West Ham Utd 3-0 Southampton

  • by Staff Writer
  • Saturday, 31st March 2018

West Ham moved five points clear of the relegation zone with a thoroughly convincing 3-0 win against fellow strugglers Southampton at the Olympic Stadium this afternoon.

On a day when several hundred of supporters took place in two separate anti-Board protests took place before the match, the team showed that they can still perform and compete even with a hint of revolution in the air.

An early goal never hurts in such delicate circumstances and Joao Mario got the Hammers off to a perfect start when he scored his first goal for the club with an absolute thunderbolt following a clever centre from Cheik Kouyate after 13 minutes.

And the Hammers were in dreamland four minutes later when Marko Arnautovic - around who much of the pre-match talk had been based due to his previous spat with new Saints boss Mark Hughes - doubled West Ham's lead from a rebound, before celebrating in front of his nemesis.

West Ham, who produced one of their best 45 minutes of the season ahead of the half time interval had pretty much wrapped the game up by the break courtesy of a second from Arnautovic, who produced an exquisite volley to divert the returning Arthur Masuaku's cross beyond a helpless McCarthy.

In stark contrast to the first half, the second was almost entirely devoid of goalmouth excitement - although that suited David Moyes side who were coasting throughout the final 45 having secured an unassailable lead.

The only black spot on a wonderful afternoon for West Ham was what looked to be like a fairly innocuous injury to Michail Antonio just six minutes into the game - yet one that required his immediate transfer to hospital.

However his replacement - Edimilson Fernandes - produced an excellent performance in what was his first appearance for the first team in more than four months, following a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

The win takes West Ham above Crystal Palace (beaten 2-1 by Liverpool), Huddersfield (1-0 defeat at Newcastle) and Swansea (lost 2-0 at Man Utd) into 14th place in the table - some five points clear of today's opponents who stay 18th.


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