MOYESIE ANNOYED Boss’s blast for Antonio
MICHAIL ANTONIO was branded “stupid” by David Moyes over the tackle that earned West Ham’s talisman a 95th-minute red card.
Antonio had already been booked for petulantly pushing Southampton defender Jack Stephens when he went flying into a reckless challenge on Moussa Djenepo.
The Premier League’s newly crowned August Player of the Month will now miss next weekend’s clash at home to Manchester United.
Hammers manager Moyes said: “After getting booked for the first one, Michail was stupid to lunge in on the second one.
“He has got himself sent off. I have not seen it again but at the time it looked like the referee got it right.
“We won’t make too big a deal out of it because these things can happen in football.”
Moyes hinted Antonio would now be selected for the Hammers’ upcoming Europa League trip to Croatia to face Dinamo Zagreb.
The Scot said: “We do not want Michail to go weeks without playing a game.” A victory would have taken the Hammers to joint top of the table but their manager was not too disappointed with the outcome or his team’s performance.
Moyes, whose side were also held to a 2-2 draw at home by Crystal Palace prior to the international break, said: “I thought we played some really good football.
“Our mid to forward area did not connect. It looked like they had all been away on international duty.
“In all the other games this season we have looked as if we can score more-or-less at will.
“We have drawn our last two matches now but in both games we looked the team more likely to win.”
Defences were on top in a dour first half as both teams struggled to find any rhythm in their play.
Adam Armstrong’s snapshot from just inside the penalty area after being played in by Nathan Redmond with just three minutes on the clock was the only effort on target.
The second half was much more incident-packed and home goalkeeper Alex McCarthy was finally called into action two minutes after the restart, clawing away Antonio’s low drive.
Former Saints loan star Antonio cut a frustrated figure for much of the afternoon after being kept quiet by the hosts.
Those emotions boiled over when Antonio scythed down Djenepo, leaving referee David Coote with no option but to brandish a second yellow card.
Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl praised his back-line for goading Antonio into his dismissal. He said: “The defence played by far their best game against Antonio because we have struggled against him in the past.
“But he was sent off because he got frustrated by his lack of chances.”