14 September 2024
Fulham 1 West Ham 1
It was a London derby at Craven Cottage as Fulham entertained West Ham. The visitors are in a period of transition since the arrival of Julen Lopetegui, still trying to find their identity and play to the Spaniard’s style. Marco Silva’s side have been inconsistent at best, looking to bed new players in and get used to life without the influential Joao Palhinha.
The Cottagers broke early on as Jimenez won the ball on the halfway line. Traore took it into his path and used his raw pace to run at the West Ham goal. As he got into the box, just before he looked to shoot, there seemed to be contact from Kilman. The winger went to ground demanding a penalty but the referee was not interested.
This is where VAR is broken in the Premier League. As they reviewed the incident, it is a case where they are analysing whether it was a clear and obvious error from the official. That should not be the question, it simply should be whether it was a foul or not. As a result, they cleared the challenge and play continued. Imagine if our courts acted in the same manner.
Replays seemed to show a push in the back of the pacy winger which almost certainly caused Traore to go to ground. Silva was booked in the aftermath for his protests. In the recent Euros tournament, VAR worked seamlessly and added time was minimal also. Put it in the hands of the incompetent Premier League officials and it is like giving a toddler a loaded gun and being surprised by the outcome.
Iwobi then started to cause some problems for The Hammers out wide. He swung a cross into the box and perfectly picked out Traore. The attacker used his brute strength to keep the defender at bay but his header narrowly missed the near post. It was a huge chance for the hosts to break the deadlock and he knew it as he held his head in his hands.
Pereira then clipped a ball over the West Ham defence for Smith Rowe to run onto. He did well to keep it in play before passing through the legs of the defender for Jimenez to slot home at the near post. Craven Cottage erupted as Marco Silva’s side got the goal they duly deserved. It had been a bright start for the West London outfit in the September sunshine.
The Hammers really struggled to make any impact on the game at all in the first half. Leno had been redundant in the Fulham goal. After the interval it was The Cottagers who were on the front foot once again. As the ball was crossed into the box, Pereira’s volley narrowly missed the target. By this stage, you felt that the hosts should be ahead by more than a single goal.
It took the best part of an hour for The Hammers to ask any questions of the Fulham defence. As the ball was played into Bowen in the box, his control was impeccable. Taking the defender out of the game with single touch, he got his shot away but Leno did well to make himself big and block the effort with his trailing leg. An early warning for the hosts that this game was far from won.
Silva made a quartet of changes to freshen things up. Cairney crossed into the back post, to find Traore, but his header narrowly grazed the crossbar. The former Wolves winger could and probably should have been celebrating his hat-trick with that effort. It was all looking positive for The Cottagers at this stage.
With the ninety minutes up, it was now just a case for Fulham to hold onto what they had. Their record last season in London derbies was impressive and they had the chance to continue that form. Nobody would deny that they deserved to win this game, West Ham had struggled to impose themselves on this match.
The Hammers forced a throw in deep in the hosts’ half well into added time. Coufal put Bowen in down the flank and he did well to cross before the ball went out of play. Substitute Ings had made a late run into the box and controlled it before firing a shot off at the near post. Leno struggled to deal with it as his effort nestled into the bottom corner of the goal to stun the Fulham fans.
The equaliser was that late you would have expected it to have been scheduled by TUI. West Ham had salvaged a point from a game they should already be out of. Lopetegui’s side could thank Traore for the hatful of chances he missed to even be able to come away from the game with anything. Due to the timing of Ings’ goal, this will have felt like a defeat for Marco Silva’s side.
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