West Ham United boss Sam Allardyce was left frustrated with Stoke City's late equaliser for yesterday's 1-1 draw.

The Irons looked to have done enough to battle to victory after taking an early lead through a superb free-kick by full-back Aaron Creswell.

However, after seeing two efforts from Marko Arnautovic ruled out for offside and a header by substitute Mame Diouf hit the post, the visitors snatched a deserved point five minutes into stoppage time when the Austrian forward crashed the ball into the far corner.

"You have to give Stoke a bit of credit, but from our point of view, we did not play as well as we can," said Allardyce.

"It was not about us playing well or not, it was about winning and we had got ourselves into a fantastic position.

"When you are less than 30 seconds away from winning the game and you don't, that is the ultimate blow.

"We are very nervous on that stage based on what happened before.

"We should be on 50 points now, we have thrown away seven points in two minutes or less over four games.

"We cant find the right key elements to see the game out and leave ourselves on a nervous edge by having a little bit of panic in what we are trying to do which is coping with the opposition when they have to take more risks, playing more direct.

"While it was a very good goal, we should have dealt with it and kept possession better, using your intelligence to make sure you are doing it."