West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen sorry for angry clash with fans

West Ham United captain Jarrod Bowen needed to be pulled away by teammates after attempting to approach fans following a 3-2 loss to Wolves in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday that continued the team’s miserable start to the season.

Bowen took to Instagram to apologise to West Ham’s traveling fans for his post-match conduct at Molineux, after he and his teammates went over to applaud them. At one stage, he appeared to point at a fan and make a comment, before attempting to vault the advertising hoarding — only to be stopped by teammates.

The England winger removed the captain’s armband and walked off the field with his head down.

“I’m someone who is passionate and will fight ever(y) time I step on the pitch,” Bowen wrote. “But I need to set a better example and you fans know how much I love you and this club!”

The Hammers came into the match having already lost to Sunderland and Chelsea in the Premier League, conceding eight goals in the process, to leave manager Graham Potter under some early-season pressure.

Potter said he was unaware of the details of the incident but described Bowen as a “fantastic captain, servant, player and person for the club” and called for unity.

“Our supporters have been fantastic,” said Potter.

“They are hurting because of the results we have had and Jarrod obviously cares about the club and the team. He gave everything again and it was just an exchange of views by people who care.

“The most important relationship at a club is between the fans and the team. We need our fans and everyone to stick together.

“The team is suffering at the moment. We are all hurting, I can assure you no-one is celebrating or happy about what we’re doing. We’re all in pain.”

Jørgen Strand Larsen scored in the 82nd and 84th minutes, soon after coming on as a substitute, to turn the game around for Wolves, who also lost their first two games in the league.

Rodrigo Gomes put Wolves ahead, before goals by Tomás Soucek and Lucas Paquetá gave West Ham the lead by the 63rd minute.

Wolves manager Vitor Pereira went on to praise Strand Larsen’s character and commitment amid speculation linking him to Newcastle.

“Jorgen is our player and very important for us,” he said.

“We will see what happens. I understand football, every player has a price — even [Lionel] Messi or Cristiano [Ronaldo] — but for me, he is very, very important.”

Information from The Associated Press and PA was used in this report.