West Ham challenged in resilient come from behind win

Let the good times roll! West Ham are unbeaten in three straight racking up nine points in seven days. The win against Crystal Palace proved the Hammers have the resiliency to come from behind and take control of a game they’re losing as a slow start was chased by a ferocious second half.

Where do we start with this one? West Ham looked a little shakey off the mark in this match and conceded early off of a set piece. The goal was onside due to a lost Declan Rice who unknowingly was backing up which played MacArthur onside. Fabianski was uncharacteristically slow off his line and the ball was tucked by him just six minutes in.

Rice and Fabianski both making mistakes on the same play? That seems so farfetched that we can chalk this one up as a fluke error. But what the early goal against provided was adversity for West Ham to contend with in this match, adversity that had been absent in their previous two wins.

It was almost similar to what would have been if keeper Lukasz Fabianski hadn’t saved the early penalty against Cardiff City. That moment was the turning point in the match for West Ham but could have easily been that instigating moment for Cardiff as well. With Palace actually scoring on their early opportunity it challenged West Ham and forced a character performance from the team.

Both goals Palace would score in this match would come from set pieces, an area West Ham have been inconsistent in. Even with Andy Carroll on for the second goal against the Hammers fell asleep on their coverage and the dead ball was converted at the front post.

Conceding early challenged West Ham to not only settle down but to also get their offensive game plan in action and get on level terms with Palace. Once having the lead, West Ham conceding as the game was expiring challenged them to tighten up defensively and run out the clock to preserve their win. I’m never for West Ham conceding but in these instances and with the three points safely banked, the Hammers learned valuable lessons about their team.

The points weren’t really in doubt against Cardiff and Newcastle earlier this month but against Palace they very much were. Without dropping points, West Ham got a needed kick in the ass from their opposition and battled back to an impressive win. With the streak alive and the Irons winning in a few different ways, the sky is the limit for the current streak.