Hammers Need Reboot After Gtech Loss
Considering the run that West Ham United have been on the in the last four months many would have thought that Nuno Espírito Santo would have been the man to finally engineer the club’s first top-flight win at The Gtech Community Stadium but unfortunately, they were to suffer more disappointment on the road, as the Bees beat them 3-0 on Saturday afternoon.
The only change that the Hammers’ Head-Coach made to the matchday squad was the inclusion of Venezuelan youngster Keiber Lamadrid, who filled in for Freddie Potts, meaning that Konstantinos Mavropanos made his 100th appearance for the club.
Having beaten Keith Andrews’ side on penalties in Stratford on their way to the quarter-final stage of the Emirates FA Cup last month, the visitors were keen to build on their last-ditch victory at home to Everton a week ago. However, the home side fashioned the first chance just seconds into the encounter, as Dango Ouattara set the tempo for the rest of the half. Thankfully for the travelling contingent though, he missed the target. The game action was swinging from end to end, as the visitors then had an early chance to go in front just minutes later through Pablo Felipe when the Brazilian forced Sepp van den Berg into a mistake but then failed to make the most of the chance and instead, shot straight at home goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher.
Visiting captain Jarrod Bowen and El Hadji Malick Diouf both gave Kelleher early tests but in all honesty, neither effort troubled him.
The Bees should have gone ahead but just as they given a reprieve seconds earlier, the away end were able to breathe a collective sigh of relief when Mikkel Damsgaard wasted a golden opportunity, as the Dane shot wide despite having an open goal in front of him after his compatriot Hermansen had come out of his goal to head the danger away. Thiago went close again but, this time he was thwarted by the former Leicester City stopper, before the spell of pressure was ended when Kyle Walker-Peters cleared a shot off the line.
It was a bizarre turn of events that put the hosts ahead with only fifteen minutes gone. Keane Lewis-Potter crossed into the area where it was met by Michael Kayode, who tried his luck but hit the post, the ball then dropped back onto the goalline. Mavropanos and Kayode both slid, meaning the ball inadvertently went in off the crossbar and past visiting goalkeeper Mads Hermansen.
Valentín Castellanos was very unfortunate not to equalise, as he hit the frame of the goal in trying to add to his only strike on the road at newly-promoted Burnley back on 7 February.
Following his mistake up the other end, it only took Mavropanos just five minutes to find the perfect response as he was on the end of Diouf’s free-kick and headed past the former Liverpool stopper. However, celebrations from the travelling contingent were short lived, as the VAR officials ruled it out for offside.
Castellanos had another go at goal following that big setback, as Bowen crossed but unfortunately for the Argentine, he headed over.
Espírito Santo’s side were still putting their opponents under pressure and it was the January recruit who was at the centre of it. He didn’t let the earlier missed chance get to him though and went close again just before the half-hour mark when Bowen’s delivery from a corner presented him with another opportunity to level the score, but the ball crashed against the inside of the far post. He had one more go just before the break, but it still wouldn’t go in for West Ham, as Kelleher kept his clean sheet intact when he managed to get a hand to his powerful attempt, while the former Lazio player also sent another Bowen corner wide.
When referee Craig Pawson blew the half-time whistle, the visitors must have gone into their dressing room wondering what they had to do to at least get back level.
The Hammers carried on from where they had left off when the action restarted but unfortunately, luck still wasn’t with them.
The hosts were guilty of wasting opportunities too but had turned the pressure up a notch by this point and on fifty four minutes, they were awarded a penalty after Ouattara was fouled by Diouf. Igor Thiago stepped up and confidently sent Hermansen the wrong way.
From that point on, the Irons sensed that it just wasn’t going to be their day and Brentford went in search of another goal that would seal the points in the hunt for a place in Europe next season.
With fatigue setting in amongst the visitors, Brentford kept applying pressure, as they tried to put the result beyond doubt but fortunately, there was no way through.
The East Londoners were visibly frustrated by this point and started to take it out on their opponents as Castellanos was booked together with Crysencio Summerville.
Having seen two of his players commit fouls the Irons Head-Coach decided that it was time to make changes with Walker-Peters and Castellanos being replaced by Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Callum Wilson.
Although they knew the outcome of the game, West Ham still had opportunities to get a consolation, as Summerville raced into the box but again hit the underside of the bar and even when Tomáš Souček followed up, he couldn’t force the ball home. The away end thought that their team should have been awarded a penalty as Yehor Yarmoliuk fouled Felipe, as he attempted to block the Czech midfielder’s shot but nothing was given.
Espírito Santo shuffled his pack again on seventy four minutes as Adama Traoré came on for Diouf.
With seven minutes of normal time to play, the hosts wrapped up the points when Damsgaard did get his name on the scoresheet and compounded the misery for the visitors.
Four minutes after the goal, Espírito Santo made a double change with Soungoutou Magassa and Oliver Scarles entering the fray for Bowen and Summerville.
The final whistle blew and West Ham could regret not getting something here, given that the next game is at home to league leaders Arsenal next Sunday and results the rest of the weekend will determine where they are in the Premier League table going into the clash.