A couple of pints on the Lee & Stort boats pre-game set the scene for my trip to the London Stadium. The sun was out and the mood was good. My optimism was rewarded as West Ham secured a 3–0 win over Derby County climbing to eighth in the Championship table.
Bowen looked electric yesterday as the mood lifted
The second half became a procession. Derby’s only notable moments were two yellow cards, Alex Mowatt on 21 minutes and Mohammed Fuseini on 76 as they struggled to cope with our tempo. Yet at 1-0 fans were worried about “Nuno ball” and that West Ham would invite the Rams back in: We needn’t have worried.
Even Nuno after the game said “There is always that concern being just 1-0 up for so long, but at the same time if you can defend it well, a clean sheet is so important for us.”
It should be noted though that defensively, West Ham showed improvement. Mads Hermansen enjoyed a quiet afternoon and registered his first clean sheet of the season, with Derby producing zero shots on target. Meanwhile, Konstantinos Mavropanos also was impressive with 15 interventions and 9 duel wins.
It was Nuno’s substitutions that proved decisive, Edvin Austbø came on and immediately made an impact, sliding home from close range in the 87th minute to double the lead. Moments later, Mohamadou Kanté added the gloss, drilling in a stoppage‑time third at 90+5 after a neat assist from Austbø.
A dominant win, three goals, a clean sheet, and a statement that West Ham may now look like genuine promotion contenders, after two back to back wins.
The games keep coming and Nuno’s going to have to start shuffling the deck. Pablo was out with a knock, and Taty Castellanos limped off, while Magassa, Cornet and Alvarez didn’t even make the bench. Whether any of them surface in the coming games is anyone’s guess.
Bolton away next!