Hammers Blown Down By Cottagers

On paper, out of all the London derbies they have faced this season, Saturday afternoon’s match against Fulham in Stratford seemed to be the easiest one. However, that was not the case on the pitch, as West Ham United lost 1-0 to Marco Silva’s side.

Despite Oliver Scarles picking up an injury and having to be substituted in the 3-0 defeat at The Etihad Stadium, the youngster was deemed fit enough to start, meaning that there were no changes to the starting line-up named by Hammers’ Head-Coach Nuno Espírito Santo from last weekend’s defeat at Manchester City, but several youngsters were included in the matchday squad, as Airidas Golambeckis, Mohamadou Kanté, George Earthy and Ezra Mayers all made the step up.

The match was a slow burner to start with but the visitors, who wanted to build on Monday’s home win against Nottingham Forest tried their luck early on but thankfully, neither Raúl Jiménez or Harry Wilson could find the opener, despite the Welshman forcing Irons’ goalkeeper Alphonse Areola into a fingertip save.

After the Cottagers weren’t able to make the most of their chances, the Irons went on the rampage. They were awarded three successive corners and although they were all sent into the box with purpose, the second created an opportunity for captain Jarrod Bowen to put his side in front. He was on the end of a ball from Jean-Clair Todibo but the winger couldn’t beat visiting goalkeeper
Bernd Leno.

Unfortunately for the majority the stadium, the next move involved the same pair and the German came out on top again, as Leno made the save after Bowen latched onto a pass from Scarles but, had he scored, it wouldn’t have counted as he was flagged offside.

Scarles was involved again minutes later, when he should have picked up his first goal for the club but instead missed the target.

Crysencio Summerville was next to have a go but his attempt was blocked on its way through to goal by Joachim Andersen.

Momentum was swinging from end to end in this game, and the Dane went close with a spectacular shot which Areola eventually saved to keep the scores level. Emile Smith Rowe made sure that there was no change in the scoreline when referee Christopher Kavanagh blew for the break by heading wide of the Frenchman’s goal.

Both teams continued to miss chances at the start of the second-half but the home side then really put the pressure on and missed numerous chances to go ahead.

The East Londoners tried their hardest to break Fulham’s resistance when Summerville went close but Saša Lukić was in the way.

On fifty six minutes, in an attempt to see if they could finish off at least one of those numerous chances, Espírito Santo brought on Callum Wilson for Summerville.

The crowd were on their feet when Lucas Paquetá ran into the box, but the Brazilian was unable to apply the finish and his attempt was easy for Leno to claim.

Lukić turned defence into attack minutes later, as he tried to give the ever loyal fan base a scare but fortunately, he could only head over.

West Ham had already missed some goldenopportunities in the game and that theme continued when Soungoutou Magassa took one himself, but unfortunately, Leno was equal to the effort. He then set Bowen up for the other but the skipper grazed the post from close-range.

Great combination play between Paquetá and Wilson allowed the striker to race away from Jorge Cuenca but once he was in the clear, he sent his attempt wide.

Wilson doesn’t usually miss too many chances in game, but luck just wasn’t with him here as he failed to beat Leno for a second time in a matter of minutes.

With seven minutes of time remaining for either side to find a winner, the hosts introduced both Tomáš Souček and Earthy in place of Magassa and Paquetá.

Two minutes later, Silva’s men dealt their opponents the killer blow. Mateus Fernandes partially cleared the danger from Harry Wilson’s cross but the ball bounced up; Scarles tried to clear even further but unfortunately missed his kick and inadvertently gave the Welshman a second chance to cross the ball back in. Jiménez clinched the points as he headed past Areola.

The home fans had targeted this fixture as the start of a run of matches which should see their team get the points they need to cement another season of Premier League football. With this chance gone, they now look to Tuesday’s visit of Brighton and Hove Albion for their first win since November 8.