Bowen IS the saviour!
Boy from Hull strikes as Moyes’ men come to life
MICHAIL ANTONIO did what Michail Antonio does, while Sebastien Haller embraced the fact it was a Leap Day by out-jumping Southampton goalkeeper Alex McCarthy to get the vital second goal.
But this win, which lifted West Ham United out of the relegation zone, was all about Jarrod Bowen. For once, Hammers fans do not have to hide behind the sofa when Match of the Day comes on.
They can watch proudly as Bowen makes a mockery of Southampton’s defence, days after his boss outraged social media by suggesting this ‘ boy from Hull’ could not be their ‘saviour’.
Perhaps that was mind games from David Moyes because Bowen, their £22million January signing on his first Premier League start for the club, had a determined look about him throughout.
‘I think that’s the way it went in my dreams last night,’ Bowen said touchingly afterwards.
It was important for Moyes to win t his match against Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side, given they now face consecutive Premier League games against Arsenal, Wolverhampton, Tottenham and Chelsea.
At least with this, they can head into that run of fixtures with some sort of momentum. Hasenhuttl was damning on his defence, branding the goals they conceded a ‘joke’.
West Ham’s second involved McCarthy trying to catch the ball, only for Haller to get his head to it before scoring. ‘ It tells you everything about our defence,’ Hasenhuttl summarised.
‘ It’s simply not enough. Not aggressive enough, not committed enough. Play like this against a team in a relegation battle, then you may also be in a relegation battle again.’
Not for the first time this season, or even this month, there were prematch protests. This is becoming a theme of West Ham matches. On this occasion, an estimated 3,000 marched from Newham Greenway to the London Stadium, with antiboard banners galore.
But there were no signs of hostility inside the stadium, which Moyes commended afterwards.
In the 15th minute, Pablo Fornals spotted the run of Bowen. With his right foot, the 23-year-old took the through-ball in his stride. With his left, he chipped McCarthy.
The hosts still had plenty to do. They went into this having dropped an unrivalled 22 points from leading positions in the Premier League. It should have been 2-0 in the 19th minute when Antonio turned on the afterburners before crossing. Haller got his head to it, but it flew into McCarthy’s arms.
The equaliser arrived on the halfhour mark, after a Southampton counter-attack. James Ward-Prowse cut the ball back Michael Obafemi, who found the top corner.
But it was soon 2-1, thanks to the tenacity of Haller. A ball by Antonio was hanging in the air and it should have been catching practice for McCarthy. Instead, Haller leapt higher, heading the ball away from the goalkeeper’s hands and sliding in to finish from a tight angle.
McCarthy looked embarrassed and it did not help his pride that the London Stadium’s big screens replayed his gaffe in all its glory. In the 53rd minute, Southampton top scorer Danny Ings was introduced from the bench. In the 54th, it was 3-1, with Antonio getting on the end of a Fornals ball over the top.
It could have got even better had Antonio scored when an exquisite rabona flick by Haller left him one on one.
He missed but confidence was clearly coursing through this West Ham side, on a day when they showed there is life in them yet.