Moyes fury at Hammers’ second-half surrender
THE chance was there. Win and West Ham would have finished sixth, securing another season of Europa League football and condemning Manchester United to the Europa Conference League. So an enjoyable campaign ends on a sour note for David Moyes, mulling over what might have been. They led 1-0 at the break but surrendered the second half to lose 3-1. Moyes did not mince his words. ‘If we’re going to play like that, we’re going to be challenging in a different part of the league,’ he said. ‘I won’t have them if they are going to play like that. No resilience, no toughness, nothing about us in that second half. They know I’m not happy. I’m feeling the missed opportunity.’ Still, West Ham can look forward to a second season in a row of European football, albeit in the Europa Conference League. This match also marked the farewell for Mark Noble (left) and there was a presentation before a ball was kicked with the retiring West Ham captain gifted a gong and bottle of champagne by Brighton. A nice touch from a nice club. You would be mistaken for thinking that Brighton had nothing to play for. They turned up knowing they could finish as high as eighth or low as 14th, with the difference in prize money between those two positions an estimated £16million.
Manager Graham Potter said: ‘I’m really proud at 51 points and ninth in the league. To end up where we are is amazing.’ It was in the 37th minute that news broke that Manchester United were losing at Crystal Palace as the visiting supporters pumped up the volume. In the 40th, West Ham took the lead. Vladimir Coufal’s throw-in found Michail Antonio, who muscled off the opposition. As the ball settled, he swung a left foot at it, sumptuously finding the top corner. The away support was singing about ‘going on a European tour’ — in the Europa League if the results stayed the same. But a lot can happen in football, as West Ham would learn. In the 50th minute it became 1-1 when Joel Veltman squirmed his shot under Lukasz Fabianski. Then 2-1 when Pascal Gross struck a sweet shot beyond the West Ham goalkeeper. Danny Welbeck completed the scoreline by heading home a corner in the 90th minute, summing up a sorry second half for West Ham. Noble had been introduced for his final appearance, receiving a rousing reception. Not the way the club captain wanted his goodbye to go but he will still be able to watch his team in Europe next season. BRIGHTON (3-4-2-1): Sanchez 6; Veltman 6, Dunk 6.5, Webster 6.5; March 6 (Lamptey 75min, 6), Bissouma 6 (Maupay 46, 6.5), Caicedo 6.5 (Mwepu 79), Cucurella 7; GROSS 7.5, Mac Allister 6.5; Welbeck 7. Scorers: Veltman 50, Gross 80, Welbeck 90+2. Booked: Maupay. Manager: Graham Potter 7. WEST HAM (4-2-3-1): Fabianski 5.5; Coufal 6 (Johnson 81), Dawson 5.5, Zouma 5.5, Cresswell 5.5; Soucek 5.5, Rice 6; Bowen 5.5, Lanzini 6 (Noble 81), Fornals 5.5 (Yarmolenko 81); Antonio 6. Scorer: Antonio 40. Booked: Soucek. Manager: David Moyes 5.5. Referee: Kevin Friend 6. Attendance: 31,604.