Premier LeagueWest Ham United 1-1 Brighton & Hove Albion
Saturday, 21st December 2024
by Chris Wilkerson | Forum match thread
For the second game in succession, West Ham came away with a 1-1 draw against tough opposition as Brighton came from the coast and nearly took all three points.
The visitors extended their strong record at the London Stadium, having never lost at the ground. By the end, The Hammers did enough to hang onto a point they had rescued after Mats Wieffer gave Brighton a second-half lead, only for Kudus to equalise minutes later.The day began with a poignant minute of applause to honour 15-year-old academy goalkeeper Oscar Fairs, with his family and youth teammates present, as well as recognition for Lopetegui, who managed the team just days after the loss of his father.
It was an entertaining match offering moments of frustration, resilience, and drama as Julen Lopetegui's side battled through a challenging contest that tested their mettle.
On the pitch, The Hammers made changes to their team that took a point away from Bournemouth on Monday night, with the sight of German international up front a welcome one. He replaced the suspended Soler, with Bowen moving to the right wing again, Kudus to the left and Paqueta back into the midfield.
West Ham started brightly, pressing forward and creating early opportunities. The first chance of the game came down the West Ham right, Mavropanos stepping forward with the ball and then chipping a pass down the right flank. Bowen was onto it and found he had the pace to beat Estupinan down the outside, pushing into the box, but finding the space to shoot just as the angle really tightened, and his shot was easily saved with Verbruggen positioned well.
With their last five goals all from set pieces, there was some hope that a corner may prove a fruitful route to goal. Their first was dangerous, defended with risk at the front post as a Brighton head flicked it over his own bar. Moments later, it was another corner, this time curling in at goal from the right and met at the far post by Emerson, but the full back could only volley into the bodies ahead of him, including the hulking figure of F? 1/4 llkrug.
But the visitors were growing into things and their energy was relentless. Brighton are presented as a hipster club, one despised by fans who revolt against modern terms and phrases, but whilst they are always seen as a ball-playing team, it is their bravery in and out of possession that earns their plaudits.
There was none of the intricate passing from back-to-front like the Potter days, but the demands H? 1/4 rzeler puts on his team to defend and press all over the pitch is something that has rarely, if ever been seen by a West Ham team on any consistent basis.
They remain an exciting team to watch, and they began to grow into the match. Jo??o Pedro and Kaoru Mitoma led the way, both making dancing runs into the West Ham box on multiple occasions, but they lacked a final ball.
When they did find it, their final efforts lacked precision. Fabianski was called into action in the 22nd minute, saving well from Mitoma after Jo??o Pedro found the winger with a lovely cross from one side of the box to the other. Mitoma was spare at the back, left too loose by Wan-Bissaka, and tried to volley the dropping ball back across goal with his left, but was well-matched by Fabianski who saved as he sprinted across his line.
Bowen remained a constant outlet for West Ham. 10 minutes before half-time, it was another darting run down the right after Mavropanos played out to Soucek, and the midfielder quickly fired it to Bowen. The captain drove at goal again, pushing in off the flank and angling in on goal, but this time trying to square. It could have gone, flicking off the boot of Lewis Dunk six yards out and suddenly diverting at goal, only to go just wide of the far post.
Moments later, a clever exchange between Mohammed Kudus and Emerson set up Lucas Paquet?? at the edge of the box. The Brazilian's shot, however, flew harmlessly over the bar, adding to West Ham's frustrations in front of goal.
Arguably, the best chance was one without a shot, as Estupinan wasted a wonderful opportunity. The left back flew forward and overlapped after Mavropanos was robbed on the dribble around halfway.
Brighton went forward quick, Mitoma attacked the box and as Estupinan flew around him, the ball was played ahead of the left back and he had space in front of him to shoot from 10 yards out.
Fortunately for West Ham, the Ecuadorian slipped before he could shoot, falling on the ball and halting the move just at the crucial moment.
It left the two sides level as half-time came. The discipline at the back had balanced well with good attacking intent, but Brighton had started to find their rhythm as the break came.
Lopetegui replaced the booked Mavropanos with Todibo, also giving him the benefit of a slightly more composed ball player at the back. But it was Brighton who were out and flying from the off.
They were soon rewarded, taking advantage of a mistake at the back to open the scoring.
A corner caused chaos in the West Ham box as Emerson failed to clear decisively. Gathered on the left wing, Brighton fired to the far post and the run of Lewis Dunk. The centre back challenged with Fabianski for the ball, the Pole coming far off his line and not getting near to the ball, instead going shoulder to shoulder with Dunk and losing.
Neither made clean connection, but the ball dropped down to Wieffer some 12 yards out, and the midfielder volleyed it into the empty net first-time to calmly give his side a deserved lead, and score a goal he had deserved after a fine performance in midfield.
VAR came to check the goal, checking first for an offside on Dunk, before looking at the challenge on the goalkeeper. Rightly, he was clear on both, Fabianski with nobody but himself to blame.
The manager quickly made changes, removing the tired Fullkrug for Summerville. The German had tried, with some smart touches here and there, but looked a long way off the pace of a Premier League game. These are minutes he needs if he is to ever get to the speed of the English game, or plainly just to get fit for West Ham, but he had hampered his side.
A minute after the change, with Bowen moved up front, West Ham equalised, and it was all from getting Bowen into a central position. Getting onto a loose ball, West Ham's leading light took the ball from halfway and drove at the retreating Brighton defence. They bactracked, looking positively scared of the pace Bowen carried the ball with.
He drove at them, pushed on to the edge of the box and then darted a touch down the left side before firing low across goal. The goalkeeper saved, but could only pop it up into the air in the space in front of goal, and Kudus followed in. There was no denying him, leaping up and nodding into the back of the empty net from a few yards out.
He sprinted behind the goal, grabbed his lovely wooden seat and was joined by Summerville as the pair sat to celebrate his goal.
It is a goal that continues to offer questions about how to get the best of Kudus and Bowen, and the attack in general. Bowen has proven himself a capable striker. Not perfect, but beyond someone just filling in and doing the job. Could he, given a consistent run, be the answer to that long term problem? As long as his ball carrying can be maintained, something he is frankly phenomenal at, it should be a perfect role. He has never been a creator at West Ham, often the more direct goal threat to move into the space Antonio made. Sounds a bit like a striker, doesn't it?
There was half hour to go, a third of the game to play, the pitch opening up and fatigue starting to come into play.
As the game progressed, Brighton sought to regain control, applying relentless pressure on West Ham's defence. Fabianski redeemed himself with a crucial save in the 66th minute, denying a deflected shot that seemed destined for the net.
H? 1/4 rzeler turned to his bench, bringing on Lamptey, Minteh and Enciso, an injection of fresh energy and pace that tiring Hammers legs did not need. Lopetegui took his own turn a few minutes later, responding as Brighton stepped forward once more and started to take complete control. Scarles and Coufal were brought on, replacing best buds Emerson and Paqueta as West Ham went to a back five again, just as they had to finish the game at Bournemouth.
It didn't work, Brighton kept their grip on things and suddenly gaps started to appear. West Ham were not only a counter threat, Summerville wasting a good one when he had options either side, hitting a shot from outside the box that cannoned into Dunk.
Into the final 10 minutes, West Ham's goal benefited from some magic or charm, whatever luck you believe in, as Brighton hit the post from six yards out.
It wasn't a Brighton shot, but after Minteh got in behind Scarles and pushed down the wing and into area, he squared across the six-yard box and saw it cannon off a boot and against the far post, only to roll clear. It looked like Mitoma had got a touch, or maybe Todibo had diverted it away from him, but replays - and plural were needed - showed Coufal sliding in and poking it at his own goal. He was mighty relieved to see it bounce away.
Then came a huge point of contention as Pervis Estupinan escaped a red card for a horrific challenge on Kilman. The West Ham centre back had dribbled into midfield and over came the left back, jumping off the ground with both feet out, separated but both studs up, and his slight touch on the ball was followed by the base of his boot smashing into the shin of Kilman.
The referee threw out a yellow card instantly, but the players were furious. However, with the onfield call made, VAR always seems to have a higher bar. Somehow, they ratified the referee's poor decision.
Bowen came close a few minutes before the end of the 90, a long throw flicked on by Soucek finding the captain six yards out, but he couldn't get it down for a shot before being blocked. Alvarez retrieved possession on the edge of the box, but his curler was pushed wide.
Ferguson had a chance, coming off the bench and making a difference. The Irishman has been linked to loan moves away, with West Ham amongst those suitors.
He will be a touch disappointed with his work, the one big chance he was presented with going to waste as a ball behind the defence was then squared centrally from the left, but the striker made no contact as he tried to shoot.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who had shifted to left-back as Scarles struggled, delivered a heroic intervention in added time. Enciso's deep cross was destined for Lamptey at the far post, but Wan-Bissaka's brave header cleared the danger.
Still, he made a great chance for Ayari with two minutes of the six in stoppage-time remaining. Minteh passed it into the big striker's feet inside the box, and he did brilliantly with his back to goal to lean into his man and then lay the ball off perfectly into the path of Ayari's run into the box. From 10 yards out, the young Swedish midfielder should have scored, but his placed effort didn't get away from the goalkeeper and Fabianski made a fantastic reaction save with his feet.
With seconds to play, Wan-Bissaka kept his team level with a great piece of defending. The defender, who had shifted to left-back as Scarles struggled, delivered a heroic intervention, throwing himself at the ball to save a goal. Enciso's deep cross was destined for Lamptey at the far post, but Wan-Bissaka's brave header cleared the danger.
One last long throw from Coufal came to nothing, and the final whistle blew. West Ham will go into Christmas in 14th, Brighton five points above them in 9th.
In an entertaining match, there were still probably more questions than answers. But at the end of a hard week, and in what has been a horrendous month for the club and manager to live through, all deserve a nice Christmas and a bit of leeway. As do we all. Merry Christmas!
Manager's Rating
Julen Lopetegui 7/10: It feels crass to be rating his performance as a manager today. Considering the week he's had, he did exceptionally well to be present. His team were ok, not great, and whilst the back five didn't work, his reaction and changes sorted that and that's a sign of good management. You can't always get it right, but changing a change is strong.
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Substitutes
Match Facts
West Ham United: , , , , , , , , , , .Goals: None.
Booked: None booked. .
Sent Off: None sent off. .
Brighton & Hove Albion: .
Subs not used: .
Goals: .
Booked: None booked..
Sent off: None.
Referee: .
Attendance: 0.
Man of the Match: .