West Ham United 1-0 Southampton
Premier League, London Stadium, Sunday 2 April 2023, 2pm BST

Nayef Aguerd’s first West Ham United goal saw his team take a crucial step towards Premier League safety with a 1-0 win over Southampton on Sunday afternoon.

Making his tenth consecutive league start for the club, the Morocco international headed home Thilo Kehrer’s free-kick midway through the first half. His effort, one awarded after a three-minute VAR check, saw the Hammers take a vital three points from London Stadium and, most importantly, out of the bottom three and into 14th.

West Ham pressed for a second after Aguerd’s effort and saw Jarrod Bowen hit the bar just before the interval, with Saïd Benrahma later denied when his free-kick was palmed wide by Gavin Bazunu after the break.

Southampton saw Paul Onuachu’s header hit the bar late on, but it was the closest the visitors went to an equaliser, as the Hammers remained unbeaten at London Stadium in 2023.

With one point separating the two sides at the foot of the Premier League table ahead of kick-off, the task was set. The Hammers had talked about the importance of the fixture, now it was time to get the job done.

After a timid opening, that saw only Theo Walcott fire an effort wide in anger, the fixture kicked into gear, the relief was palpable when the Hammers took the lead on 25 minutes. A threat down the right throughout, Bowen won a free-kick after he was fouled by Saints’ centre-back Duje Ćaleta-Car, giving the hosts their first chance to really test the opposition's defence.

And the Hammers took it, clinically too. From wide right, Thilo Kehrer swung an inviting set piece into the penalty where Aguerd needed little invitation to rise highest and head the opener into the bottom corner. One chance. One goal. The Irons, most importantly, were ahead.

Having spent three minutes waiting for VAR Peter Bankes to confirm the goal, a slow re-start might have been expected. Instead, it was largely the opposite in east London.

Southampton might have responded almost immediately when Mohamed Elyounoussi found Romain Perraud, the scorer of the opener in the 1-1 draw at St Mary’s Stadium in October, although the French left-back saw his shot tipped around the post by Łukasz Fabiański. The former Poland stopper, who returned to the Hammers’ starting XI having missed five matches due to a fractured cheekbone, dived to his left to keep the Irons ahead.

And despite the visitors threatening on break, the Hammers controlled the rest of the first half, and were unlucky to not double their lead. Overlapping and exchanging well with Benrahma throughout the first 45 minutes, Emerson constantly threatened down the left but, under pressure, was unable to find a teammate from a promising position. Kehrer, attacking from the opposite flank, managed to pick out a Hammer. Benrahma, though, struck over.

The Irons then went even closer, as Bowen hit the woodwork deep in first half added-on time. Found by Benrahma, the England forward timed his run perfectly, darted past Perraud, but saw Bazunu’s blushes spared by a lick of paint. Bowen’s right-footed strike curled past the Southampton stopper but back off the bar.

Bowen, though, continued to be a menace in east London. Two blocked shots – the best from a defiant Bednarek – saw the England forward most likely to double the lead in the second half. At one point, Bowen looked free to poke in the Irons second, but Bazunu was quick off his line to snatch the ball from his grasp. Bowen inches away once more.

Southampton, to their credit, pushed in search of an equaliser. The Irons dealt with a handful of corners, although Fabiański was called into action to deter Roméo Lavia and Carlos Alcaraz, who both fired warning shots at the former Poland stopper.

David Moyes introduced Flynn Downes and Michail Antonio shortly after the hour mark, looking for a second goal, one that would surely settle the contest. Benrahma saw his free-kick flicked behind by Bazunu, before the resulting corner was well-worked until Kurt Zouma headed over.

The chances continued to stack up for the Hammers. Bazunu responded well to flick Bowen’s cross, which deflected off Ćaleta-Car, over the bar. Paquetá then, somehow, struck off-target, after Aguerd’s flick-on from the resulting corner fell into his path from a few yards out.  

A nervy final five minutes played out in east London, one that might have seen a late equaliser had Saints’ substitute Paul Onuachu not guided Ward-Prowse’s cross onto the bar. But narrow margins fell the way of the Irons, who sent Pablo Fornals and Aaron Cresswell on as late substitutes, and importantly got over the line.

West Ham United: Fabiański, Kehrer, Zouma, Aguerd, Emerson (Cresswell 88), Rice ©, Souček (Downes 68), Paquetá (Fornals 88), Bowen, Benrahma, Ings (Antonio 65)
Subs not used: Areola (GK), Coufal, Lanzini, Cornet, Ogbonna

Goal: Aguerd 25

Southampton: Bazunu, Walker-Peters, Bednarek, Ćaleta-Car, Perraud, S.Armstrong (Maitland-Niles 72), Ward-Prowse ©, Lavia, Elyounoussi (Sulemana 54), Walcott (Onuachu 72), Mara (Alcaraz 54)
Subs not used: McCarthy (GK), Lyanco, Aribo, Diallo, Oršić

Booked: Ćaleta-Car, Bednarek

Referee: Paul Tierney

Attendance: 62,465