Tomas Soucek pounces on familiar Brighton failing to rescue West Ham
There comes a degree when repeated misfortune merely begins to resemble carelessness. In Brighton & Hove Albion’s case, the hard-luck tales are beginning to put on skinny. Even when the bounce of the ball runs of their favour, they discover methods not to win, undermining fashionable method play with a self-destructive streak that continues to go away them sitting uncomfortably shut to the underside three.
Still victorious on solely two events this season, Brighton let an underwhelming West Ham off the hook on a scrappy afternoon in east London, lacking the possibility to pull 4 factors away from 18th place after twice relinquishing the lead with sloppy defending. In entrance thanks to barely fortuitous strikes from Neal Maupay and Lewis Dunk, Graham Potter’s aspect ended up annoyed once more after Tomáš Souček rescued West Ham with a flukey late equaliser.
Brighton ought to have held out after Dunk’s objective. West Ham, winless in three matches, had been mediocre. Searching for a approach to spark an assault weakened by the absence of the injured Michail Antonio, David Moyes picked a baffling workforce. A idea primarily based round placing extra gamers round Sébastien Haller, a ahead who lacks the mobility to occupy defences on his personal, fell aside when put into apply. The system, a 3-4-1-2 that includes Mark Noble trudging away in a free function, merely felt too cautious in opposition to a workforce battling on the unsuitable finish of the desk.
It was a case of sq. pegs in spherical holes. With Arthur Masuaku unavailable following knee surgical procedure, Ben Johnson regarded uncomfortable at left wing-back, draining momentum from assaults by at all times reducing again on to his favoured proper foot. Further inside, Noble was dropping too deep, which means that West Ham usually had eight gamers in their very own half and no one to hyperlink the play.
The numbers summed it up: West Ham didn’t muster a shot on goal within the first half. It was pointless from Moyes. Not solely did he have inventive gamers on the bench, he had additionally discovered a approach to negate West Ham’s strengths. Noble’s presence unsettled Souček, who was uncertain about when to maraud into Brighton territory, whereas the choice to transfer Jarrod Bowen inside and nearer to Haller left the hosts with out pure width on the precise flank.
Brighton progressively realised that West Ham had been labouring. Easy on the attention in possession, they initially lacked a chunk within the remaining third, just a few promising darts from Danny Welbeck apart. Under little stress, although, they started to pressure the problem. Solly March, a menace on the left, swung in a few harmful crosses and examined Lukasz Fabianski from 20 yards. Adam Webster was upset to head straight at Fabianski.
The query was whether or not Brighton, who haven’t precisely oozed conviction within the remaining third this season, might take benefit. The reply arrived after 44 minutes of nice however ineffective probing. Dan Burn seized the initiative, overlapping on the left and producing a neat cutback after combining with March. The ball discovered Maupay and though the ahead was hesitant at first, he was medical when an inadvertent contact from Declan Rice allowed him to spin Angelo Ogbonna and jab previous Fabianski from shut vary.
It was up to Moyes to type out his mess. To his credit score, although, he responded assertively through the break, changing Bowen and Noble with Manuel Lanzini and Andriy Yarmolenko. West Ham had been remodeled. They even examined Robert Sánchez two minutes into the second half, Haller delivering a warning by heading straight on the Brighton goalkeeper.
West Ham’s substitutes had been free to affect the sport. On the hour, Yarmolenko lower inside on the precise and crossed along with his left foot. Souček, not crowded out by Noble, was there to create a nuisance. The ball ran free and Lanzini reacted neatly regardless of mendacity on the ground, teeing up Johnson to curl residence his first senior objective.
Rather than wilt, nevertheless, Brighton remained calm. After 69 minutes a fast nook allowed March to cross. Souček’s tried clearance struck Dunk, who managed earlier than smashing excessive into the web. The objective stood after a VAR evaluate for handball by Dunk.
The recreation crept in the direction of the ultimate whistle with Brighton holding agency. Yet West Ham, who stay tenth, wouldn’t lie down. With eight minutes left Aaron Cresswell’s nook skimmed off Dunk’s head and deflected in off Souček, whose relieved smile recommended that he knew this a lot: West Ham had obtained away with one.
