THE EUROVISION WRONG CONTEST
It’s nul points as Hammers have an off day... with Moyes ‘gutted’ following defeat
WEST HAM 0 FULHAM 2
NOW West Ham face an uphill battle to qualify for Europe next season.
Three days after a late defeat at Bayer Leverkusen left them with a mountain to climb in the Europa League, David Moyes’ depleted side threw away a golden opportunity here.
A win over Fulham would have sent West
Ham sixth, leaving them well placed for a fourth straight year of European competition.
Instead, results elsewhere could soon see them slipping down to 10th after a defeat that was as much about their own shortcomings as Fulham’s resourcefulness.
Marco Silva’s visitors were compact off the ball and clinical on it as two-goal Andreas Pereira paved the way to an entirely deserved win.
Yet Moyes admitted he was “gutted” by the result as the spotlight shone on his squad’s lack of depth (Edson Alvarez looks dejected, circle).
It only takes a couple of absentees and stars on an off day for their performance ceiling to lower.
With Jarrod Bowen sidelined by a hip injury and Lucas Paqueta producing a rare stinker, the Hammers attack was desperately blunt.
And a centre back pairing of Nayef Aguerd and Dinos Mavropanos never appeared comfortable in the hour before captain Kurt Zouma came off the bench.
Mavropanos, in particular, had a nightmare afternoon as he gifted the Cottagers their opening goal with a dismal piece of control when he could have simply cleared an Alex Iwobi cross.
Instead, his heavy touch allowed Pereira to gather the loose ball. The Brazilian composed himself, waited for Lukasz Fabianski to emerge off his line and rifled into the roof of the empty net.
But West Ham should have already been in front having wasted a lively start. The pick of their chances arrived at the feet of Michail Antonio with only three minutes on the clock at the London Stadium.
But the Jamaica striker contrived to miss an open goal and blasted well over from eight yards after Vladimir Coufal’s drive forward committed Fulham keeper Bernd Leno.
Mohammed Kudus and Paqueta spurned decent opportunities before Fulham’s first attack brought the opener.
It was a sucker punch from which West Ham never really recovered and even Silva remarked afterwards on how Mavropanos’ clearance was “not the best.”
West Ham enjoyed plenty of the ball but James Ward-Prowse (right), Coufal and Danny Ings – subdued in just his third Premier League start of the campaign – were unable to convert halfchances. And Fulham routinely looked dangerous on the counterattack.
Willian caused Coufal a number of problems, while Joao Palhinha did a fine job in muzzling the threat of Hammers playmaker Paqueta.
West Ham’s precocious creator was inefficient and too often careless in possession, his one positive action a through ball to Ings that led to the veteran striker having an attempt blocked.
And Fulham’s second goal came from Palhinha forcing him out of possession.
That set the away side off on another counter attack as Pereira passed to Rodrigo Muniz. He fed Iwobi, whose low right cross was timed well for Pereira to convert (Fabianski frustrated, below).
In a battle of Brazilian attacking midfielders, no one could dispute that Pereira came out on top.
And it was telling that Moyes admitted afterwards that by sometimes giving a star player a licence to be free, the team can be “punished.”
“It shouldn’t happen,” Moyes added of Paqueta’s performance. “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, Tosin 6, Bassey 6, Robinson 6; Lukic 7, Palhinha 7; Iwobi 6 (Wilson 74), Pereira 8 (De Cordova-Reid 74), Willian 7 (Traore); Muniz 6 (Broja 90)