West Ham United (2) 4 v 2 (1) Brentford
5 Bowen, assist Emerson 13 Maupay, assist Lewis-Potter
7 Bowen, assist Coufal 82 Wissa, assist Damsgaard
63 Bowen, assist Kudus
69 Emerson
Yellows: Alvarez Zanka, Reguilon
Played Monday 26 February 2024 at The London Stadium.
Will this convincing win by West Ham United convince The Hammers faithful who have lost faith in Manager David Moyes to stick with him, if he wants, at the end of the season? The win owes much to a brilliant hat-trick by Jarrod Bowen with 2 goals in 2 minutes. Brentford played their part in an entertaining Premier London Derbies (PLDs) match; could have equalised or better at 2-1; and showed they do not give up with a late goal to make it more respectable. They really lost 7 points, not just the 3 here, but also the 4 regained by Everton whose appeal against a 10 points deduction in the Premier League (PL) was reduced to 6 points. The Bees drop to 16th, one place below The Toffees, and both with 25 points from 26 games played.
The next PLDs match is Brentford v Chelsea on Saturday 2 March 2024. Last season it was goalless and 0-1 in season 2021-22. Chelsea would be happy with that score again if only to make up for their 0-1 defeat v Liverpool in last weekend’s EFL Cup Final. That was after extra time rather than a penalty shoot-out, but The Blues had missed good chances in normal time. Chelsea are still in the FA Cup after a 3-2 win v Leeds United, old Cup enemies, and second in the EFL Championship behind Leicester City. The Foxes will be The Blues FA Cup Quarter Final opponents – their season is still alive.
That is possibly more than may be said for Tottenham Hotspur who also have a PLDs match on Saturday 2 March v Crystal Palace. This has been a home win in 6 of the last 7 seasons, but will The Eagles, re-shaped under Oliver Glasner, make it another home defeat for The Lilywhites?
Until next time, “Keep Safe” and enjoy your football, Andrew at PLDs.