West Ham 1 Bristol City 1
Fabianski:6 Had to make a save from Bell early in the game. Far busier than he’d have liked. Should have come off his line for the goal.
Coufal:5 Got bullied and it worked as Coufal was distracted.
Mavropanos:6 Clattered in the first half as Bristol applied a lot of physical pressure. Couldn’t continue.
Zouma:6 Sold a dummy by the effervescent Bell but was saved by Fabianski. Poor defending on 57 mins almost led to a goal. Good interception on 81 mins.
Emerson:6 Kept busy but wasn’t really able to get his attacking game going.
Alvarez:7 Really pleased to see him take out Williams who was one of the main culprits in the systematic fouling.
Soucek:5 Struggled a bit as the more energetic Bristol City players buzzed around. Given his size I’d have expected him to impose himself more given the attritional. nature of the opponents.
Ward Prowse:6 Forced the keeper into a good save on the 30 min mark. Worked hard and one of the few West Ham players to stand up to the physicality. That being said I’d have hoped for more influence on the game given the opposition.
Fornals:6 Should have scored but good to see him getting a shot on goal. Played a lovely backheel to Emerson to launch a Hammers attack. Wonderful dribble just before half time. Disappeared in the second half.
Paqueta: Wonderful chipped pass with his left foot set-up Bowen for the opener. Collapsed 4 minutes later.
Bowen:8 Scored within the first four minutes by rounding the keeper following a fantastic Paqueta chipped pass. Set up Fornals who should have scored. Picked up a knock at the end.
Substitutes
Mubama:5 On for Paqueta after only 13 mins. Tried his heart out but wasn’t help by our central defenders launching high balls at him. Forced a point blank save from the keeper. Definitely grew in confidence and was much better when he had support.
Ogbonna:5 On for the broken Mavropanos who had been injured on 38 mins. Just what we needed at the time because Ogbonna loves a war and is a master of the dark arts. Unfortunately he was caught out for Bristol’s goal.
Johnson: 74th min for Coufal
Cornet: 74th min for Alvarez
Ings: 74th min for Fornals. Missed from 3 yards but his build-up was okay.
Boy oh boy ……..Mr Steidten really has got his work cut out this transfer window……
That dier performance really highlighted how woefully short our squad depth is . We are nothing without Paqueta and Kuduy