FOREST OF THIEVES
West Ham 3 Nottingham Forest 2
This was the game last season that temporarily introduced two goal Danny Ings to West Ham United fans. Whilst he has yet to reach those tap in highs again, the memory of that goal difference corrector fixture is still firmly stamped in the memory.
This afternoon is also Armistice Sunday, with an outing for the British Legion’s finest bugler to wrap his playing attributes around taps, always a challenge for any dry eye in the house.
There aren’t many dry eyes amongst the Forest fans three minutes into the game when a poor clearance from Nicolas Dominguez hits his teammate Ibrahim Sangaré and ricochets straight into the path of Paquetá, who fires past Odysseas Vlachodimos. It’s all Greek to me this week. Bizarrely, however, the early goal seems to inspire Forest who start to play quality possession football.
And finally, at the end of the first half, Forest equalise. Areola has just made a worldy save from Taiwo Awoniyi’s powerful header…
but this time his save from Gibbs-White’s powerful shot drops perfectly into the path of Awoniyi, who scoops the loose ball gleefully into the net. It seems like a sleight of hand or some poorly conceived joke, but Forest are level at the break. There is nothing at this stage to suggest that a worse fate isn’t waiting for West Ham the other side of half-time.
And, surprise, surprise… Sheroo! Cilla’s in the house, and Anthony Elanga fires Forest ahead for the first time in the game on the hour. The goal has a nostalgic feel to it, in that most Hammers’ sides that David Moyes has put out since before Covid would have ordinarily taken one of the chances to clear the ball before it ended up in the back of Areola’s net courtesy of Anthony Elanga’s clean strike. This looks like an end of season Harry Redknapp gift, with any one of three defenders to blame.
Nottingham Forest haven’t beaten West Ham away for over 26 years. Elanga and Awoniyi have an understanding that threatens more, but oddly enough Hammers bounce back straight up the other end to get a corner. A Ward-Prowse corner. And though he is of medium height, Jarrod Bowen meets the ball powerfully in the centre of the six yard box to stub out the Forest lead almost as soon as it has happened. Just two minutes later Ola Aina’s shocking back pass puts Bowen through again, but although he gets to the ball before Vlachodimos, his shot comes off the underside of the bar and the keeper grabs it as it bounces back into his arms.
Six minutes from time Paquetá wins a free kick just outside the area which Ward-Prowse curls in, only for Souček’s header to be beaten away by Vlachodimos and though the corner comes to nothing, the Ward Prowse corner just one minute later is headed home by Souček to restore the Hammers’ earlier lead.
Two minutes left of normal time, and though Orio fashions a powerful left volley in injury time, Areola is up to the task of beating it away. Yes, not a very West Ham thing to do after throwing away their early lead, but Hammers will take a delightful win. How long can it be before Ward-Prowse returns to the England side?
13 Alphonse Areola, 5 Vladimir Coufal, 33 Emerson, 4 Kurt Zouma (captain), 19 Edson Álvarez, 27 Nayef Aguerd, 7 James Ward-Prowse, 11 Lucas Paquetá, 22 Saïd Benrahma, 14 Mohammed Kudus, 20 Jarrod Bowen
Substitutes: 9 Michail Antonio, 15 Konstantinos Mavropanus, 28 Tomas Souček, 17 Maxwel Cornet, 18 Danny Ings, 45 Davin Mubama
Goalscorers: Lucas Paquetá, Jarrod Bowen, Tomas Souček
