LONDON STADIUM — West Ham have come a long from the grim Astra Giurgiu days.
The Romanian minnows infamously eliminated the Hammers from the Europa League in the preliminary rounds two years on the trot in 2015 and 2016, a feat that brought untold amusement to rival supporters and humiliation on those in this part of east London. If those twin defeats were indicative of a club ambling wilfully towards mediocrity, performances in this season’s Europa League group stage speak to a team on an upwards trajectory under David Moyes.
Even though Genk threatened to make things tricky for their hosts, West Ham ultimately eased to a straightforward 3-0 win to consolidate top spot in Group H thanks to goals from Craig Dawson, Issa Diop and Jarrod Bowen in the space of 14 minutes, spread either side of half-time. They have won all three of their matches in this competition by an aggregate score of 7-0.
Moyes even had the luxury of giving some of his key players a breather ahead of Sunday’s London derby against Spurs. Michail Antonio and Kurt Zouma were named on the bench and stayed there, Declan Rice and Aaron Cresswell joined them two thirds of the way through the game and Pablo Fornals and Said Benrahma were sent on for the final eight minutes. Getting important business done this efficiently should serve a relatively thin squad well when the punishing winter schedule kicks in.
At times, West Ham missed their main man, Antonio. The Manchester City phenomenon, whereby every scoreless match is attributed to the lack of a centre forward at the front end of their team, can also be applied to an Antonio-less West Ham. The home side slipped the ball impressively through the thirds but Antonio’s stand-in, Bowen initially lacked the composure to snaffle the chances that came his way.
First, he swung and missed a cut-back into the six-yard-box and not long after, came close to squeezing an improvised flick under the body of Maarten Vandevoort from a similar position when he might have been more clinical. Finally, with his third opportunity, Bowen drilled the ball low and hard into the net via a deflection to add to set-piece goals scored by Dawson and Diop.
Throughout his managerial career, Moyes has been accused of assembling one-dimensional teams, overly reliant on scoring from airbound deliveries into the box. Manchester United’s 81 crosses against Fulham in February 2014 was the living embodiment of the Moyes mantra – and used as a stick with which to beat his tactical expertise. This West Ham side is proficient from set plays, but can hurt you in other ways too with an array of diminutive technicians operating intelligently in half-spaces outside the penalty box.
There are few players more adept at swinging a dead ball onto the head of a teammate in English football than Aaron Cresswell. Only three players in the Premier League created more chances from such situations than the left back last season and he was the provider of the first two goals of the night, first from a corner and then from a free-kick.
That time spent playing under Tony Pulis has given Dawson a sixth sense of where to be when a high ball is swung into a penalty area. After drawing a fine stop from Vandevoort with one goal-bound header, he beat him and covering defender Bryan Heynen, with the second that looped in off his shoulder. Diop made it two with an effort that cannoned off the underside of the bar on its way in. And 76 seconds later, Bowen finished the job.
Genk can lay claim to having one of the most unheralded youth academies and scouting networks in all of Europe. Kevin De Bruyne, Thibaut Courtois, Timothy Castagne and Leandro Trossard were among those to come through the academy system; Wilfred Ndidi, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Kalidou Koulibaly and Leon Bailey, were among those meticulously sourced from elsewhere. This was a difficult night for their 2021 vintage, however.
Junya Ito, a lively right winger caught the eye, as did Paul Onuachu, the prolific 6’7 forward who scooped Belgium’s top scorer and best player awards last season. The pair combined to tee up Theo Bongonda to score in the opening 10 minutes, but Ito made his dart a tad too early and was flagged offside. Onuachu went close with a looping header too, only for it to drop the wrong side of the post.
That was as good as it got for the visitors, who were well supported by 200 or so vocal fans, armed with some English terrace classics. The West Ham Way has tended to mean to falter in tragicomic circumstances, but this group are making awkward assignments look routine. And for that, Moyes deserves a great deal of credit.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3B4pgdV
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