FORESTS AND TREES
Nottingham Forest 2 West Ham 0
Playing anyone is preferable to the days of soulless endurance following a 0-6 home defeat. So West Ham face the New Nuno Nottingham Forest. This is already feeling uncomfortable.
This afternoon sees the return of stalwart holder-upper Antonio, and hopes that his return may signal some change for 2024, a year in which West Ham are still to win a game in any competition.
Pace and power on the break is what West Ham have, says the commentator. Hitting Forest on the break sounds like the triumph of hope over experience. Kalvin Phillips enjoys a second start for West Ham, as many as he had in all his time at Manchester City. Souček on the bench is a novelty under David Moyes.
Areola is called into action several times early in the game, two against Elanga, which is unexpected bearing in mind which of the two clubs has been struggling the most over the season so far. Bowen finds Kufus at the far post in a rare attack, but the Ghanean wants more time than he has, and his effort is blocked.
Gibbs-White, a man with more names than efforts on goal sees his first shot in the game superbly saved by Areola. A few minutes later, on the half hour, Antonio picks the pocket of the right back Felipe and finds himself one on one with the keeper. Murillo has other ideas however and races back to dispossess the Jamaican as he aims to pull the trigger. Chance missed.
Awoniyi then forces himself free to beat Areola, but the Hammers’ keeper snatches the ball off his toes. In the fifth minute of first half injury time Awoniyi puts Forest ahead, spinning away from Aguerd to slot it home, and then Hudson-Odoi makes it two in the fourth minute of second half injury time. Sandwiched in between the two Forest goals is Kalvin Phillips’ 71st minute second yellow card that sees him leave the Hammers to fight on with just ten men for the last 20 minutes.
Ward-Prowse has yet another chance late on to equal David Beckham’s number of goals from free-kicks, but as he has been doing all season, fails, curling the ball above the defensive wall but wide of the goal.
23 Alphonse Areola, 4 Kurt Zouma (captain), 5 Vladimir Coufal, 33 Emerson, 27 Nayef Aguerd, 7 James Ward-Prowse, 11 Kalvin Phillips, 19 Edson Álvarez, 14 Mohammed Kudus, 9 Michail Antonio, 20 Jarrod Bowen
Substitutes: 2 Ben Johnson, 17 Maxwel Cornet, 18 Danny Ings
