Premier LeagueNottingham Forest 2-0 West Ham United
Saturday, 17th February 2024
by James Haley
West Ham continued their winless streak in 2024 as Forest ran out deserved winners at the City Ground.
Forest started the game as the better team than Nuno Tavares chipped in a cross for Anthony Elanga whose low effort was saved by Alphonse Areola.The match started to turn into an end-to-end game as Morgan Gibbs-White had a shot saved by Areola once again, before the returning Michail Antonio won the ball back from Felipe but the Jamaican international failed to make the chance count.
The Forest front four were causing the Hammers' defence all sorts of problems, as Anthony Elanga found Taiwo Awoniyi but Areola was the hero once again as he was quick to sweep up any danger.
But the Tricky Trees would eventually break the deadlock in the last minute of first half injury time as Nicolas Dominguez timed his ball to perfection to set up Awoniyi, who spun Nayef Aguerd and rolled it into the bottom right corner.
The second half started as the first one ended. Gibbs-White found Anthony Elanga on the right whose touch sent the ball flying up in the air, but the Swede didn?EUR(TM)t let this put him off as he fired a volley towards the top right corner where the attempt was matched by an excellent save from Areola.
West Ham were given a free kick on the edge of the box giving James Ward-Prowse a chance to break David Beckham?EUR(TM)s Premier League record, but the midfielder didn?EUR(TM)t hit the target with his attempt as the ball dipped over the bar.
Kalvin Phillips would be given a yellow card for throwing Dominguez to the floor in the 68th minute. Just three minutes later, the England international would be given his marching orders as he fouled Gibbs-White on the halfway line.
Substitute Maxwel Cornet looked to have tripped the oncoming Neco Williams in the box but a penalty was not given after a VAR check was conducted.
Moments later Forest fans thought they had doubled their lead as Danilo's volley deflected off Kurt Zouma and looped over Areola, but Ryan Yates was deemed to be offside by the linesman.
Forest would secure the three points in the closing seconds as Divock Origi?EUR(TM)s heel flick found Williams, who drove into the box and played a cross for Callum Hudson-Odoi. The former Chelsea man kept his composure and finished into the bottom left corner.
And so another loss for West Ham, who extend their winless streak to eight games in all competitions. All the while pressure is piling on David Moyes, as a handful of West Ham fans produced a "Moyes out" banner at the end of the game.
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Click to view all West Ham United vs Nottingham Forest match reports Click to view all match reports by James Haley Like to share your thoughts on this article? Please visit the KUMB Forum to leave a comment.Player Ratings
Alphonse AreolaWithout him, it would have been a repeat of last week, another game we?EUR(TM)ve lost where our keeper is man of the match.
Vladimir Coufal
He was run ragged by Hudson-Odoi and didn't provide any attacking support.
Emerson Palmieri
A left-back should not be one of the key points of creativity especially when it's clear that he was struggling in this game.
Kurt Zouma
It was clear to see that he was not cut out for this level last week, and it continued this week. Awoniyi bullied him throughout the game.
Nayef Aguerd
Not much better than Kurt Zouma, silly mistakes and hiding in key moments.
Edson Alvarez
Looked one of our better players in the game. He was trying to make things happen and looked like he wanted to win which is more than to be said than some of our other players
Kalvin Phillips
Another poor performance from the England international who looks more and more like a flop each week.
James Ward-Prowse
Hiding in the game didn't provide any support for Antonio up front and had no creativity. If the corners to the near post are something that Moyes has told him to do, go against it because it doesn't work.
Mohamed Kudus
Opponents have found out that if you mark Kudus and Bowen out of the game, then our attack is dead. He looks to have all of the skill coached out of him in place for getting back and defending.
Jarrod Bowen
Marked out of the game by Nuno Tavares so he didn't have much impact on our attacking play.
Michail Antonio
No service means no chances. Antonio didn't have any chance to score and when he did he failed to have a shot after winning it back from Felipe.
Substitutes
Maxwel Cornet(Replaced Antonio, 75) Didn't do anything positive, but nearly give a penalty away.
Ben Johnson
(Replaced Coufal, 76) A like-for-like substitution, perhaps the result of Coufal's yellow card shortly before.
Tomas Soucek
(Replaced Emerson, 83) Thrown on in desperation as the Hammers sought a late equaliser.
Danny Ings
(Replaced Zouma, 90+3) The last desperrate throw of the dice from Moyes, but Ings' introduction was too little, too late.
Lukasz Fabianski
Did not play.
Aaron Cresswell
Did not play.
Angelo Ogbonna
Did not play.
Konstantinos Mavropanos
Did not play.
Divin Mubama
Did not play.
Match Facts
West Ham United: Alphonse Areola, Vladimir Coufal, Emerson Palmieri, Kurt Zouma, Nayef Aguerd, Edson Alvarez, Kalvin Phillips, James Ward-Prowse, Mohamed Kudus, Jarrod Bowen, Michail Antonio.Goals: None.
Booked: Mohammed Kudus 0 Michail Antonio 0 Kurt Zouma 0 Vladimir Coufal 0 Kalvin Phillips 0 .
Sent Off: Kalvin Phillips 0 .
Nottingham Forest: Sels, Williams, Felipe, Murillo, Tavares, Domínguez (Yates 86), Danilo, Elanga, Gibbs-White (Omobamidele 90+3), Hudson-Odoi, Awoniyi (Origi 67).
Subs not used: Turner, Kouyaté, Toffolo, Niakhaté, Reyna, Ribeiro.
Goals: Awoniyi (45+5), Hudson-Odoi (90+4).
Booked: Gibbs-White, Awoniyi, Williams, Domínguez.
Sent off: None.
Referee: Tom Bramall.
Attendance: 29,490.
Man of the Match: Alphonse Areola.