West Ham produced an extraordinary second-half comeback to rescue a 3-3 draw against Cardiff City, having looked completely shell-shocked as they trudged off at half-time three goals behind. Scott Parker’s first game in charge certainly wasn’t short of incident, with the Hammers seemingly heading for another humiliating defeat.
Joel Moylan’s first-half hat-trick had left West Ham in all sorts of trouble, but three substitutions at the interval helped transform the performance. Goals from Divine Mukasa, Arne Engels and Max Kilman completed a remarkable recovery, with the Hammers almost snatching a winner during a frantic finish.
Jarrod Bowen was the inspiration behind the comeback, although the difference between West Ham’s first and second-half performances was astonishing. Having looked completely devoid of confidence during the opening 45 minutes, the players suddenly discovered some urgency, purpose and attacking quality.
It was certainly a dramatic response to the dreadful performance against West Bromwich Albion, although Parker will have seen plenty of problems that still need addressing.
West Ham Player Ratings v Cardiff City
Mads Hermansen – 4/10
Made a couple of decent saves and produced one absolutely brilliant long throw that almost released Castellanos. Had little chance with Cardiff’s opening goal, but his decision to charge out of his penalty area, miss the ball completely and collide with Kilman was unnecessarily rash. Another unconvincing performance.
Joël Veltman – 7/10
Steady and assured defensively in the first half, but his understanding with Bowen was almost nonexistent. The pair looked like they’d never met each other before. Completely different after the break, when Veltman played with real intensity, provided attacking width and combined excellently with the captain. One of West Ham’s most improved performers.
Konstantinos Mavropanos – 7/10
Some excellent defending, including a particularly impressive one-on-one challenge late in the game. His distribution was also a major positive, regularly pinging accurate balls towards the left flank and producing a lovely through ball to create Kanté’s one-on-one opportunity. One of West Ham’s better players across the 90 minutes.
Max Kilman – 7/10
Made an excellent early tackle but was subsequently booked after Solomon’s dreadful loss of possession exposed the defence. May have got a slight deflection on Cardiff’s opening goal, although there was little he could realistically have done. More than made amends in the 81st minute, showing West Ham’s strikers how to finish with a superb half-volley to equalise.
Morato – 4/10
Actually started very well, winning numerous tackles and recovering possession repeatedly. Unfortunately, his lack of pace was badly exposed by a simple ball over the top, leading to a clumsy and avoidable penalty. He’s a centre-back being asked to play left-back, and it showed. Replaced at half-time.
Soungoutou Magassa – 4/10
Made his fair share of tackles and demonstrated some of the value of having a specialist defensive midfielder. Produced a crucial last-ditch challenge to prevent Cardiff from potentially scoring again. However, West Ham still left far too much space in central areas and he was withdrawn at half-time.
Arne Engels – 6/10
Worked hard in a box-to-box role but offered surprisingly little of note for much of the match. Played a decent pass in the build-up to one of Kanté’s attacking runs before making a beautifully timed run beyond Cardiff’s defence to score his first West Ham goal. Took the finish very well, and it was a significant contribution.
Divine Mukasa – 7/10
West Ham’s most technically accomplished player in the first half, looking comfortable in possession and enjoying the freedom of playing as a number ten. Picked out some lovely passes, including an excellent through ball that Castellanos couldn’t capitalise upon. Took his goal brilliantly, controlling Bowen’s chipped pass with his right foot before finishing delicately with his left. A very encouraging performance.
Jarrod Bowen – 8/10
His performance was a microcosm of West Ham’s entire evening. Anonymous and nervous in the first half, but absolutely commanding in the second. His clever chipped pass created Mukasa’s goal, his long ball started the move for Engels’ strike, and his inswinging delivery provided the equaliser for Kilman.
By the closing stages he was practically running the game, producing a wonderful piece of jiggery-pokery to create a late chance for Mayers before delivering another dangerous inswinging ball that Souček headed on target. Outstanding after the break.
Manor Solomon – 4/10
Showed some early purpose with a good run down the left, but his decision-making was dreadful. Repeatedly hesitated when presented with opportunities to shoot or pass, and one particularly poor three-yard ball straight to an opponent led to Kilman’s booking. His final deliveries were ineffective and he struggled to make the most of promising positions. Replaced after 67 minutes, and not before time.
Taty Castellanos – 2/10
Pretty much anonymous throughout the first half. Repeatedly outpaced when through balls offered him opportunities to run beyond Cardiff’s defence, including one occasion when he was beaten for speed by centre-back Will Fish. Managed a tame shot just before the interval but offered very little. Admittedly, West Ham’s disjointed attacking play hardly helped him. Replaced at half-time.
West Ham Substitute Ratings
Joël Piroe – 6/10
At least attempted to drop deep and get involved, although his first couple of contributions involved giving the ball away. Headed a decent Veltman cross straight at Trott and failed to connect properly with another Bowen delivery. Improved considerably, producing a good shot from distance before supplying an excellent flick-on for Engels’ goal.
Mohamadou Kanté – 7/10
Brought tremendous energy and directness after coming on at half-time. Produced an excellent driving run almost half the length of the pitch, followed by some lovely footwork to twist and turn through Cardiff’s defence. Gave the ball away cheaply on occasion but also forced Trott into a very good save after a wonderful first touch created a one-on-one opportunity. Probably did enough to force his way into Parker’s thoughts for the next game.
Ezra Mayers – 6/10
Introduced at half-time to replace Morato and provide some much-needed pace at full-back. Won an early tackle and looked more comfortable dealing with the demands of the position. Almost scored a dramatic late winner after making an excellent run to meet Bowen’s chipped delivery at the far post, attempting a left-footed instep volley that went tantalisingly close.
Edvin Austbø – 6/10
Made more of an attacking impression in his first 30 seconds than Solomon had managed for much of the evening. Immediately dropped his shoulder, cut inside and tried his luck with a shot that went wide. In the 89th minute, produced a stinging effort that Trott could only parry back into his penalty area. Confident, positive and willing to take responsibility.
Tomáš Souček – Not Rated
Introduced in the 88th minute for Veltman. Almost scored a dramatic stoppage-time winner when he met another dangerous inswinging Bowen delivery with a well-directed header, forcing Nathan Trott into an excellent save. Not on the pitch long enough to warrant a numerical rating.
How bad was the first half ?
How good was the second half ?
At least Boro lost but first halves like that are just not good enough.