Soccer

Matt Doherty scores but Soucek and Bowen stave off Wolves on emotional night for West Ham

This was bound to be a night of heightened emotions after the horror of Antonio’s car crash on Saturday

Matt Doherty of Wolverhampton Wanderers celebrates scoring his team's first goal. Photograph: Alex Pantling/Getty
Matt Doherty of Wolverhampton Wanderers celebrates scoring his team's first goal. Photograph: Alex Pantling/Getty
Jacob Steinberg at the London Stadium
Mon Dec 09 2024 - 22:13

Pitted against the incompetence of Wolves’ defending, the mediocrity of West Ham’s performance was not enough to bring about the end of Julen Lopetegui’s unhappy reign. Instead it is likely to be Gary O’Neil looking for a new job after his side were beaten by avoidable goals from Tomas Soucek and Jarrod Bowen.

Wolves, who have the worst defensive record in the top flight, were on for a point when Matt Doherty equalised. Their inability to defend is why they are in trouble, though. It allowed West Ham to win it for Michail Antonio. This was bound to be a night of heightened emotions after the horror of Antonio’s car crash on Saturday. Although the forward survived, fans cannot help but wonder if he will ever play again after having surgery on a broken leg and it was difficult to know if the shock would affect West Ham’s focus.

Football felt secondary at the outset, the doubts hanging over Lopetegui and O’Neil an irrelevance given the wider context. For West Ham, the absence of their Premier League record goalscorer hung over everything. There were tributes before kick-off, players warming up in training tops with their stricken teammate’s name on the back, and it was disconcerting to consider a future without an attack built around Antonio’s muscular frame.

Those lung-busting runs have been a constant feature since the 34-year-old joined from Nottingham Forest in 2015. Supporters love Antonio’s graft and West Ham missed his presence during a soporific first half. Having given Lopetegui one more game to save his job after last week’s defeat at Leicester, there were few signs of an identity developing under the Spaniard. The football was too slow in the final third, the patterns too predictable, and Wolves were not placed under severe pressure before half-time.

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There was encouragement for O’Neil in his side’s shape and discipline. Jarrod Bowen was up against three centre-backs and West Ham struggled to utilise their captain’s pace. Wolves sat in a low block and, when there was an opening for the hosts, Crysencio Summerville’s deft pass finding Carlos Soler’s untracked run, Rayan Aït-Nouri was there to block the midfielder’s goalbound shot.

It was a rare moment of excitement. West Ham played in spurts, sudden bursts occasionally making Wolves wobble. Bowen tested Sam Johnstone, who also pushed a shot from Mohammed Kudus away, and Konstantinos Mavropanos was guilty of a poor miss from close range. Caution gripped Wolves after their 4-0 defeat to Everton. However, there were times when they stretched West Ham. Matheus Cunha always wanted the ball and Wolves should have led when Jørgen Strand Larsen’s sweeping pass sent Matt Doherty beyond Emerson Palmieri on the right. The wing-back had time to deliver and his cross really should have been converted, only for João Gomes to fire wide at the far post.

Wolves seemed short of conviction when they entered promising areas. Short of incision up front, the reliance on Cunha a heavy burden for the Brazilian, the possibility of a slip at the other end lingered. So it proved when Aaron Wan-Bissaka won a corner for West Ham after a slow start to the second half. Bowen’s delivery was deep and the defending was impossibly weak. Soucek, left all alone, had as much time as he liked to loop a header into the far corner. The Wolves defenders more or less stood and watched as the midfielder’s canny effort dropped over the line.

Such naivety is why the walls are closing in on O’Neil. It was his side’s fifth successive concession from a set-piece and it rocked their confidence. West Ham, playing with renewed zest, were soon denied a second when Kudus was deemed offside after converting Bowen’s cutback.

Wolves spied a reprieve. O’Neil made positive changes, the introduction of Jean-Ricner Bellegarde and Gonçalo Guedes altering the flow. Wolves were incandescent not to have a penalty when Emerson caught Guedes, who was through on goal.

O’Neil was still complaining when Wolves scored with their next attack. Guedes was involved again, popping up on the left and finding Aït-Nouri’s overlapping run. One wing-back delivered and another arrived, Doherty capitalising on meek West Ham defending by charging in to hammer a volley past Lukasz Fabianski.

If only Wolves could have made more of that bolt of joy. Two minutes later, West Ham pressed them back at another set-piece and Kudus found Bowen. The forward twisted past a weak challenge from Guedes, burrowed into the area and shaped a beautiful shot beyond Johnstone.

Bowen had called Antonio a “warrior and a fighter”. He ran behind the goal and pulled out a shirt in honour of the striker. West Ham held on despite late chances for Mario Lemina and Tommy Doyle. O’Neil knew it was not going to be his night when another penalty appeal was dismissed. – Guardian