With pressure mounting on West Ham boss David Moyes, the Hammers would be hoping for a convincing victory against a struggling Brentford side that found themselves just five points ahead of the relegation zone ahead of kickoff.
WHU: Areola; Emerson, Zouma, Mavropanos, Coufal; Álvarez, Soucek; Paquetá, Ward-Prowse, Kudus, Bowen
BRE: Flekken; Mee, Ajer, Jorgensen; Reguilón, Jensen, Nørgaard, Onyeka, Lewis-Potter; Maupay, Toney
Still searching for their first victory of the calendar year and keen to return to winning ways at home after a thrashing at the hands of Arsenal, David Moyes’ Hammers started in sensational style on Monday evening.
Jarrod Bowen netted his first goal of the evening after just five minutes at the London Stadium, with his effort crashing in via the post – before he doubled his personal tally for the evening two minutes later after latching onto a Vladimir Coufal pass.
Embed from Getty ImagesBut Neal Maupay would halve the deficit even before the quarter-hour mark had come around in East London and it looked as though Thomas Frank’s Brentford would miraculously draw themselves level. Sergio Reguilón’s appeals for a penalty were dismissed by the referee though, after he had been nudged over inside the box by Mohammed Kudus.
Bowen would once again be the home hero midway through the second half, heading home from a Kudus ball – and less than ten minutes later, Emerson picked out the top corner from 25 yards out to hand the Hammers a rather comfortable two-goal margin with twenty minutes left to play.
Yoane Wissa netted a second goal for Brentford within the final ten minutes – but it wouldn’t be enough for the visitors, who were ultimately forced to trek back across London empty-handed.
Thomas Frank’s Bees remain five points clear of the relegation zone ahead of their upcoming Premier League fixture against Chelsea next weekend, while West Ham move up to eighth and now find themselves level on points with Brighton. David Moyes’ side travel to Everton next time out.
