West Ham United players refused to point the finger at Andy Carroll for his glaring miss during defeat to Newcastle United.
Carroll's introduction for the final 28 minutes lifted the whole of Upton Park but his eight-yard volley into the second tier of the stands showed there is still a lot of rustiness to shake off.
Team-mate Matt Taylor said: "He'll be disappointed that he missed that chance today, but it wasn't an easy one. He's been beating himself up in the changing room about it, but it wasn't as easy as people are making out.
"He hasn't played football for a long time and we need to remember that. The next one will come in and hopefully he'll put it away."
