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‘I wanted to bang my head against the wall’: Portsmouth favourite gutted after West Ham United defeat The Blues are out in the first round of the Carabao Cup after a 3-1 defeat Ebou Adams reflected on Pompey’s Carabao Cup exit at West Ham and admitted: I wanted to bang my head against the wall. The Blues were three minutes away from entering half-time leading the first-round clash 1-0 through Adrian Segecic’s opener. However, two goals in as many minutes from Valentin Castellanos and Jarrod Bowen turned the match on its head as the hosts suddenly marched into the interval with a 2-1 advantage. Once Castellanos grabbed his second on 50 minutes, there was no way back for John Mousinho’s men, who have once again were eliminated at the first stage of the competition. And Adams revealed he was frustrated at how the game switched so dramatically in the final minutes of the first half. He told The News: ‘Someone told me we had 60 per cent possession after 40 minutes. When you hear that, I end up wanting to bang my head against the wall because it’s frustrating. ‘I am trying to stay positive because, all in all, it's a good performance. They are a team which have just come from the Premier League and we have shown what we can do. The next part is being in that final third, being resilient in that defensive third to get through that game. ‘It was a great start and sometimes that happens in football. You think you’re doing really well and then get hit in the face with something you don’t expect. It’s part of the game, we have to deal with it. ‘There are a lot of positives to take from it. We competed really well, I personally enjoyed it, and I’m happy with the team with how it’s progressing.’ The London Stadium fixture represented Pompey’s first match of the 2026-27 season, despite it being a cup competition. Clearly there is still plenty of work required in the transfer window to bolster Mousinho’s squad, while Thomas Waddingham hobbled off injured minutes after his second-half introduction. In the meantime, Adams was encouraged by their showing overall against the Hammers - although it was the second goal, netted by Bowen, which irritated him the most. He added: ‘One thing I am a little annoyed about is the second goal. It’s all right to concede the first, but we shouldn't concede a second two minutes after. We will look at ourselves at that. ‘We said at half-time, we’ll work as a team and say that’s disappointing, one goal is okay but not two. Then you concede another afterwards, let them have control of the game - and they are two goals up. ‘Those two goals change any game. At 40 minutes you are going into half-time 1-0 up, we will take that. Then five minutes later you are 2-1 down and it’s “How the flip does that happen?”. ‘Things happen in football so quickly, you turn a blind eye and you are either 2-1 up or 2-1 down. You’ve just got to take it by the scruff of the neck.’