9 December 2024
West Ham 2 Wolves 1
Two sides met at the London Stadium who were desperate for a victory. West Ham welcomed Wolves to the capital with Julen Lopetegui’s side only three points ahead of Gary O’Neil’s team. The Hammers manager is rumoured to have been told that his future would be decided after this match. Nothing like a bit of pressure to add some spice to things.
Fans and players alike paid tribute to Michail Antonio who had been involved in a car crash days earlier. The early reports are that the striker had to be cut from the car and suffered a ‘lower limb fracture’ with some stating that rehabilitation may take as long as 12 months. Some have posited that he may have to retire from football as a result.
The visitors started the game well and were passing the ball around with confidence. As it was swept out wide to Doherty, he put a teasing ball into the back post. Joao Gomes arrived but got his shot all wrong as he sliced it wide of the target. It is moments like this that has cost Wolves so dearly this season. They rely far too much on the creativity and goals from Cunha.
It was quite a drab game in the capital with the two sides seemingly cancelling each other out. As a result, chances were very limited. This is why both teams find themselves in the position they are in. At times they look too open at the back and are giving away more chances than they are creating. You wonder whether they have enough to secure another season in the top-flight.
Lopetegui was on the touchline barking orders at his players for the majority of the game. Some would say it was like his life depended on it, if reports are true, his job certainly did. Facing his old employers, the Spaniard had spent an ill-fated six months at Molineux before leaving due to the financial situation of the club and not being able to strengthen his squad.
He had certainly been given money to spend at West Ham but it is debatable whether this side looked any stronger than the one David Moyes had put together. Either way, The Hammers’ fans were expecting to see improvements on the previous manager, something which is not panning out the way they had hoped so far.
After the interval both sides tried to probe and find the weaknesses in their opponents’ defence. The fans in the packed-out London Stadium were not seeing a classic here, by any stretch of the imagination. If this match was taking place out your back garden, it is debatable if you would watch for longer than it took you to do the dishes.
Finally the hosts gave their fans something to celebrate. As a corner was whipped in to the back post, Soucek was completely unmarked. His looping header went over the keeper and nestled into the back of the net. Serious questions would be asked of the Wolves’ defending, leaving West Ham’s most potent header of the ball completely free.
If Gary O’Neil’s side had a big task ahead of them before this game, it had now become a massive uphill struggle. A draw would do neither side any favours, meaning that his team needed to find at least two goals in the thirty or so minutes that remained in the match. The hosts started to look more confident after breaking the deadlock however.
Summerville then played the ball to Bowen on the edge of the box. He cut into the penalty area and drilled a ball across the six yard box for Kudus to convert at the back post. Celebrations were short-lived as a VAR review disallowed the goal for offside. It seemed from the replay that the West Ham man had just strayed forward prior to the cross.
Wolves felt they should have had a penalty when a player was bundled over in the box. The referee waved away their protests and the VAR review cleared the incident. The replay certainly suggested there was contact from Emerson, but logic does not often play a major part in these decisions. Sometimes it seems like they use a magic 8-ball to decide. ‘Reply hazy, try again’.
Moments later, Ait-Nouri whipped in a dangerous cross that was slotted home by Doherty. The away end erupted as they had got the goal they so badly needed. It had taken them just fifteen minutes to get back on level terms after Soucek’s goal. Now they needed to turn the screw and see if they could find a winner to close the gap on Premier League safety.
Both sides searched for a winner but as Kudus worked the ball to Bowen on the edge of the box, he dribbled inside before passing his shot into the far corner as the London Stadium erupted once again. Wolves had managed to stay on level terms for all of three minutes. O’Neil’s head dropped on the touchline as the goal went in.
The Hammers managed to hold on for the win which put them six points clear of the visitors in the league table. Pressure is now mounting on Gary O’Neil and most press conferences involve at least one question about his future at the club. Whether the owners show faith in the former Bournemouth manager remains to be seen.
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