Hammers soar to heady heights of fifth as Watkins pays penalty for miss
WHISPER it quietly but West Ham fans might look forward to heading to the London Stadium this weekend. This place has not been the happiest or most popular of homes since their controversial move in 2016. But right now they will be enjoying much of what they see from their team. Since the West Ham faithful were last able to watch their team in the flesh, manager David Moyes has kept them up and slowly moulded them into the organised and effective outfit he was expected to if given time. They are also doing what he boldly declared, to some mockery at the time, he does best — winning games. Now, when fans return for Saturday’s visit of Manchester United, they will be seeing the best team West Ham have had since they upped sticks from Upton Park. That is what the numbers will certainly say. West Ham were already enjoying their best start to a season for five years before Villa arrived last night. And goals in each half from Angelo Ogbonna and Jarrod Bowen extended it — helped by an Ollie Watkins penalty miss and a disallowed effort from the Villa striker in added time — sending them into Saturday’s clash in fifth place and on a high. A winning goal at Sheffield United last time out was not enough for Sebestian Haller to hold on to his place. Not when talisman Michail Antonio was fit again and raring to go after a hamstring injury. Antonio was straight back into the action and involved in West Ham’s first attack, holding up a long throw and laying the ball back to Tomas Soucek, who saw his goalbound effort blocked. Matt Targett’s sprawling intervention only delayed West Ham’s perfect start by a matter of seconds. Jarrod Bowen swung in the resulting corner and Ogbonna towered above Matt Targett at the back post, thundering a header into the net. The soaring Ogbonna gave both Targett, who barely got off the ground, and Emiliano Martinez, in the Aston Villa net and hoping for a fourth successive away clean sheet, no chance. Villa mustered an impressive response, taking control of the game. Ezri Konsa headed a Targett cross on to the roof of the net and Conor Hourihane’s free-kick was saved by Lukasz Fabianski. Midway through the half Fabianski was beaten. Matty Cash found Grealish free in space 40 yards away from goal, West Ham decided to let one of the most in-form players in the country drive towards their area unchallenged and were duly punished when he smashed the ball past Fabianski, with the aid of a deflection off Ogbonna. The game’s momentum did not change after that goal. Watkins bounced a volley into the ground and just wide, Grealish remained a central figure, a foul on him sparking an exchange of angry words between Dean Smith and Hammers coach Kevin Nolan before Hourihane went close with
another free-kick. West Ham were comfortably second best in the first half and Moyes reacted. Off came arthur Masuaku and antonio and on came said Benrahma and Haller. Once again there was a lightning start from West Ham, even quicker than in the first half, and vital first contributions from the two substitutes. Haller started the move which Pablo Fornals continued by feeding the ball to Bowen on the right. He played the ball across the area, drifted into the box and found himself enough space to meet Benrahma’s cross and redirect it past a static Martinez 29 seconds into the half. Tempers flared again on the sidelines after a swipe by Fornals felled grealish and sparked more angry words which ended with Villa coach John Terry and a member of Moyes’s backroom team being booked by referee Peter Bankes. Villa continued to carry the greater threat and the look on Trezeguet’s face told its own story when he missed their next chance. Villa broke away, grealish set Watkins away down the left he crossed for Trezeguet but he failed to connect properly from close range and Fabianski saved. With 20 minutes left, Rice appeared to have handed Villa route back into the game when he tugged Trezeguet’s shirt in the box as he attempted to latch on to douglas luiz’s flick on. The Villa man was also caught in the face by Rice’s boot and needed treatment as blood poured from his face. But Rice and West Ham escaped when Watkins sidefooted his penalty against the bar. But the drama did not end there. In added time Watkins thought he had made amends when he sidefooted in Targett’s cross. Though by the narrowest of margins, Villa saw the point snatched away with Watkins adjudged to have been offside.
WEST HAM UNITED (3-4-3): Fabianski 7.5; Balbuena 7, Ogbonna 7, Cresswell 7; Coufal 7, Rice 6.5, Soucek 7, Masuaku 6 (Benrahma 45, 7); BOWEN 8 (Noble 79), Antonio 6.5 (Haller 45, 6), Fornals 6. Subs not used: Randolph, Lanzini, Diop, Johnson. Scorers: Ogbonna 2, Bowen 46. Booked: Fornals. Manager: David Moyes 7.
ASTON VILLA (4-3-3): Martinez 6; Cash 6.5 (El Mohamady 88), Konsa 7, Mings 7, Targett 6; McGinn 6.5, Douglas Luiz 6, Hourihane 7 (Traore 74, 6); Trezeguet 6 (El Ghazi 74, 6), Watkins 5.5, Grealish 7.5. Subs not used: Steer, Taylor, Nakamba, Ramsey. Scorer: Grealish 25. Booked: Cash. Manager: Dean Smith 7. Referee: Peter Bankes 6.