Peacemaker MARKO
Crucial win is sealed at half-time to keep fans happy as Hammers step up security
SCORING three times in 45 minutes has a funny way of uniting a club. Football’s a fickle game.
It may turn out West Ham’s win over Southampton only papers over the cracks of this divided club.
Yesterday, though, there were no scenes of anarchy. Just the impression that — for 90 minutes at least — this club was as one.
That’s not to say West Ham weren’t fearing another troublesome afternoon. That pitch-level stewards were instructed to wear football boots to provide greater grip to deal with any pitch invaders told its own story.
Similarly fears of another outbreak of trouble meant various security staff had to wear goggles.
Who knows, had Southampton taken the lead then it may have exploded again, such is the undercurrent of ill- feeling from fans towards those that run West Ham.
But thankfully for manager David Moyes and the board it didn’t come to that. Two goals from Marko Arnautovic and Joao Mario’s first for West Ham secured a vital win in their fight for survival.
In the grand scheme of things this win won’t repair the fractious relationship between fans and the club’s top brass. But it’s a start.
Moyes said: ‘Results like this can change football clubs. Look, the supporters have had their say. We’ve had some good times and we’ve had some bad times.
‘Today we showed how we felt and made it well known we were pent up and ready to go.’
For his counterpart Mark Hughes, though, things are looking very bleak. On his Premier League debut for Southampton the size of the task in front of him was laid bare.
Southampton — who are now two points adrift of safety — were clueless. Feeble in the tackle. Uninventive in attack.
Simply put: Southampton are in deep trouble. With Arsenal and Chelsea up next, it is hard to make a case for a sudden surge of improvement either.
‘This was a very good learning experience that will shape my thinking,’ said Hughes. ‘ It’s not going to be easy. But I knew that. Confidence is at low ebb, we have too many that are looking around for inspiration. The only way to do that is by winning games.’
And as if the day wasn’t bad enough for Hughes, that striker Arnautovic did the majority of the damage rubbed salt into the wound.
Having worked together at Stoke City, the pair were involved in an unsavoury spat when West Ham travelled to the bet365 Stadium earlier this season.
Yesterday, Arnautovic had the last laugh. He let his former manager know it too.
The Austrian was a monster for the Hammers in this relegation scrap. And while he’ll never admit it, how Hughes could do with a player like Arnautovic right now.
Moyes’ answer to those highlycharged scenes at the London Stadium three weeks ago, which saw home fans invade the pitch and threaten owners David Sullivan and David Gold as the team slumped to defeat to Burnley, was to take his players to Miami for some warm-weather training.
In terms of PR, it perhaps wasn’t the wisest of moves. But judging by his players’ performance yesterday, it may prove a masterstroke.
Indeed, there seemed a togetherness about his players, illustrated by the fact every player barring keeper Joe Hart rushed over to celebrate Arnautovic’s second.
But there was a downside to yesterday’s huge triumph: Michail Antonio appeared to be in tears as he limped off with a hamstring injury in the first half.
Nevertheless the attacker would have been heartened by the way his team clinched victory in his absence.
First Joao Mario thumped past keeper Alex McCarthy from Cheikhou Kouyate’s pass in the 13th minute after Mario Lemina carelessly lost possession. The London Stadium erupted. So did the West Ham bench, Moyes throwing his fists in the air with the grimace of a man who has the world on his shoulders.
And slowly the tension alleviated from Moyes’ men.
Arnautovic added a second just four minutes later, the strapping forward firing home from close range after McCarthy had produced a point-blank stop to deny his original header from Joao Mario’s cross.
Arnautovic appeared to direct his animated celebration towards Hughes, his rift with the Welshman obviously still lingering in his mind.
Not that those in the West Ham directors’ box gave a hoot about any animosity between Hughes and Arnautovic. They’ve got their own conflicts to sort out.
And when Arnautovic volleyed home Masuaku’s brilliant pass in the fourth minute of first- half stop page time, his feud with Hughes boiled over again as the Austrian looked to direct a verbal tongue-lashing at his former boss.
This time Hughes kept his cool. In fairness he has far bigger problems to deal with.