FOUR-WARNED
Norwich City 0 West Ham 4
West Ham were last relegated at the end of the 2010/11 season, bouncing back at the first attempt, and have enjoyed eight successive seasons in the Premier League since then. This afternoon the random nature of the fixture list takes them to Carrow Road to see off and relegate Norwich City and hopefully in the process take themselves clear of the bottom three towards a ninth Premier League season.
All of today’s Norwich City’s starting XI were playing for the club in the Championship last season, which is almost certainly where they’ll be playing later this year. This side beat last year’s champions Manchester City here last September, the first time City had been beaten in the Premier League for nine months, taking the Canaries to twelfth place in the table, just four points behind City. Now they are 48 points behind them, having lost (23) one more game than City have won (22). They have not gained a single point since the season restarted last month. Could West Ham be relegated along with them? The next 90 minutes will go a long way to answering that question.
Yarmolenko gives way to captain Mark Noble who returns after two matches out, and Hammers start well, Bowen seemingly brought down in the second minute by an elbow from his opposite number Emiliano Buendia as he heads down on goal. Referee Kevin Friend declines the invitation to action. A minute later Antonio almost puts Soucek in, but he runs out of space to get in a shot. Glenn Hoddle (BT Sport summariser) calls number 28 Tomás ‘Sir’ Check. Ian Dark (commentator) says ‘So Check’ – So-what? Do these commentary teams ever ask the West Ham media team how to pronounce their players’ names?
Antonio sets up Soucek for another shot on goal on seven minutes, but he places it marginally wide. Really hard to see Norwich getting anything out of this game if the first seven minutes are anything to go by. Four minutes later Antonio volleys home, and it’s another goal from a Bowen corner, flicked on by Issa Diop. Antonio earned the first of two corners after his goalbound flick was turned away by Tim Krul. The ensuing crash behind West Ham celebrations is the sound of eleven Norwich heads hitting the floor. Bowen’s corner technique, so effective against Chelsea and Newcastle United, has again yielded goal success.
Norwich do everything they can in search of an equaliser, but their levels of belief have clearly been seriously compromised. Bowen‘s stalker Buendia trips Antonio in the area, but the number 30 decides not to go to ground and the referee and his VAR team ignore the penalty claims, however a free kick is given for Buendia’s subsequent foul on Noble. The claims Noble has dived are contradicted by the evidence of several forensic replays, and his free kick is then headed home expertly by Antonio for goal number two.
The second half continues the agony for Norwich and for Bowen, who is twice badly fouled by Mario Vrancic, though the Norwich number 8 receives no booking. Extraordinarily lax refereeing from your Friend but not mine. A few minutes later Antonio has his hat-trick and West Ham’s third, his one on one with Krul initially saved, but the ricochet is headed home. It’s his first hat-trick in senior football – a timely achievement for him and the Hammers, and this single achievement may have guaranteed him the Hammer of the Year prize for 2020.
There are a couple of excellent saves from Fabulousanski on the hour before Norwich blood a stack of relegated youngsters from the bench. It’s all a bit dirt on the grave at this point. What a strange season – rare doubles for West Ham over Chelsea, Southampton and Norwich – maybe Watford too next week. On 74 minutes, Antonio has four. Noble to Fredericks to Antonio. The big man has doubled his tally for the whole season in just one game. An away achievement not unlike that of David Cross, who scored 4 away to Spurs back in September 1981, also the only goals of the game.
Antonio is subbed, and Haller is on. The BCD set up ensures no kind of reception for the number 30’s probable finest career moment, but it’s a small sacrifice in the bigger scheme of things. It’s six BCD goals in five games for Antonio. He is now the club’s top scorer this season with eight, one more than Haller. It’s also the first time in this mini-season that Moyes has used the full five substitutes. A good day at someone else’s office.
If Bournemouth lose at home to Leicester City (they then play Manchester City away on Wednesday) and Aston Villa (away to Everton on Thursday) to Crystal Palace, then Friday’s game against Watford may be something of a playground kick about, as a point will almost guarantee both teams Premier League football when the season starts again in September. You have been four-warned.
1 Lucasz Fabianski, 3 Aaron Cresswell, 23 Issa Diop, 21 Angelo Ogbonna, 24 Ryan Fredericks, 41 Declan Rice, 16 Mark Noble (captain), 28 Tomas Soucek, 17 Jarrod Bowen, 18 Pablo Fornals, 30 Michail Antonio
Substitutes: 22 Sébastien Haller, 4 Fabian Balbuena, 7 Andriy Yarmolenko, 19 Jack Wilshere, 26 Arthur Masuaku
Scorer: 30 Michail Antonio (4)
