LEICESTER NO TESTER
Leicester City 0 West Ham 3
Apart from last season, trips up to Leicester’s King Power Stadium have been quite profitable in recent years for West Ham, even in their League-winning season. Coufal is straight in to replace the injured Fredericks for this lunchtime kick off, but then he was playing in the Champions League for Slavia Prague against Midtjylland on Wednesday, so he’s obviously fit. I’m imagining that’s a competition he might not be featuring in again for some time. I say that, as I say most things about West Ham, in the hope of being proved wrong. BT’s commentary team are already calling him ‘Coufal’ understandably, whereas we know, thanks to our Czech journo mate, that it is actually pronounced ‘Tso-Fal’.
Back live, and on ten minutes Fornals picks up a loose pass from Amartey which he immediately bangs through to Antonio, who is sadly just a smidgeon offside. Another demonstration of the quick thinking which we witnessed last Sunday. Antonio is looking better and better, and then… Hammers are ahead on fourteen minutes! Antonio, holding the ball up in the Leicester half, wins a free kick, takes it quickly and finds Cresswell wide on the left, whose long far post cross is headed home by… Antonio. He made major ground to get there, and in doing so becomes the first Hammer to score in five successive away games since Mike Small 29 years ago. Mike Small – remember him? What happened to make him a one season wonder? One minute 18 goal top scorer (1991-92), the next relegation and… just five second tier appearances – and no goals.
Three minutes later Jamie Vardy ‘outfoxes’ Ogbonna down the left but as he gets into the six yard box he is block-tackled by Coufal and dispossessed. This is all a bit breathtaking for me this early in the game. I travelled here last season and blah blah blah. Yep, you’ve guessed it, I fork out for an away game and… we lose. Probably better I keep my BT Sport subscription up to date.
Coufal seems to have worked a good understanding with Rice and Hammers look really solid at the back (crosses fingers). Even when Castagne gets away from the defence, there is Coufal again to block for the corner. Perez then finds Vardy loose on the right but again Ogbonna, callled up to the Italian squad this week, manages to block him off forcing a foul to win back possession. Vardy throws himself into a sliding tackle on Coufal to restore his self-belief and send the West Ham defender into touch hanging onto his ankle in agony. Welcome to the Premier League. Bowen breaks free but his shot is deflected over Schmeichel and just over the bar by Sôyúncü. West Ham looking dangerous every time they get forward.
Aaron Cresswell then manages an unlikely assist when he boots the ball clear from out of defence as Fornals, ploughing a lone furlough, controls the high ball effortlessly with a sublime first left foot touch and after two right foot taps he steers it expertly past Schmeichel with his left to score his first of the season. We have a player who can kick with both feet! Our player of the moment, I would humbly suggest. Another attack just minutes later has Bowen out on the right and his cross looks perfect for Antonio, who attempts a spectacular overhead… but misses the ball sadly… Hammers are back on the attack a minute later.
Jonny Evans this time stops Bowen’s ball in from reaching Antonio who was flicking back the trigger ready to hit his second. Hammers are just too quick for a Leicester side that still seem to be recovering from beating Man City 5-2 last weekend. Over Land and (some) Sea, I notice West Brom have just gone a goal behind to Southampton. Slav not having the same start there that he enjoyed at West Ham. A minute of injury time at the end of what has been an unbelievably brilliant first half for the Irons. Nothing from Harvey Barnes or Jamie Vardy. And Leicester have been scoring goals for fun this season. None in this game so far. Wow. That’ll do.
The second half almost starts with a disaster from Ogbonna whose momentary error allows Harvey Nicks a quick snapshot, which he fluffs. Vardy still looks keen to chase everything, presumably after a Brendan Rodgers half-time hairdryer. It’s five minutes before Hammers manage to get into Leicester’s half, but when they do, Coufal finds Antonio at the far post who heads straight at Schmeichel. Now Antonio is found by Coufal’s long ball and he waits for Fornals to make up ground but when he does, his perfectly placed shot is deflected agonisingly wide by Evans. The Fake Leicester Crowd are making a lot more noise than they would be doing if they were really there. There you have it – a whole hour gone before the first existential moment in this report.
Now Rice breaks out from defence with just eighteen minutes left and he runs almost the length of the pitch before slamming the ball past Schmeichel, but against the underside of the bar and out. Magnificent, and definitely deserved better! This boy doesn’t score ordinary goals. And now… the third. Fornals takes a great pass from Rice and hits a perfectly weighted through ball to Bowen, who finds a measured finish to grab the points. Yes, that man Fornals name was in the lead up to the goal description again. Can I put in an early claim in for his ‘Hammer of the Covid Year 2021’ status? Vardy just has enough time left to miss a chance when he’s put straight through, and for Ogbonna to be awarded BT man of the match for marking him out of the game.
Leicester City then score the goal of the game through a five man brilliant passing move involving Vardy and Iheanacho that Harvey Barnes finishes superbly. And in keeping with the way the play has gone today, it is eventually, after a long VAR look, ruled out for marginal offside. Ha ha ha ha…
1 Lucasz Fabianski, 21 Angelo Ogbonna, 4 Fabian Balbuena, 3 Aaron Cresswell, 5 Vladimir Coufal, 41 Declan Rice (c), 28 Tomas Soucek, 26 Arthur Masuaku, 20 Jarrod Bowen, 30 Michael Antonio, 18 Pablo Fornals
Substitutes: 16 Mark Noble, 22 Sébastien Haller
Scorers: 30 Michail Antonio, 18 Pablo Fornals, 20 Jarrod Bowen
