SOUČEK OVERCOMES LAME SPURT
West Ham United 1 Tottenham Hotspur 1
Introducing a player personally to the West Ham United crowd before a game has the potential shadow of hubris cast across it. However there is always the consideration that perhaps you are daring something not to happen if you promise that it will. So, tonight, West Ham’s (to-date) record signing from Olympique Lyonnais, the 25 year old Brazilian Lucas Paquetà, a snip at in excess of £53m, takes to the stage for West Ham for the first time. Or at least he probably will sometime in the second half as he is, for now, on the bench.
In the absence of the virus-laden Gianluca Scamacca, Moyes has stayed with the majority of the team that established West Ham as a force in Europe last season, with starting rights secured for Saïd Benrahma after some recent excellent displays.
First effort on target is from Pablo Fornals who looks to resume his scoring exploits with an effort from outside the area that Lloris punches away to safety. Within five minutes the dubious cogs of VAR crank into action after Aaron Cresswell is adjudged to have handled in the area by referee Peter Bankes. We needn’t have worried. After four minutes of to-ing and fro-ing during which Harry Kane has mentally taken the penalty twice and missed on both occasions, it’s adjudged to have been accidental. Which, let’s face it, the majority of defensive handballs in the penalty area are. This one is because Cresswell headed the ball on to his arm, an act for which he should be awarded a physiotherapist’s medal rather be penalised.
Minutes later Rice is in the thick of it, hammering in a shot from just inside the area that Lloris again manages to palm away. Two minutes later Antonio hits a shot that this time beats the outstretched hands of Lloris but is kept out by the width of the post.
Yet another attack is broken down when Benrahma loses the ball and Spurs break quickly for a rare counter which sees Kulusevski and Kane accelerating in tandem down the right channel and, after exchanging passes to beat Zouma, Kane’s pacy cross is bundled into his own net by Kehrer in his attempt to prevent Son getting a touch. The injustice of the good fortune is celebrated in dad dancing style by the Spurs’ manager, just back from a touchline suspension, and seemingly keen to get another one straight away.
Hammers keep their mojo in the second half, and equalise after ten minutes after a poor clearance from Lloris goes out of play. The quick thinking of a ball boy allows Vladimir Coufal to find Antonio down the right channel with a swift throw,
and with his flick and one controlling touch from Souček the ball is smashed into the back of the net.
Two minutes later, Rice’s effort is deliberately late deflected, but just wide, by Souček again. Then Bowen and the new home debutants Paquetà and Emerson miss crosses that evade defensive lunges. Fornals misses probably the best chance of all as he skies a superb cross from Coufal with just Lloris to beat. In the final breath of the game, Bowen’s scuffed shot misses the post by inches, with Lloris committed, in injury time.
And there you have it. Hammers back on form, Spurs luckier than a double lottery winner and Conte less likely to be on the bench in a couple of weeks than Bamidele Jermaine Alii. The known universe can now anticipate a stack of wins ahead for Hammers in the coming weeks running parallel with a spurt of low key defeats for Tottenham. Come. On. You. Irons.
1 Lucasz Fabianski, 3 Aaron Cresswell, 4 Kurt Zouma, 5 Vladimir Coufal, 8 Pablo Fornals, 24 Thilo Kehrer, 28 Tomas Souček, 9 Michail Antonio, 20 Jarrod Bowen, 22 Saïd Benrahma, 41 Declan Rice (captain)
Substitutes: 11 Lucas Paquetà, 21 Angelo Ogbonna, 33 Emerson
Goalscorer: Tomas Souček
[NB. It was reassuring to finally hear all football correspondents who took to the airwaves after the game describing the scorer of West Ham’s goal tonight as Tomas Sou-cek]
