West Ham v Ipswich Town: Half-Time Report

West Ham 2-1 Ipswich

Julen Lopetegui named an unchanged team from the side that faced Brentford, which surprised many given Edson Alvarez’s availability.

Incredibly, West Ham jumped into the lead in the first minute when former Hammer Kalvin Phillips was dispossessed in midfield, and Ipswich was punished on the break. Jarrod Bowen ran down the line and crossed for Antonio, who finished accurately into the far corner.

However, the lead lasted only until the fifth minute when Liam Delap too easily shrugged off Lucas Paquetá and launched a low shot that Areola should have stopped as it sneaked into the bottom corner.

The match remained probably far too open for the tastes of both managers and resembled a basketball game at times.

Phillips seemed determined to make up for his error with a number of crunching tackles, much to the annoyance of Paquetá, who was on the receiving end of one.

Tomáš Souček had a decent chance following good work from Bowen and Wan-Bissaka, but neither keeper was massively tested.

There were calls for an Ipswich penalty, but it was more Delap trying to fool the officials than any genuine contact from Todibo. The Tractor Boys will feel they could have gone in 2-1 up after Greaves missed an excellent header from a free-kick.

Shortly afterwards, Kudus hit the post with a header from an excellent Antonio cross, then Souček had a shot cleared off the line following good work from Paquetá.

Just before half-time, Emerson produced a great cross, which Antonio headed against the bar. The ball bounced down in proper Geoff Hurst fashion, only for Mohammed Kudus to anticipate the rebound and score with a header of his own.

All in all, it was a very exciting half with West Ham the better team.