Hernandez hand is sickener for Ranieri
JUST when Claudio Ranieri thought it could not get any worse, Fulham were undone by the ‘Little Pea’s’ hand of pod.
And if Ranieri thought he could hear distant chimes on a misty night in the East End, the Bow bells were not ringing dilly-ding, dilly-dong for him this time.
They were tolling for Fulham as they slipped deeper into the Premier League quicksand.
West Ham, sluggish and sloppy for half an hour, got lucky with Javier Hernandez’s equaliser.
Stooping to conquer at the far post, Hernandez – whose nickname Chicharito means ‘Little Pea’ – appeared to apply the critical touch with his hand.
Much as we hate VAR, and the momentum it will strip from Premier League games next season, the men in the bunker watching monitors would have sorted out fact from fraud.
Energised by their outrageous good luck, West Ham improved and ultimately deserved to win.
But the turning point was undeniably the home side’s leveller delivered by Hernandez’s sleight of hand, which escaped referee Lee Mason’s notice.
Initially, when Ryan Babel squandered Pablo Zabaleta’s slapdash backpass in the opening 35 seconds, shovelling a weak finish straight at Lukasz Fabianski, Ranieri must have feared the worst.
But the former Liverpool flop soon made amends, making no mistake from Ryan Sessegnon’s low cross after three minutes. Then came the Hammers equaliser just before the half-hour.
Sergio Rico flapped at a Robert Snodgrass corner, Michail Antonio and Angelo Ogbonna headed it back into the box and Hernandez seemed to steer it inside the post with the proverbial helping hand. Fulham boss Ranieri registered an emphatic protest with fourth official Stuart Attwell.
And 3,000 visiting fans had their worst suspicions confirmed when the ‘goal’ was replayed on the jumbo screens in all its fraudulent glory.
Fulham’s sense of grievance was only augmented when they fell behind five minutes before the break – but this time they had only their own negligence to blame.
Issa Diop’s towering presence connected with another Snodgrass corner to put them 2-1 ahead.
Hammers substitute Manuel Lanzini, making his comeback after eight months out, was given a thunderous ovation, and his fellow replacement Marko Arnautovic hit the woodwork.
But Fulham were game and competitive until Antonio headed Arnautovic’s cross in off the post bang on 90 minutes to settle all arguments.
WEST HAM (4-2-3-1): Fabianski 7; Zabaleta 5 (Fredericks 46, 6), Diop 7, Ogbonna 7, Cresswell 7; Rice 6, Noble 7; Snodgrass 8, Antonio 7, Anderson 6 (Lanzini 76), Hernandez 6 (Arnautovic 64, 6). Booked: Lanzini. Goals: Hernandez 29, Diop 40, Antonio 90. FULHAM (4-3-3): Rico 5; Odoi 6, Nordtveit 6, Ream 6, Bryan 6; Chambers 6, Seri 6 (Anguissa 46, 6) Cairney 7; Babel 6; Mitrovic 6, R Sessegnon 6 (Markovic 45, 6). Booked: Bryan Cairney. Goal: Babel 3. Referee: L Mason (Lancashire).