SWEET PEA!
Super sub’s late brace secures comeback victory
FOR 7 5 minutes , West Ham produced the type of performance that their supporters have become used to this season.
Turgid, lethargic, disconnected and frustrating. But, with 15 minutes left, it all changed and in a rather bonkers way.
They were 3-1 down to bottom-ofthe-table Huddersfield and deservedly so. But somehow they found a way to score three and win.
Javier Hernandez was the hero, scoring twice after coming on for Michail Antonio at half-time.
His first, in the 84th minute, drew them level, following Angelo Ogbonna’s fierce header, before Chicharito, the man they call the Little Pea, got the winner with a glancing header.
It was all rather ludicrous and West Ham supporters will tell you only they are capable of coming so close to messing it all up when everything looks to be in place.
Manuel Pellegrini’s post-match assessment was calculated but he knew just how close he came from a hugely disappointing afternoon.
‘It was good for everyone, for the fans, for me, for the players,’ said Pellegrini. ‘The whole team played very bad but we had three players as subs who did very well and the important thing was not to give up.
‘A lot of times maybe you’re finished when you’re 3-1 down after 65 minutes.’
They have shown so many times this season that their clear quality on paper does not always translate on to the pitch.
In theory, this was meant to be a procession, a walkover, an easy game to win. Huddersfield had not scored away from home since Boxing Day, let alone win.
This trip seemed like it was just another checkpoint on their Premier League farewell tour. They could now be relegated before the end of the month.
Unfortunately, when the stakes are so high, you cannot afford to make basic errors. Aaron Rowe, 18, was given his professional debut here and one of his first contributions was to give away a penalty.
Manuel Lanzini set himself to shoot and Rowe rather clumsily barged him to the ground inside the Huddersfield area.
There was no hesitation from referee Jonathan Moss and Mark Noble duly swept in from 12 yards. It was Noble’s 23rd goal from the penalty spot, putting him level with Thierry Henry and Wayne Rooney.
From there, you felt West Ham would click into gear but that didn’t happen. Passes weren’t connecting and even Declan Rice, fresh from his England call-up, looked a little off colour.
He was by no means West Ham’s worst performer. From Felipe Anderson to Ogbonna, West Ham were underperforming just as they did away at Cardiff.
And two minutes after they took the lead, they went behind. Aaron Mooy delivered a corner into the West Ham box, Juninho Bacuna moved into space, unmarked and thumped a header past goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski. It was only Hud- dersfield’s 16th league goal this season and it prompted gallows humour from the away end. ‘We’ve scored a goal, we’ve scored a goal,’ they sang.
Then it got even better. Alex Pritchard passed to Chris Lowe on the left side from a free-kick. Lowe found Karlan Grant, Ogbonna didn’t react, and the striker guided the ball into the far corner.
At half-time, Pellegrini brought on Hernandez and soon switched Noble for Samir Nasri. It was that change that left West Ham even more exposed. Grant duly exploited it. Starting his run 40 yards out, he slalomed past Issa Diop, then Ogbonna before crashing a rightfooted strike into the top corner.
West Ham finally got it together in the last 15 minutes — a period that coincided in Marko Arnautovic coming off for Lucas Perez.
Ogbonna delivered West Ham’s second goal after powering his header past Jonas Lossl from Aaron Cresswell’s corner.
Hernandez claimed the equaliser before the moment that capped a breathless 15 minutes.
Anderson sent a hopeful ball in, Hernandez took a step towards it and glanced in.
‘ Javier has been playing well,’ said Pellegrini. ‘But against Cardiff, all the team played very badly, including him. He’s an important player, every time he is inside the box he is dangerous.’