West Ham v Leeds (H) - Monday 8 March

claretandbluesky

A much better performance than we are giving the team credit for in my view. It not easy to keep Leeds to no goals. To put it into perspective the only other side currently in the top 8 to keep a clean sheet against Leeds is Spurs. They do let goals in but they also score them, it's a quality clean sheet tonight even if we rode our luck with Dawson saving one.

Dawson, Soucek and Benrhama were my stand outs.

I hope Antonio can get to the international break in one piece as he looked shot again this evening by the end. A big game on Sunday that we need get something from really so we will need him.

ianbishoplegend

Great pro performance that. Loved seeing Antonio air cooling his hamstrings

steve

Moyes boys did good

Kuchinghammer

Winning ugly. Beautiful!

Dodger58

I like this quote from Moyes after the match:
""I was gutted when we dropped out of the top four last week. There are a lot of good teams around us and if we don't make it it's because they were better than us.""

Shows his drive and determination but also his realistic approach.

Also thought Rice's interview was refreshing.

BubblesNeverDies

Did anyone see that Lingard made a comment that was shown on the BBC report just after the game and very shortly afterwards it was removed.

Fortuneseeker

BND, No what did he say, unless it isn't for before the watershed?

whupathman

BubblesNeverDies said:

Did anyone see that Lingard made a comment that was shown on the BBC report just after the game and very shortly afterwards it was removed.

did he dedicate the result to Wombat can call them dirty lids?

baracks_a_hammer

Another fantastic result and solid enough performance. Words cannot describe the impact Dawson has had on this team/squad.

I have to say though how unprofessional the penalty taking thing was. What on Earth were the pair of them thinking? It sounds like Moyes read the riot act to them and rightly so.

BubblesNeverDies

Fortune, no nothing like that. I only saw it briefly but it was something along the lines of how he liked to play, referring to the match. Maybe someone thought he was bigging himself up although I thought he was just saying it like it is.

MrsGrey

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/56324917

Craig Dawson in Team of the Week.

baracks_a_hammer

I liked the bit about no other PL defender scoring more than him this season. And he only came into the side part way through this season.

Has he still got more PL goals in 2021 than Son Heung-Min?

OldCastleSwift

baracks_a_hammer said:

Another fantastic result and solid enough performance. Words cannot describe the impact Dawson has had on this team/squad.

I have to say though how unprofessional the penalty taking thing was. What on Earth were the pair of them thinking? It sounds like Moyes read the riot act to them and rightly so.

Yeah, I didn't like that. Wouldn't have happened if Noble was on the pitch and it's something Rice needs to learn, irrespective of whether he's the designated penalty taker or not. I imagine Lingard has been in his ear since the Sheffield United game about having the next one and Rice gave into that. I'm sure Moyes has made it clear what happens from here on in.

BubblesNeverDies

Alan Smith? on their 2nd. disallowed goal (ball out of play) "yeah, I mean it is millimetres".
Like there's 96 1/8s of an inch in a foot. (For all us of a certain age)

Slacker

What’s most pleasing about being a West Ham fan at the moment is we’re up there battling away against teams that everyone expects to be up there. Our entire team last night cost less than a Chelsea or Man City sub. We have a paper thin squad and every proper West Ham fan will tell you that we fully expect to implode before the end of the season.
For now I’m enjoying the ride with us punching above our weight.

BubblesNeverDies

My only concern is that it seems that most of our goals are coming from set pieces, or is it my imagination. What we need is the stats - anyone seen Aslef.

Jorderz_Moyes_will_be_Moyes

Yeah, I thought we were quite poor from open play yesterday, aside from the build-up to the penalty win which was great link up between Said and Lingard.

We had so many opportunities to counter yesterday and the final pass was poor, or somebody (often Benrahma) took a shot from 25 yards instead.

buffybegood

Benrahma is desperate for a goal, and it led to some poor decision making imo. He drives us forward well, but he shot a number of times when there were better options than a really optimistic attempt at goal.

yoyo

I think we're all willing him to break his duck. Even a one yard toe poke will free him to play even better

ASLEFshrugged

BubblesNeverDies said:

My only concern is that it seems that most of our goals are coming from set pieces, or is it my imagination. What we need is the stats - anyone seen Aslef.

Just got home from work, I can't spend all my time on here.

16 goals out of 42 from set pieces inc penalties so we're no.1 in the Premier League. I'd rather we were scoring from set pieces than when Noble used to take them

The Horror. The Horror.


I think I read or heard somewhere that Rice and Lingard were having a penalty contest during training last week and as Lingard was the winner it was agreed that he'd be penalty take on Monday

ASLEFshrugged

https://twitter.com/WestHamClips/status/1369274079623192578

Merseyside Maldini, love it

OutcastLondoner

The thing about a Benrahma goal is that he plays mostly in pockets outside and on the edge of the box. They’re great for creating but it means he’s only going to score a spectacular goal from there. I think the most important thing is to make sure he’s not worrying about scoring because it got to his head yesterday. Usually I think he would’ve created for someone else in those positions and we’d be 4 up. I just hope it’s being made clear to him that as long he’s creating space and chances, the goal is not the most important thing.

MunichHammer

Reading through the opposite view on kumb gave me an impression of how we felt week earlier. Leeds didn't deserve to lose this just like we didn't deserve to lose to City. Anyway, one win is better than two draws so I won't complain.

alderz

OutcastLondoner said:

The thing about a Benrahma goal is that he plays mostly in pockets outside and on the edge of the box. They’re great for creating but it means he’s only going to score a spectacular goal from there. I think the most important thing is to make sure he’s not worrying about scoring because it got to his head yesterday. Usually I think he would’ve created for someone else in those positions and we’d be 4 up. I just hope it’s being made clear to him that as long he’s creating space and chances, the goal is not the most important thing.

You’re right, but also his record for Brentford shows that he does score goals when he gets chances. I feel like he has become our primary creator and doesn’t have many players picking him out - like if it’s not him playing the final ball who will it be? Lingard and Fornals being on the pitch should help him with that, and I really hope he managers to get on the scoresheet at some point before the season is out.

OutcastLondoner

Yeah I definitely agree with that, that’s why I think it shouldn’t be a concern he isn’t scoring right now. Hopefully we see some more games with Lingard so he can’t have someone providing for him. I don’t really feel like he’s had a proper chance he’s missed.

alderz

I think he missed one fairly late in a game, possibly against Southampton?, where the ball broke to him about 6 yards out, but it was more of a worldie save than a miss, but other than that he's not had any clear openings at all. I'd imagine his XG would be pretty low.

BubblesNeverDies

XG ?

MrsGrey

Expected goals.