Moyes calls for unity after Hammers’ latest collapse

This match was barely four minutes old when the chants of “sack the board” began in the West Ham United end of the ground. And although it was not the first time travelling Hammers fans have called for the heads of those who run the club this season – they did so during last weekend’s FA Cup upset at Wigan Athletic – it was surely the earliest.

But after a week in which their team were embarrassed by a League One side, held again at home by a relegation rival, failed to make a permanent January signing and were forced to fire their director of player recruitment for comments about Africans, perhaps it should not have come as a surprise.

So West Ham manager David Moyes needed to tread carefully when calling for unity after this latest calamity. “I’m not an expert on West Ham by a long way, I’ve not been here long enough,” he said.

“But all I do know is everybody being together, being supportive, gives us the best chance of making sure we are a Premier League team,” he added.

It was not just in the stands where tempers flared on Saturday, with Aaron Cresswell involved in a half-time tunnel bust-up with Brighton’s Anthony Knockaert over a nasty tackle in the build-up to Glenn Murray’s eighth-minute opener. The pair had to be separated by team-mates.

Javier Hernandez had sent West Ham into the break level with an excellent equaliser but after Jose Izquierdo curled in one of the goals of the season – far better than the strike that embarrassed Joe Hart from similar range in Brighton’s 3-0 win at the London Stadium – the visitors collapsed in a similar manner to October’s meeting.

Pascal Gross dealt the killer blow in a display manager Chris Hughton called “far better” than his side had produced three months earlier.

Brighton’s first league win since Christmas also drew them level on both points and goal difference with West Ham, who are now in a relegation dogfight.

That was as important as the three points for Hughton, who said: “What you want is as many teams in that group that are fighting to get away as far as they can from that relegation – as many as possible.”