Hammers denied at the last by Man United, but supreme effort shows there's plenty of fight left in the tank
- By Yann Tear at the London Stadium
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Premier League
West Ham United (0) 1 Soucek 50
Manchester United (0) 1 Sesko 90+6
Agonising.
The Irons came within a whisker of beating Man United at the London Stadium for a fourth season in a row - only to be denied by a last-gasp equaliser from a largely outfought United.
West Ham were so impressive in their work-rate and desire to protect a lead they eked out just after the interval through Tomas Soucek. Newcomer Axel Disasi and Konstantinos Mavropanos were excellent at the heart of the defence but all around them were players willing to run their socks off.
They restricted United to just a handful of chances and although they did not carve out too many chances of their own, they threatened to close out the win during serveral raids towards the end as the visitors poured forward in search of that equaliser.
It is a pity that West Ham have not got those extra points to apply more pressure on the teams above them and they remain in the third relegation spot - but those above know there is plenty of life in the East Londoners.
Neither side was laying claim to turning the night in their favour until the Hammers scored out of the blue at the start of the second half.
A ball pumped forward to Jarrod Bowen was headed back for Soucek and the Irons skipper scampered on to collect a return pass down the right before rolling a low ball to the near post that his Czech team-mate met perfectly - having held his run to throw defenders off the scent.
The goal, inevitably, had a galvanising effect - both on the team and on home fans desperate to coax a good performance from their team as they battle to beat the drop.
And if they started to feel this could be a good night for them, that feeling only grew when VAR ruled out Casemiro's headed equaliser - the Brazilian just offside as he raced onto a Kobbie Mainoo delivery.
United, who had been perfect under Michael Carrick, winning four out of four, were not going to go quietly though, and sub Benjamin Sesko tested the alertness of Mads Hermansen in goal with a turn and shot from 25 yards to signal a warning.
In injury time, the ever-dangerous Bruno Fernandes flighted a perfect ball for Joshua Zirkzee to glance a header towards the far post. It missed by inches. Then came the heartbreaker when Sesko volleyed home Bryan Mbeumo's ball in from the right.
The even start suggested the Hammers could get something from the night.
The in-form Crysencio Summerville almost extended his sequence of scoring in consecutive games with a curling effort from the edge of the area that had Senne Lemmens stretching.
United responded with an inventive corner-kick pass from Bruno Fernandes that picked out an unmarked Luke Shaw for a first-time effort that Aaron Wan-Bissaka cleared off the line.
There was a half-chance when Amad drove in from the left but the angle was against him as he flashed a shot into the side netting. But there was only encouragement to be had for Nuno Espirito Santo as his players came off at the break.
He is getting a tune out of this team now.
Hammers: (4-4-1-1) Hermansen - Wan-Bissaka, Disasi, Mavropanos, Malick Diouf (Scarles 79) - Bowen (Walker-Peters 90), Soucek, Potts (Magassa 79), Summerville (Traore 90) - Matheus Fernandes - Castellanos (Wilson 69)
United: (4-2-3-1) Lammens - Dalot (Zirkzee 82), Maguire (Yoro 68), Martinez, Shaw - Mainoo, Casemiro - Amad, Bruno Fernandes, Cunha (Sesko 68) - Mbeumo
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