West Ham arrived at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium seven points away from safety and being the heavy underdog for Saturday’s matchup, albeit against a struggling Spurs side. In a spirited performance, the men in claret and blue sealed a 1-2 victory against their London rivals to bring their first three points of the year back to East London, and give fans a glimmer of hope that the tide might be turning on what has been a disappointing season so far.
West Ham Has Life at Spurs’ Expense
With two consecutive defeats to start the new year – worse still, to fellow relegation candidates Wolverhampton Wanderers and Nottingham Forest, Nuno Espirito Santo’s men were in desperate need of a quick response. That came when Crysencio Summerville saw his shot deflected past Guglielmo Vicario to put West Ham 0-1 up, before Cristian Romero’s header put the hosts back level with half an hour left of the game. Substitute Callum Wilson only needed two minutes on the pitch to secure the 1-2 win in the third minute of stoppage time.
For what seems like the first time this season, the West Ham faithful were given a reason to celebrate, despite the Hammers being narrowly out-shot (21 to 17 shots) and out-possessed (62% to 38%) throughout the game. With the gap to safety narrowing to 5 points, supporters online were quick to bring up the club’s “Great Escape” of 2007, when West Ham famously won seven of their last nine Premier League games to eventually avoid relegation by three points.
It seems that the Hammers will need a similar change of fortunes this year if they are going to secure top-flight football for next season. Several takeaways from the past week allow fans to be quietly optimistic that they just might.
Key players hitting their stride
In the absence of Lucas Paquetá, who is touted to leave the club in the coming weeks with Flamengo showing concrete interest, West Ham’s inspiration had to come from elsewhere. Jarrod Bowen has been one of the few consistent performers over the past years and has shown more of the same this season. With six goals to his name, the wide man has etched his name into the top ten on the all-time goalscorers list for the Hammers – a list which also features Michail Antonio as the only other player to have suited up in the claret and blue this century.
On Saturday, however, most of the chances came from the opposite flank. Crysencio Summerville was far and away the most dangerous man on the pitch. With one goal, five shots, four key passes, and a full 90 minutes under his belt, the Dutchman showed that he can be the creative outlet and offensive force that West Ham so desperately lacked in the first half of the season. The former Leeds United player now has two goal contributions in his last two Premier League appearances.
Callum Wilson, the other goalscorer on the night, took his season’s goal tally to five. With a tap-in from close range following a corner, the 33-year-old has once again proven to be an impact player off the bench. Having arrived last summer on a free transfer from Newcastle United, the striker certainly makes a compelling case, among other big-money signings, that Premier League experience is a priceless asset. Even more so in the fight for Premier League survival. Other veteran presences in the squad, such as Alphonse Areola, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, and Tomáš Souček, have also been among the club’s more consistent performers this season, although nowhere near the levels that West Ham fans have grown accustomed to.
Breaking the bank on strikers
In the summer, the Hammers laid out over €140 million on new signings, notably on midfielder Mateus Fernandes from Southampton and defender Jean-Clair Todibo from Nice, costing a combined €84 million between them. As the January transfer window opened, West Ham certainly showed no signs of shopping, with two new arrivals within the first week – both strikers.
The transfer of Pablo was the first over the line. The 22-year-old Brazilian goal-getter arrived for €20 million from Portuguese outfit Gil Vicente, after scoring 10 times in only 13 games in the Liga Portugal this season. Saturday’s game against Spurs was his first Premier League start, in which the new arrival was a rather quiet presence, playing in the number 10 role.
Just ahead of him in the line-up was West Ham’s other new attacking addition, Argentine international Taty Castellanos. He too made little impact on the game, despite getting four shots off before making way for the eventual match-winner, Callum Wilson. Nevertheless, the 27-year-old is a proven and reliable goal-scorer, with experience from La Liga and Serie A. His first goal for the Hammers came in extra time of the midweek FA Cup tie against Queens Park Rangers.
Champion of Africa Returns
In the last six Premier League outings, West Ham have had to do without starting left-back El Hadji Malick Diouf. The 21-year-old joined in the summer from Slavia Prague and has been a true revelation. His blistering pace and pinpoint left-footed cross have been good for a team-high of three assists so far this season.
After an approximately month-long absence, Diouf returns to London with an international trophy to his name. With his country, Senegal, the young full-back lifted the African Cup of Nations after a nail-biting 1-0 final against Morocco. Diouf played 105 minutes of that game and featured in a total of five matches throughout the tournament.
The Senegalese will most likely reclaim his spot in the starting lineup from Oliver Scarles, which should add yet another boost of confidence to the Hammers as they ready themselves to host Sunderland on Saturday, January 24. The newly promoted side sits in the top half of the table and defeated West Ham 3-0 on the opening day of the season. A tough nut to crack for the London-based side as they will hope to repeat last weekend’s three-point performance.
Premier League Quiz: Random Knowledge
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Leaderboard
| Rank | Name | Score | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lanre | 4/6 | 75s |
