Soccer
Nuno Espirito Santo says West Ham are focused amid David Sullivan investigation
Nuno Espirito Santo insisted he and his West Ham players “need to focus” on football matters after their 3-1 win over Portsmouth was watched by under-fire co-owner David Sullivan.
Sullivan took his spot in the stands to watch the Hammers come from behind to beat Pompey and book their spot in the Carabao Cup second round, despite being advised not to attend by stadium operators amid allegations of sexual misconduct.
The hosts went behind to an Adrian Segecic effort in the 33rd minute before Jarrod Bowen and a Valentín Castellanos brace completed the fightback.
Nuno said: “We are focused on the pitch. The noise that comes from outside cannot distract us.
“We’re going to find a lot of noise so we need to focus on the game, do our job, and the players did.
“It is good to start with a win, especially at home with 50,000 fans inside the stadium. We can’t thank them enough, it’s amazing.”
Portsmouth manager John Mousinho was pleased with the way his side started the game but left London Stadium with regrets.
He said: “Frustrated at the way the game played out. I thought we were excellent for 40 minutes.
“I can handle losing the game – it was because we played so well and that just shot ourselves in the foot.
“Five minutes of madness against a side like West Ham. If you give them that slight opening, they’re going to take it because they’ve got that quality all over the football pitch.”
