West Ham United captain Jarrod Bowen has apologized after attempting to confront a section of the team's fans following a 3-2 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the English League Cup on Tuesday. The loss at Molineux Stadium compounded a miserable start to the season for the Hammers, who have lost all three of their matches.
After the game, Bowen and his teammates went to applaud the traveling West Ham supporters. However, an exchange occurred between Bowen and a fan, leading to the captain being restrained by teammates and stewards as he attempted to approach the supporter. It appeared that the fan shouted something from the away end that provoked the reaction. At one point, Bowen seemed to point at a fan and make a comment before attempting to vault over the advertising hoarding, only to be stopped by his teammates. He then removed his captain's armband and walked off the field with his head down.
Bowen later took to Instagram to apologize for his behavior. "Apologies to the fans for tonight's reaction," Bowen wrote. "I'm someone who is passionate and will fight every time I step on the pitch. But I need to set a better example and you fans know how much I love you and this club! We ride through the bad times together and I'll see you all Sunday".
The match itself saw Wolves come from behind to win 3-2, with Jorgen Strand Larsen scoring twice in the final ten minutes. Rodrigo Gomes had put Wolves ahead in the first half, before Tomas Soucek and Lucas Paqueta scored to give West Ham a 2-1 lead. Ultimately, West Ham could not hold on, and the loss added to the pressure on manager Graham Potter.
West Ham's season began with a 3-0 defeat to Sunderland and a 5-1 loss to Chelsea in the Premier League. The loss to Wolves means that they are out of the English League Cup.
Other English League Cup second-round matches saw Premier League clubs Leeds United and Sunderland lose on penalties to lower-league sides Sheffield Wednesday and Huddersfield, respectively. Wrexham also scored a stoppage-time winner to beat Preston 3-2.
