Craig Dawson says West Ham will be ready for a hostile reception in France next week when they look to finish the job against Lyon and continue their Europa League dream.
The Hammers battled to a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final last night after having left-back Aaron Cresswell controversially sent off just before half-time.
David Moyes was furious with referee Felix Zwayer for showing Cresswell a soft red card for the slightest of arm-pulls on Moussa Dembele.
West Ham, fuelled by a sense of injustice, took the lead through Jarrod Bowen before on-loan Tottenham midfielder Tanguy Ndombele equalised for the visitors.
But once Moyes’s anger fades, he will look back on a resilient display that leaves West Ham in a good position ahead of the second leg next week.
West Ham can expect a hostile atmosphere in the 60,000-capacity Parc Olympique Lyonnais, but Dawson insists they will enjoy it.
“We all know what it will be like,” said the defender. “We’ll be ready for that. Hopefully, we can get the right result.
“Will we relish it? Yeah, of course. It will be a difficult game for us. We’ll be professional but be ready for it. We know a bit more about them now.”
Moyes refused to be drawn on the controversial decision to send off Cresswell, but Bowen branded it “cheap”.
Dawson added: “[It was] a big call from the referee, but the lads showed great courage and togetherness to stay in the game and keep fighting.
“[The referee] made his decision very quickly, but there’s not much we can do as players. We put in a great shift. It was a setback, but the lads worked ever so hard. It was difficult, but the fight was there. It was good to see from the lads.”
Dawson epitomised the defensive resilience displayed by West Ham in the second half, as they refused to roll over on a night that showed the team unity and spirit manager Moyes has instilled in his players. They also showed at the other end that they can hurt Lyon, who are ninth in Ligue 1 but reached the Champions League semi- finals two years ago.
Moyes said he was disappointed by the overall performance of his side, which is another sign of West Ham’s progress under him. But he could take pride from his players refusing to collapse after their setback.
“We were really resilient in the second half,” he said. “We came in at the break knowing with 10 men it was a difficult job.
“We stuck at it and had one or two opportunities ourselves. Overall, it was more of a backs-to-the-wall performance in the second half, but we are still in with a good shout.
“We didn’t play well and we can only play much better next week.”
