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Irons madness to insanity

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Edge of the seat stuff at the London Stadium yesterday which went from Irons madness to insanity during a match which  was a rollercoaster of emotions for the mighty Irons – leading, trailing, regaining the lead, and eventually securing a much-needed, albeit bizarre, victory.

James Ward-Prowse’s set-piece deliveries played a pivotal role, turning the game from a 2-1 Forest lead to a 3-2 West Ham triumph, with Jarrod Bowen and Tomas Soucek scoring crucial headers.

However, reducing the narrative to successful set pieces would oversimplify the errors and chaos that characterized David Moyes‘ quest for his first Premier League victory in five games. Despite West Ham possibly deserving the win due to the superior volume of chances, the journey was filled with twists and turns, featuring a beautiful opening goal from Lucas Paqueta following a Forest mistake and the opposition’s retaliations by Taiwo Awoniyi and Anthony Elanga.

Around the 63rd minute, with Forest threatening a comeback, it appeared uncertain whether West Ham could secure a win, especially considering their previous struggles following European commitments and vulnerability to Elanga’s menacing counters on Cooper’s left wing.

Facing a potential fourth straight defeat, the game took a turn towards insanity. Bowen, despite a challenging day as a lone striker, headed the equalizer with an excellent leap and header. The madness escalated when Soucek, following two near-misses, replicated the routine with Ward-Prowse. Then, with 88 minutes played, another corner, a different side, and the same outcome – Soucek’s forehead securing the win.

The victory was a relief for Moyes, evident in his clenched fists. West Ham’s European adventures had cushioned the impact of three consecutive league losses, making this timely win, following the Olympiacos triumph, particularly welcome. The omission of JWP from the England squad is a mystery as puzzling as the twists of this match

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Hugh Southon is a lifelong Iron and the founding editor of ClaretandHugh. He is a national newspaper journalist of many years experience and was Bobby Moore's 'ghost' writer during the great man's lifetime. He describes ClaretandHugh as "the Hammers daily newspaper!"

Follow on Twitter @hughsouthon

1 comment

  • hammerpete6 says:

    Breathless stuff with the full range of emotions! The win tastes sweet but the old problems continue. We have no playing style going forward – do we not practise plays? Sideways, stop, backwards from a dead end, awful. When we break free it is a shock and surprise, we get giddy!! We need a goal, sling on a forward, we’ve got a goal, sub on defenders, scrap and panic, lose the ball too easily. It won’t do, it’s kick and rush, old fashioned and unintelligent.

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