A FOREST, THE CURE
West Ham 4 Nottingham Forest 0
Someone told me before the game that it was nearly 25 years since West Ham had last played Nottingham Forest in the Premier League at home. West Ham finished fifth at the end of that season (1999/00), their second best top league finish ever. Forest, however, finished at the bottom, twelve points adrift from safety, losing 22 of their 38 games.
Today David Moyes finally does something with his team selection that seems to make a little tactical sense. Danny Ings is in for Michael Antonio, which is a declaration of intent. Buy an established goalscorer, then put him in the team, in the starting eleven. Eventually.
Except the first two clear cut chances Ings gets in the first half, he squanders. He gets on the end of them, yes, but does not finish them off with accuracy. The build up is better with Paquetá, Benrahma and Souček starting to look like a well-oiled midfield machine. Is it just because it’s Forest? Check out the seasoned doubts that accompany any decent move of goal opportunity.
Over a half-time cup of tea I contemplate another potential banana skin. A point would probably take Hammers out of the bottom three, but three would throw down a line with enough rungs to offer a decent access to safety… Will Moyes concede defeat and start the second half with Antonio? No of course he won’t. He remains convinced that there is legs in this Ings thing.
Hammers have to date only scored 19 goals in 23 PL games. Compare that to the 19 goals scored in 8 European ties, and the Avram Grant jitters start to emerge. Ten minutes into the second half there is a delicious interplay of passing starting with Cresswell on as sub, and Rice linking with Ings and Paquetá, feeding Benrahma and then Bowen, who clubs the ball right-footed past Navas but against the foot of the post and back into play. It is a slick and measured move, enough to raise the hickies on the back of all
unscrubbed necks in the stadium.
Next thing is Felipé’s knee has low punched Fabianski in the eye, and the goal minder slinks off to the cold compresses of the treatment room to be replaced by Ariola.
With twenty minutes to go, Hammers finally get their shit together, Ings finding Bowen out on the right, and by the time Bowen has prepared a ball in to the centre, there is Ings, on starting debut, to slot it home. Exquisite. It even survives a half-hearted VAR appeal.
A minute later it’s two. Benrahma provides the cross in from the left after determined advances on the Forest goal from Paquetá, and there is Ings again to double his tally on full debut. Six minutes later Benrahma picks out Rice advancing into the area
and the Hammers’ captain issues an unstoppable curler from his right foot past Navas into the top corner of the net.
Two minutes after Ings is substituted for Antonio, the substitute heads into the net from Fornal’s (his fellow substitute) cross. Hammers haven’t scored four for a while, but it does suddenly feel like the last few months’ worry have all been Much Ado about Nothing. That is until you reflect on Wednesday’s FA Cup 5th round tie at Manchester United and the subsequent Saturday journey to the Amex Stadium where West Ham haven’t beaten Brighton since Kevin Nolan’s Championship goal back in the 2012-13 promotion season.
1 Lucasz Fabianski, 2 Ben Johnson, 5 Vladimir Coufal, 21 Angelo Ogbonna, 41 Declan Rice (captain), 27 Nayef Aguerd,, 18 Danny Ings, 20 Jarrod Bowen, 22 Saïd Benrahma, 28 Tomas Souček
Substitutes: 3 Aaron Cresswell, 13 Alphonse Ariola, 9 Michail Antonio, Pablo Fornals, 10 Manuel Lanzini
Goalscorers: Danny Ings (2), Declan Rice, Michail Antonio
