Nick Szczepanik's press verdict: West Ham

Until recently, fans of West Ham United were over-represented among football writers based in the London area, although Arsenal have almost certainly overtaken them since the arrival in the capital of a certain Arsene Wenger. 

Not surprisingly, scribes raised on the exploits of Bobby Moore, Martin Peters, Trevor Brooking and, later, Alan Devonshire, were regularly critical if their favourites fell short of the standards set at Upton Park in the 1960s by manager Ron Greenwood. 

But occupants of the London Stadium press box yesterday including supporters of Aston Villa, Newcastle United, Portsmouth, Southampton and the Hammers themselves were equally unimpressed by the home side’s first half showing in the 2-2 draw.

Not that the Albion escaped reproach for twice letting the lead slip.  Duncan Wright of The Sun initially presented the draw as a good result for Graham Potter’s men in his intro, before setting it in a more worrying context. 

He wrote: “Brighton secured a vital point in their battle to beat the drop as West Ham again failed to record their first Premier League win over the south-coast club. The Hammers have faced Brighton seven times in the top flight and have yet to win a single game as the Seagulls once again proved to be a hoodoo club.

“But Brighton boss Graham Potter will be gutted his side missed out on a precious three points after twice taking the lead in a spirited display at the London Stadium. With the focus on Arsenal for much of the last month, Brighton’s own struggles have probably not got the attention they have deserved.

“Put simply, one win in 12 matches stretching back to September is the kind of form that means relegation if it isn’t arrested soon. It also meant opponents the Hammers should have been licking their lips at facing on the back of successive defeats to Manchester United and Chelsea.

“Which made the decision of David Moyes not to include a single creative player in his starting line-up all the more perplexing, instead opting for the pedestrian Mark Noble in midfield instead.

“All that did was allow Brighton the freedom to dominate the play and meant the Hammers produced possibly their worst 45 minutes of the season in the first half.

“Not that Brighton cared, as they were given all the encouragement they needed to play the game just how they wanted – the only question was whether they could take advantage fully? Safe in the knowledge they were not going to be troubled at the back, Potter’s side probed at will with Yves Bissouma controlling the pace of the game.”

Molly Hudson of The Times continued. “Solly March had been the best player on the pitch, skipping past challenges on the left wing, and his run began Brighton’s breakthrough, full back Dan Burn overlapping to cross for Neal Maupay.

“Unable to shoot first time, Maupay looked to have spurned the chance, but in his eagerness to find a teammate in the box, he inadvertently received a one-two from Declan Rice, a perfect tee-up for the French striker to fire home.”

Jack Rosser of the London Evening Standard had not enjoyed the opening 45 minutes. “It could be viewed as a triumph for Moyes that he spotted the problem and addressed it at the break, though it was an obvious change to make after such a turgid first half. Brighton had hardly been brilliant themselves but were simply allowed the chances to go in ahead by their hosts, who lacked any sort of energy or spark across the first 45 minutes.”

Matt Law of the Daily Telegraph took up the tale. “Moyes acknowledged his selection error at the break by replacing Noble with Manuel Lanzini and Bowen with Andriy Yarmolenko at the break, and there were signs of life for the home side as [Sebastien] Haller finally tested Brighton goalkeeper Robert Sanchez with a header from Rice’s cross.

“Yarmolenko and Lanzini were both involved on the hour mark as West Ham drew level through [Ben] Johnson. It was Yarmolenko’s cross from the right that Brighton failed to deal with and Lanzini had the presence of mind to hook the ball back for Johnson, who kept his cool to place the ball into the net.

“West Ham would have hoped to go on and take all three points after equalising, but they fell behind again 10 minutes later. A short corner was crossed into the box by Solly March and [Tomas] Soucek headed the ball straight into [Lewis] Dunk, who then smashed it into the net.

“The goal was checked for a handball against Dunk and replays suggested that the ball had struck his arms, but the goal stood and West Ham needed to come from behind again.

“Dunk and Soucek swapped roles for the home side’s second equaliser with eight minutes remaining, as Dunk failed to get a firm head on Aaron Creswell’s corner, instead flicking the ball straight into the path of Soucek who headed the ball powerfully past Robert Sanchez.”

Most writers were puzzled by Moyes’ team selection. Kieran Gill of the Daily Mail wrote that “West Ham treated Brighton with the sort of respect you’d reserve for Barcelona. At home to a goal-shy side, they fielded a back five and a distinctly defensive starting XI.

“Perhaps Moyes was thinking that Brighton like to dominate the ball. Only a handful of Premier League clubs average greater possession, so West Ham wanted to build a wall. Yet as expected, Moyes’s side lacked any sort of imagination in the first 20 minutes. Instead, Brighton were invited to try to find holes in the West Ham back line.

“In the 47th minute, something rare happened – West Ham had a shot on target, almost three hours since their last.”

But Albion did not escape a harsh assessment from Jacob Steinberg in The Guardian.

“There comes a point when repeated misfortune simply begins to resemble carelessness,” he wrote. “In Brighton & Hove Albion’s case, the hard-luck stories are starting to wear thin. Even when the bounce of the ball runs in their favour, they find ways not to win, undermining stylish approach play with a self-destructive streak that continues to leave them sitting uncomfortably close to the bottom three.

“Still victorious on only two occasions this season, Brighton let an underwhelming West Ham off the hook on a scrappy afternoon in east London, missing the chance to pull four points clear of 18th place after twice relinquishing the lead with sloppy defending. In front thanks to slightly fortuitous strikes from Neal Maupay and Lewis Dunk, Graham Potter’s side ended up frustrated again after Tomas Soucek rescued West Ham with a fluky late equaliser.

“The game crept towards the final whistle with Brighton holding firm. Yet West Ham, who remain 10th, would not lie down. With eight minutes left Aaron Cresswell’s corner skimmed off Dunk’s head and deflected in off Soucek, whose relieved smile suggested that he knew this much: West Ham had got away with one.”