That West Ham should have beaten QPR with an injury-time penalty was made all the more disappointing as it would have taken the Hammers, if only temporarily, back to the top of the Championship table.
It would also have moved skipper Jarrod Bowen closer to the top table of all time Hammers goal scorers himself.
West Ham Unted have endured a forty year wait for a reliable striker to hit the hundred goals mark for the club: Michail Antonio came closest with his 86 total in league and cup fixtures, but nobody since Tony Cottee has proven to have the fitness and staying power needed to join the illustrious 15 players who have hit a ton in West Ham colours.
The first of 92: Bowen’s opening goal in claret and blue back in 2020
If Bowen’s penalty had gone in, West Ham would have had their three points and Bowen would now be standing on 93. The club legend in the making still has eight more goals as his immediate target which, at his rate of scoring this season, will surely be accomplished before May.
West Ham’s captain already has seven goals in twelve appearances which would suggest he’ll break the hundred goals for West Ham barrier some time after Christmas.
Factor in the ‘assists’ which he’s brought to the table (49 in the Premier League alone) and Bowen’s contribution is all the more remarkable. His first goal as a Hammer came back on leap years’ day in 2020 (just before the start of Covid lockdown) and he’s been Mr Dependable ever since, scoring at least ten goals in five out of his six seasons and breaking twenty goals in 2023 – 4.
Considering that the way Nuno sets up his side is hardly playing to Bowen’s strengths, ( C and H yesterday) West Ham do, indeed, have a player at the club who should be treasured and wrapped in cotton wool between matches. Without his contribution, the club would surely be up a certain creek without a paddle.
We need to identify a natural penalty taker, Bowen telegraphs where he intends to place the ball far too obviously for my liking.