West Ham United FC 0 vs 3 Tottenham Hotspur FC
T. Soucek (Red Card ‘54)
P. Sarr (‘47)
L. Bergvall (‘57)
M. van der Ven (64’)
The Irons started with vim, but were unable to capitalise in the first half. And shortly after the break, Pape Matar Sarr, who had scored twice on international duty for Senegal, gave Spurs a lead with a fine header from a curling cross from debutant Xavi Simons.
West Ham’s woes were compounded in the 54th minute when a mistimed, clumsy challenge from Tomas Soucek on Joao Palhinha resulted in an instant red card. And as so often happens in this game the offense was further punished. For only 9 seconds after the game restarted Lucas Bergwall scored a dramatic looping header from a halfway longball. A fitting reward for the midfielder on his fiftieth appearance for the Lillywhites and his first PL goal.
The dismantling soon continued when the Swede scurried into the box, found a dash of space and passed to an unmarked Mickey van der Ven, who slotted the ball into the bottom left. Many of the Hammers’ crowd took this as a cue to leave.
It was a game marked by poor defending, and now West Ham are already in trouble. Without a home win in the PL since February, they languish in 18th position in the table. With only 6 wins out of 23 games at the helm, Graham Potter’s tenure is on the rocks. Rumours are circulating of Slaven Bilic being drafted in to rescue the Irons’ season. A staunch fan favourite he would be a welcome boost to morale.
West Ham will hope to redeem themselves when they host Crystal Palace in our next PLD on September 20th.
Brentford FC 2 vs 2 Chelsea FC
K. Schade (35’) C. Palmer (61’)
Fabio Carvalho (90’+3) M. Caicedo (85’)
Meanwhile, in West London the Bees managed to hold Chelsea to a stunning draw. On the 35th minute Kevin Schade opened proceedings from a breathtaking space-switching longball from Jordan Henderson.
However, Chelsea dominated possession with 65.7% and in the second half began to crank through their well oiled expensive gears. Overwhelming Brentford in both distribution and attack the Blues found the goal in the 61st minute with a sublime half volley from inspirational substitute Cole Palmer. It was almost all Chelsea. And it looked like all was done and dusted when Moises Caicedo hammered in an 85th minute corker from 18 yards.
But, Brentford continued to make their own way. In the 3rd minute of stoppage time Kevin Schade launched a huge throw-in into the scrum of the box and Fabio Carvalho headed home. The Gtech Community Stadium exploded. Sometimes a draw is as good as a win and this scintillating derby proved the point.
Until next time enjoy your football, Matt at PLDs.