David Datro Fofana said he was “upset” by “tired” Burnley conceding a 91st-minute equaliser to miss out on a first win in 10 Premier League matches with a 2-2 draw at West Ham.
Chelsea loanee Fofana scored the 11th-minute opener at London Stadium, where Konstantinos Mavropanos’ own-goal on the stroke of half-time put the visitors on course for a surprise fourth win of their league season.
Lucas Paqueta scored shortly after the restart before Danny Ings levelled in added time – and the former Burnley forward almost completed West Ham’s comeback by then hitting the crossbar.
“I cannot be upset with my team-mates – it was tough,” Fofana told Burnley’s official website, having scored his first goal in five games since a double in a 2-2 draw against Fulham which was also the last time Vincent Kompany’s side secured a point.
“I’m not feeling bad but I’m upset about the goal. We were working hard and at the end we were getting tired. This is football.”
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Ivory Coast forward Fofana weaved his way between opposition players and unleashed a sensational long-range strike to score one of the goals of the season and show why his parent club paid a reported fee of around £11 million to Norwegian side Molde for him in January 2023.
“You always feel good when you score,” said Fofana. “It’s a team goal because it was a brilliant first half.
“In the second half, it was a bit difficult for us. We wanted to defend, and when you are defending against this team you have to be smart. Next time, we have to be smart and work hard.
“It is difficult to defend against Paqueta and [Michail] Antonio. We created a lot of chances… we never gave up.”
Vincent Kompany felt that there was promising moments from today’s draw that can be built on ahead of next weekend’s game 👇 PIC.TWITTER.COM/QTBYYHAREG
— Burnley FC (@BurnleyOfficial) MARCH 10, 2024
Fofana goal vs West Ham ‘sublime’
Burnley rose off the bottom of the table but are 10 points behind fourth-bottom Nottingham Forest with a vastly inferior goal difference.
While a draw at the seventh-placed Hammers was encouraging, last season’s Championship winners require a dramatic turnaround in form to stay in the top flight.
“There were so many positives in the performance,” said manager Vincent Kompany. “His performance warranted his goal. It was sublime.”
