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A tale of two halves; West Ham drop two points at Huddersfield

By Adam Smith

HUDDERSFIELD, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 10: Steve Mounie of Huddersfield Town battles for possession with Declan Rice of West Ham United during the Premier League match between Huddersfield Town and West Ham United at the John Smith's Stadium on November 10, 2018 in Huddersfield, United Kingdom. (Photo by Nigel Roddis/Getty Images)
HUDDERSFIELD, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 10: Steve Mounie of Huddersfield Town battles for possession with Declan Rice of West Ham United during the Premier League match between Huddersfield Town and West Ham United at the John Smith's Stadium on November 10, 2018 in Huddersfield, United Kingdom. (Photo by Nigel Roddis/Getty Images) /
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A far cry from the team who battered Burnley just a week prior, West Ham looked slow, disjointed, and uncharacteristically vulnerable defensively. Huddersfield didn’t assault West Ham all match long, but they made the most of their early chances and forced a draw.

Uneasy from the start, this match saw Huddersfield Town and West Ham trade dangerous chances within the first ten minutes. First was a remarkable save from Fabianski after a corner kick allowed a shot on goal. This was then flipped downfield as Grady Diangana sprung Marko Arnautovic down the right wing and alone on goal but he managed to force a save from Lossl.

Immediately after, a flubbed clearance from Declan Rice saw a semi-dangerous chance from Alex Pritchard converted into the bottom corner of the net for a goal just six minutes into the match. Typical of West Ham but not of Fabianski on this one. The Irons keeper made his first mistake of the season on this shot and was punished.

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There is little to worry about from the West Ham keeper who, as mentioned, made a mistake on the Huddersfield goal, a shot that slowly trickled into the bottom corner of the net. The shot wasn’t of great quality, but the location was solid. Fabianski put in a six-save performance in this match clearly showing he put the error behind him and moved on.

Much like Fabianski, Declan Rice had maybe his worst performance of the season in this match. The young holding midfielder looked a bit confused when he had the ball, often making poor decisions on passes and turning the ball over.

Rice inexplicably had a match that saw him perform underwhelmingly defensively. Being the first of the season it’s easy to chalk it up as a one-off which I will happily do. What was clear is that when he’s having an off match he doesn’t have that Noble-esque player to settle him down and get him back into a rhythm.

Zabaleta has been a great leader since Noble has been suspended, and Snodgrass is extremely vocal on the pitch, but both players are too disconnected from that holding midfield position to be on-pitch mentors to Rice. What I am certain of is that Declan knows this performance wasn’t good enough and that he’ll be motivated to work hard over the international break to get it right.

In attack, West Ham were fairly inconsistent but looked better in the second half. Grady Diangana was substituted at halftime to bring on Chicharito and with him a more veteran presence. He had an almost immediate impact as he held up the ball in the oppositions box, forcing a save and then heading the rebound just over the bar. Chicharito looked to be playing in the #10 position and was actively tracking back to get the ball.

It was a superb ball from Snodgrass that found Arnautovic who found Chicharito, who found Antonio, who found Anderson for the goal in this match. Anderson started the play with a terrific nutmeg down the wing then found Snodgrass who was making a run to the goal line. Once he has the ball he sent a looping cross over all of the Huddersfield defenders. What is concerning is that this was the last pass of the play; every forward tried to be the hero before the ball came to Anderson who sent it into the top of the net.

West Ham ended up edging out Huddersfield in possession and passing after a strong second-half showing. The midfield three of Rice, Obiang, and Snodgrass didn’t seem to be as effective as it had been in previous matches. The idea of positional complacency could be to blame as there is literally no other players who can take their spots, which is why Wilshere returning from injury and Noble from suspension is a welcomes change.

West Ham’s Player Grades after Disappointing Effort in 1-1 Draw at Huddersfield. dark. Next

It was underwhelming and West Ham were lucky to get a point, but it’s promising when a team underperforms as much as the Hammers did in this match and can still manage to get a draw away from home. Time to recharge and get ready for the next stint of matches through the holiday season!