Antonio’s looking the part in firing line
stay in the division, could not have wished for more compliant opponents.
They were two goals to the good just before the interval after poor defending from dead-ball situations. And the third, with VAR not needed to check offside, only served to highlight how Farke’s campaign has been undermined.
The fourth was barely celebrated by the men in claret and blue, apart from to register satisfaction at their goalscoring forward’s prolific afternoon.
The victory was a triumph for Moyes, however, who has pulled off the same trick with Antonio as he did with Marko Arnautovic during his previous spell in the hot-seat at the Olympic Stadium.
Two years ago, the Austrian found himself on the fringes. Moyes put an arm around the enigmatic striker, gave him a more central role and the ex-Inter Milan forward repaid his boss by making decisive interventions as another nail-biting season drew to a relatively successful close.
He has done likewise with Antonio. He has asked the forward to plough on alone, trying to support him from midfield. And it has reaped reward again.
This victory and the one over Chelsea had Antonio at its heart.
He could have guessed it was his day when he finished off a classic near-post corner routine.
Jarrod Bowen’s right-wing kick was flicked on at the near-post by Issa Diop and Antonio thumped home on the volley from inside the six-yard box. His second arrived on the stroke of half-time.
Mark Noble lifted another centre into the danger zone, Antonio simply out-jumped two yellow-shirted opponents to glance the ball past Tim Krul.
West Ham needed a third. As if by magic, it arrived just when they needed it nine minutes after the interval. Noble was again the architect, splittling a non-existent offside trap to send the forward clean through.
Krul saved his first effort but the ball bounced up and Antonio was already smiling as he nodded into an unguarded net.
Worse was to follow for Norwich. Ryan Fredericks charged on to Noble’s pass down the right and the man-of-the-moment finished at the near post, ending Norwich’s season-long stay among the elite in emphatic fashion.
FOUR-GOAL Hammers hero Michail Antonio has a long-term future as a striker, according to boss David Moyes. The wingerturned-frontman sent Norwich City back into the Championship as his blitz earned the Eastenders a vital three points in their battle to avoid the drop.
Moyes said the key for Antonio was his improved level of fitness, paying tribute to the player’s work during lockdown.
He said: “He has been excellent, I certainly think that he can play as a centre-forward.
“He’s developing. He’s better with his link-up play now and he possibly should have one or two more goals than he has.
“But this will be good for him. Not many people score four goals in a Premier League match.”
Judging by his comments post-match, Antonio is enjoying his new role. He said: “This is my first matchball and hopefully I can get some more.
“It’s been free-flowing attacking football since we came back, the gaffer told me to wait in the box and I’m just pouncing on those opportunities.”
Norwich boss Daniel Farke could not hide his disappointment but also said there was “between a two and five per cent chance” that the Canaries would have stayed up when the season got under way.
He said: “We needed to sell young players. If we hadn’t sold James Maddison to Leicester in my first season, it is doubtful the club would still be going.
“In my second season, no one expected us to win the title. To stay up, we would have worked a miracle to beat the odds.
“But we are financially solid. I’m confident we’ll keep our best players. I expect all of our young prospects to stay at the club and I have a long-term contract here.”