there was a significant disparity between the two teams ahead of kickoff on January 26, one team doing well in the Premier League and the other bottom of League One, but it didn’t seem evident on the pitch.
By half time, the Dons were two goals to the good thanks to efforts from Kwesi Appiah and Scott Wagstaff, the latter adding another one just after the restart to leave attending fans from both sides pinching themselves.
Although Manuel Pellegrini made substitutions which very nearly pulled the game back, Lucas Perez and Anderson netting to make it 3-2, Toby Sibbick’s close-range header two minutes from time gave the hosts a cushion which they would not relinquish.
The West Ham boss admitted he was “ashamed” of his players and described the result as a “disaster” (BBC Sport), and several weeks on, Anderson opened up about how the dressing room felt after the game.
“These things happen in football,” the Brazilian told BBC Sport. “If you take your eye off the ball or lose focus for even a minute you can lose a game against any team.
“The Wimbledon game did not go to plan and it really hurt us. We worked very hard against Liverpool (the 1-1 draw on February 4) and could have even won that game. Going forward that is our aim.”
Up next for West Ham is a Premier League home game against Fulham on Friday night.
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