Momentum gone as West Ham fall flat against Wolves

West Ham go back to square one after a disheartening and directionless effort at Wolverhampton. No one really stood out and Wolves were gifted three points in the end.

The team selection was as predicted, the slightly injured Michail Antonio, who is becoming the team talisman, was left out of the team and replaced by eventual Premier League debutant Nathan Holland. Antonio being pulled slight groin injury was likely more of a precautionary move than a serious concern, especially on this short match week.

The system and formation were the same, with Sebastien Haller replacing Antonio up top. Unfortunately for the Hammers, Haller would be hands down the worst player on the pitch, looking disinterested, without direction, and uninspired.

With a few benign blows traded early, it would be the home side who get the opener, as former Irons target Leander Dendoncker would poke in a free ball into the bottom corner of the net. Ryan Fredericks lost him on coverage and he wasn’t picked up by Fabian Balbuena as David Martin was left helpless to stop the shot in the 23rd minute.

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What was frustrating about this opportunity was that West Ham had an opportunity on an early corner kick but it was wasted on the same old short corner routine that hasn’t worked all season. The hurried delivery was sniffed out and the ball was turned over. After the goal another corner was wasted by Aaron Cresswell who tried the same move, clearly, the only routine worked on in training, that failed at the front post again.

The back-four did alright in this match keeping their high line and pushing the likes of Raul Jiminez, Diogo Jota, and Adama Traore to the outskirts of the pitch. The second goal would come late in the match with Patrick Cutrone firing home a low shot into the bottom corner of the net in the 86th minute to kill of the game. Angelo Ogbonna‘s herculean effort to get back, along with Declan Rice, was not enough as the Italian put it where Martin wasnt.

Overall, the effort was not there despite there being strong individual performances. Nathan Holland would get 19 minutes for his debut, Albian Ajeti got a small run out, Pablo Fornals was out best attacker by a mile, Cresswell held his own against Traore all night only giving up a yellow card tackle in the 78th minute, and as mentioned Ogbonna and Rice looked solid as well.

There is a lack of cohesion with this group and subsequentially the team has struggled to string together two strong performances. There is far too much to highlight negatively about this match, but the lack of effort in the final third, especially from Haller, is uninspiring to supporters. Arsenal are up next in a Monday night ‘who is worse’ faceoff.

Match Review: Momentum gone as West Ham fall flat against Wolves

By Adam Smith | Dec 4, 2019

West Ham go back to square one after a disheartening and directionless effort at Wolverhampton. No one really stood out and Wolves were gifted three points in the end.

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