West Ham dug in for a hard-earned point at Selhurst Park, but it wasnāt pretty. After a steady first half where the Hammers looked the more composed side, the second period turned into a backs-to-the-wall job as Crystal Palace piled on the pressure.
Chances were limited at both ends, but the pattern was clearāWest Ham faded while Palace grew stronger. In the end, it felt like a point gained rather than two dropped, with one or two players standing firm while others struggled to make an impact.
Hereās how the players rated on a nervy afternoon in South London.
Palace 0-0 West Ham
Hermansen: 6 Will be pleased that Johnson put two decent chances wide. Did not have a shot to save in the first half. Assured handling with a cross from Johnson. Had to wait until the 59th minute to make his first save with Palace much improved after the break. Fumbled a really tame Lerma shot for a Palace corner as nerves began to get the better of the team.
Walker-Peters: 7 Made a good start with a couple of good forward runs. Seems to have built up a decent understanding with Bowen. Excellent defending at the back post.
Mavropanos: 6 Lovely turn and strength as he dispossessed Strand Larsen. Forced a good save from Henderson following an excellent Diouf cross just before half time as the Hammers finished strongly. Had to be very alert to defend a cross with the Norwegian striker closing in early in the 2nd half.
Disasi: 7 Strong and commanding, played a decent long pass which Summerville should have done better with. Missed the run of Johnson who had the best chance of the opening 20 mins with a header wide from 8 yards out. Had much bigger problems once Mateta came on in the second half.
Diouf: 4 Immediate sloppy play saw him gift the ball to Brennan Johnson to spring a Palace attack, something he seems to do at the start of every game. Something of a liability for the initial period. Finished the first half strongly but under pressure at the start of the 2nd period as Palace kept the Hammers penned in. A couple of good crosses but very clumsy at times with almost everything overhit or underhit.
Soucek: 7 Tried to get his teammates on the front foot as West Ham started slightly the brighter team in the first 20 mins. Won the ball by pressing on a couple of occasions in a game that was tailor made for him. Won more than his fair share of tackles and duels. Not as good in the second half but nobody was aside from Fernandes.
Fernandes: 6 Lost the ball then did tremendously to win the ball back before showing off some neat footwork. Excellent shape on his free kick almost found Mavropanos but the best chances fell to Palace in the first half. One of the few players who had a semblance of control and didn’t look clumsy.
Bowen: 5 Missed a good chance to play Taty through early in the game. Didn’t really click for the captain in the first half despite some good possession on the right. Everything seemed to find an opposition player and one poor cross on 26 mins allowed Johnson a good scoring chance. Mitchell had a good battle with Bowen down that flank. Canvot in particular had a bit too much physicality for Bowen on the day.
Summerville: 5 Still looked to have a few cobwebs following his time out. Eventually Bowen found his radar and put Summerville through only to see his shot blocked by Richards. Undoubtedly targeted as Palace players took turns to foul him. Rarely involved in the second half.
Pablo: 4 Put himself about with his usual energy. Had a shot blocked in the second half but very little came off for him and he became very frustrated after an hour
Castellanos: 5 Shot over after picking up the scraps from his strike partner Pablo. Completely mis-controlled from a decent Diouf pass after 17 mins which wasted a good attacking position. Had an overhead kick cleared by Lacroix. Very frustrating because every pass, touch and dribble lacked accuracy. Scuffed a shot in the 78th minute which summed up his game and West Ham’s display.
Crystal Palace 0-0 West Ham: Summerville was anonymous in the 2nd half for West Ham
Substitutes
Wilson: 5 On for Pablo in the 74th min with West Ham coming under mounting pressure and looking second best.
Kante: 5 On for Castellanos in the 83rd minute with the game at 0-0. Palace had just had a goal disallowed for handball and maybe Nuno was taking the point.
I think Traore should definitely have cone on for the last 20, with Wilson up top. Diouf had a very up and down game and could have cost us, but at least the rest of the defence looked solid. Dino and Disasi were immense again.
Jarrod looks tired, normally he would have been getting past the defenders but got outrun on several occasions. Hopefully we can put in a stronger performance on Saturday and get 3 points!
Spurs will likely demolish Wolves on Saturday so if we can’t beat Everton then we will be back in the bottom three on goal difference. Failure to score against Palace in the first half and win the game will be an expensive fail. Us beating Wolves 4-0 has proved to be a false dawn because we were toothless up front this time, despite generally controlling the first 45 minutes. Neither Bowen or Summerville are playing well so goals will be hard to find. As for Jarrod, I’m wondering if his loss of speed, control, confidence and general form might be because might have put on a little more weight. That’s just my perception but I’m puzzled by the change over the last few months. So, all in all, unfortunately it’s not looking quite so promising now in our quest for survival. However, no doubt the useless Opta Supercomputer will see we currently have more points than Spurs and say that we have a better chance of survival than them!
Mavropanos 6 ? What game were you watching ? He was terrific tonight.
Nuno has made us more organised and tough to beat but we have little to offer going forward. I donāt see us winning another game maybe just getting a few draws. Whether that is going to be enough depends on Spurs. If they can get a couple of wins we will go down which is about all we deserve. Recruitment in the last 4 seasons off managers and players has been very poor
Diouf had a very poor game and should have been substituted at half time
One point cannot be sniffed at people. If we think weāre going to win every single match, we arenāt. So if we canāt win them all Iāll settle for a draw without conceding away from home. Thought palace came on strong in the 2nd half, but we still didnāt buckle. Was thinking we could win this but Palace have been good at home so no embarrassment at all.
Last week Spurs were in disaster land for falling 2 points into the drop zone with 6 to go. This week they are still 2 points down but with 5 to play. Their situation hasnāt improved. Forest arenāt out of this at all. Ignore the reactionaries and celebrate every single point.
Why oh why did Nuno bother to sign Adama. Need a goal tonight and yet didnt bother bringing him on. The defensive tactics will be what relegates us. Its a yoyo but if this is football under Nuno I dont want him to stay even if we stay up.
Is it a point won or 3 lost.
Diouf was terrible and should have started Wan-Bissaka.
Taty didn’t look like he was going to score and Traore should have come on when subbed.
Or maybe Traore on for Pablo.
Palace looked to have much stronger bench.
On that performance looks like a loss at Everton.
Time is running out.
One point better than no points.
A valuable point gained as visitors. And another clean sheet. Two points above Tottenham and more tough battles ahead.
Palace’s recent record in all comps is admirable. W4/D3/L1. would’ve loved a win but fair play to them. we were better but it could have gone either way. i’m not satisfied but am relieved. we’re still playing well and i don’t fear us reverting back to the s**tshow we’ve been for 2ā¢5 yrs
gotta disagree with your rating on Fernandes. Gonzo, i know you post right after the match so not a criticism of your score. I’m on the other side of the globe so i watched a recording an hour after the game was done. much easier for me than you. it’s not just all the good stuff you mentioned, but his choice-making and execution is exemplary. and in tight or difficult moments as well. every pass hit it’s mark tonight and he bagged MOTM to cap it off. top #8. if he adds goals to this WH could rake back that Ā£103m that B/S clumsily lost…that would be sad. for mine, easily our season’s best and best on pitch today, 8.
love yer work. COYI āļøšŖ
sorry mate, my comment meant for Gonzo āļø