Hammers Go Top After Bolton Win

After back-to-back home wins in the last week, Tuesday night’s 3-2 triumph against newly-promoted Bolton Wanderers at The Toughsheet Community Stadium gave West Ham United their first away league win of the season and their fans will be waking up to see their team top of the Sky Bet Championship table.

Nuno Espírito Santo made four changes to the team that beat Derby County 3-0 in Stratford three days earlier, as Kyle Walker-Peters, Mohamadou Kanté, Edvin Austbø and Pablo Felipe were all named in the starting line-up. Valentín Castellanos missed out after being substituted against the Rams due to a hamstring injury, while Joël Veltman, Joël Piroe and Manor Solomon all dropped to the bench.

Youngsters Finlay Herrick, Joshua Ajala and Keiber Lamadrid were also amongst the substitutes as were Morato and Adama Boiro.

Steven Schumacher’s side went into this game off the back of a chastening defeat at Millwall on Saturday and the former Plymouth Argyle Head-Coach made four changes from the team that he fielded at The New Den and it seemed to give them momentum. Just seconds in, they had a chance when Samuel Iling-Junior tested visiting goalkeeper Mads Hermansen with a curling free-kick but thankfully for those who had made the journey up to Lancashire, it was no trouble for the Dane.

The first time West Ham went on the attack, it produced the opening goal. Walker-Peters and captain Jarrod Bowen combined, before Josh Sheehan misjudged the defender’s cross and his touch inadvertently took the ball towards his own goal Felipe then slid as he tried to keep the move alive but, his shot hit home goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu and dropped invitingly for the skipper who smashed it past the former Manchester City and Southampton stopper.

The Hammers managed to keep their first clean sheet of the season last time out but their hopes of keeping another one here went just six minutes later. Kyliane Dong’s cross was not properly cleared and Ethan Erhahon picked up possession. His shot deflected off the unfortunate Konstantinos Mavropanos and into the net past a helpless Hermansen.

The game was then turned on its head with twenty seven minutes gone when the Trotters were given a rather harsh penalty by referee David Webb for what he interpreted to be a foul by Walker-Peters on Dong. Rúben Rodrigues stepped up to the spot and sent Hermansen the wrong way.

Remarkably, the first-half had its fourth goal after thirty one minutes and the Irons were back on level terms. A foul on Felipe won Espírito Santo’s men a free-kick. Arne Engels sent it into the area and the bounce favoured Mavropanos, who was able to head the ball beyond Bazunu.

The former Arsenal man could have helped himself to his third of the week when he had the chance to claim a brace shortly after but, he was unfortunately denied by a fantastic save from the Irishman, who managed to get a hand to the ball and tip it onto the crossbar.

The hosts had two more chances before Webb brought an end to the half but thankfully, neither Dong, nor Sam Dalby could make their efforts count with Hermansen saving from the latter.

Within ninety seconds of the action getting back underway, the East Londoners could have edged in front once again but unfortunately, Kanté blazed his effort over after receiving the ball from Walker-Peters.

The frenetic nature of the game continued. Schumacher’s side had another chance but thankfully, unlike his penalty, this effort from Rodrigues didn’t trouble the former Leicester City stopper.

The intensity of the contest then slowed down a little. That was until Espírito Santo made a double change on fifty eight minutes when Veltman and Solomon were sent on for both Walker-Peters and Austbø.

The Israeli nearly made the desired impact when Bowen passed to him but unfortunately, his shot took a deflection which allowed Bazunu to claim.

A few more minutes had passed before the visiting Head-Coach made a second double change by bringing on both Piroe and Lewis Orford for Divine Mukasa and Felipe.

Piroe was sent clear minutes later, but he managed to replicate what Kanté did at the start of the half and miss the target completely.

West Ham were piling on the pressure again and Bazunu did brilliantly to keep out Kanté’s powerful attempt, he perhaps should have done better in preventing Bowen’s second goal from getting past him on seventy seven minutes though. The skipper added to his tally for the evening when he managed to find a gap and squeezed Veltman’s low cross into the net.

With time running out and the lead changing hands once more, the former Wolverhampton Wanderers, Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forest boss understandably wanted to keep things tight. With that in mind, he introduced Morato in place of Oliver Scarles.

Schumacher threw on Jayden Nelson for Dong with seventeen minutes of normal time left to play and he was trying his best to get the home side on level terms for a third time, but he failed to do so, as Hermansen was equal to his first effort, while his second went narrowly wide.

In a home match with Brentford back in February 2024, Bowen scored the first hat-trick of his career. Well, he was on the verge of getting another here but unfortunately, Sheehan was in the right place to block.

The Irons are top of the table, at least for now, but they know that they can’t rest on their laurels as they are back in action on Friday night when they welcome Wrexham to Stratford.