HAMMERS HIT BLUES
Moyes delight as Conte gives up on the title
SOMETIMES you need a marquee performance to turn around a season and even a club, something that stamps both your personality and authority on a place.
Maybe David Moyes got that from his West Ham side yesterday with his all-important first victory at the club in his fifth game. Certainly the patrons of the London Stadium haven’t seen anything this good this season.
Some would say they haven’t seen anything quite like this since moving into the new ground.
On the bench, behind Moyes, sat Andy Carroll, Joe Hart and Chicarito.
In the stands were restless supporters, some of whom might have been sceptical when Moyes arrived last month. But it’s hard to argue with a side this improved.
They roared their delight at the end and sang their club song as heartily as has been heard in these parts for some time.
It’s not Tottenham or Millwall but victory over Chelsea is almost as good as it gets.
And though Moyes doesn’t do ecstatic, he couldn’t hide his pleasure. It was his first home win for a year and his side had done exactly as planned and contained the champions. ‘When was the last time West Ham kept a clean sheet?’ said Moyes, genuinely intrigued. ‘1983,’ came the reply.
The correct answer was September but doing it against Swansea and stifling Eden Hazard, unplayable last weekend, are quite different propositions.
‘The best feeling for a manager is that Saturday night feeling when you get a win, how it makes you feel’ said Moyes. Neither he nor West Ham have had much of that lately.
‘There’s plenty more to be done here, of course. I’ve come out from the dressing room there, after praising the players for the win, and then put my jacket on and thought, “Oh no, I’ve got Arsenal in midweek”.
‘I’ve got a big smile but I’ve got to get back to work.’
It wasn’t just the win, however, which cheered the soul. This was a team with a plan, building on that narrow defeat at Manchester City; a team which could barely get out of second gear a month ago surpassing the Premier League champions for running and energy. Here was Marko Arnautovic, challenged by his manager to prove himself, sprinting in behind a Chelsea back three and causing endless problems.
And there was Michail Antonio doing the same, though both came off early (Arnautovic with a calf injury) and were reminded by Moyes he expects that level of energy for 90 minutes.
And here were the Premier League champions looking tired and short of ideas.
There was an awful moment for the home fans on 82 minutes when Alvaro Morata looked sure to score. But otherwise it was a measured performance from West Ham and an insipid one from Chelsea.
‘We have to change,’ said Antonio Conte, who admitted four defeats in 16 games do not a title challenge make. ‘We will try to do our best this season but if you remember I said it would be very, very tough. I don’t want to remind you but it’s true.
‘Many players were tired today. It’s normal when you play every three days. We started our preseason with the same players and a lot of players playing almost always. For sure, you have to pay something for this.
‘Today our ideas were not clear and in the final pass we made a lot of mistakes. We created chances to score but we didn’t take them. We can do better.’
They can, but you feel sure in private that Conte will add that his squad are no match for Manchester City or United this season.
West Ham started in a frenzy, yet, unusually for them, it was an effective outpouring of energy. On seven minutes Antonio played in Arnautovic, who exchanged a delightful pass with Manuel Lanzini.
Arnatoutovic still had plenty to do, wrong-footing Cesar Azpilicueta and finishing past keeper Thibaut Courtois. It was exceptional.
You feared a bright start might fizzle out. Yet West Ham kept their positional discipline in their 3-4-1-2 formation.
Of course, Chelsea threatened. Hazard drove just across goal on 21 minutes and N’Golo Kante forced a good save out of Adrian on 28 minutes. From the resulting corner Davide Zappacosta forced another save.
Yet Chelsea had been knocked off their stride, with Pedro Obiang not allowing Hazard the space on which he thrives, and Morata cut a frustrated, lonely figure.
Chelsea continued to create half chances in the second half, though none so good that they were decisive. The best of a bunch came on 58 minutes when Zappacosta went just wide from long range. But peak excitement came when Arnautovic flicked the ball past an unsettled Andreas Christensen who, stood in the box, stopped its flight with a hand. Referee Anthony Taylor judged it accidental but Christiansen was lucky.
What was most impressive about West Ham was their determination not to capitulate. Until late on, they did not offer Chelsea an easy route to goal. They insisted Conte’s team should scrap for any half chance. That in itself was a huge improvement. As they tired, their discipline did wane. On 82 minutes Chelsea should have been level, Kante playing the through ball to Morata with Arthur Masuaka out of position and playing the striker onside.
It was the defensive lapse for which Chelsea had been waiting and Morata struck but managed to snatch his shot wide. West Ham would survive. Now the challenge is to do more than just that.