Pereira punishes Hammers’ failings
WEST HAM 0 FULHAM 2
NOW West Ham face an uphill battle to qualify for Europe next season.
Three days after a late defeat by Bayer Leverkusen left them with a mountain to climb in the Europa League quarter-finals, David Moyes’ depleted side threw away a golden opportunity to go sixth.
Instead, the games in hand of other teams could soon see them slip out of the top eight, after a defeat that was as much about their shortcomings as it was about Fulham’s resourcefulness.
Marco Silva’s visitors were compact off the ball and clinical on it, two-goal Andreas Pereira securing an entirely deserved win.
Manager Moyes said he was “gutted” by the result as the spotlight shone on his squad’s lack of depth.
With Jarrod Bowen sidelined by a hip injury and Lucas Paqueta suffering a rare stinker,West Ham were blunt in attack.
The centre-back pairing of Nayef Aguerd and Konstantinos Mavropanos also never appeared comfortable in the hour before captain Kurt Zouma came off the bench. Mavropanos gifted the Cottagers their ninth-minute opener when he failed to deal with Alex Iwobi’s cross.
His heavy touch allowed Pereira to gather the loose ball and the Brazilian rifled into the roof of the net.
West Ham should have been in front after a lively start, with Michail Antonio blasting over an open net on three minutes.
The Hammers never recovered from going behind, while Fulham always threatened on the counter attack and their second goal came after Joao Palhinha dispossessed Paqueta.
Pereira passed to Rodrigo Muniz and he fed Iwobi, whose low cross was timed well for Pereira to convert.
Moyes admitted that his team were “punished” by giving a star player the licence to be free.
“It shouldn’t happen,” he said of Paqueta’s display. “I wouldn’t accept it from other players.”
WEST HAM (4-4-2): Fabianski 6; Coufal 5 (Johnson 69, 5), Mavropanos 4 (Zouma 60, 5), Aguerd 5, Emerson 6; Kudus 6, Alvarez 6, Ward-Prowse 6 (Soucek 69, 5), Paqueta 5; Ings 5, Antonio 5 (Earthy 82; Cornet 90).
FULHAM (4-2-3-1): Leno 6; Castagne 6, Adarabioyo 6, Bassey 6, Robinson 6; Lukic 7, Palhinha 7 (Reed 90); Iwobi 6 (Wilson 74), Pereira 8 (De Cordova-Reid 74), Willian 7 (Traore 90); Muniz 6 (Broja 90). Goals: Pereira 9, 72.
ALAN SMITH