Fan blogger Joe Difford looks back at Monday’s game at Chelsea…
This time last year, West Ham were faced with the task of going to Emirates Stadium on the opening day of the season, but we stunned the division by comfortably taking all three points.
This season we were dealt a tough opening game again, having to travel to Stamford Bridge to face a Chelsea side who were expected to bounce back after a train wreck of a campaign last year.
As luck would have it, we were already missing Aaron Cresswell, Manuel Lanzini and Sofiane Feghouli to injury.
The hosts began as expected, keeping possession and settling fast, getting Eden Hazard on the ball and helping him grow in confidence after a surprisingly poor season last year. The left winger reverted back to his old self however, causing early problems for Michail Antonio, again used as a right back.
Antonio Conte’s side were in control throughout, and Oscar saw a penalty appeal correctly waved away after beating Winston Reid and falling to the ground from the slightest of brushes from the Kiwi’s arm.
The first half ended with fans worrying about new record signing Andre Ayew, as the former Swansea man pulled up with what looked like a thigh injury and was forced to come off.
It was a spot kick just after the restart that gave the Blues a much-deserved opener, as Antonio attempted to run the ball out of defence, was dispossessed, and bundled over Cesar Azpilicueta. Hazard buried the resulting penalty, and it looked as if Chelsea would leave with a narrow victory.
For all their possession however, Conte’s men struggled to break down the Hammers, and James Collins put in yet another quality performance alongside the confident and composed Reid. New signing Arthur Masuaku had an impressive debut, looking assured with the ball at his feet, and he will only improve with time.
The biggest talking point came midway through the second half, as Adrian attempted to trick Diego Costa with some quick footwork, before the Chelsea striker dived in off the floor with a slide tackle that was worthy of a red card. His studs were planted into the middle of the Hammers’ keeper’s shin, but the referee failed to even show Costa a yellow card, which incidentally would have been his second of the game, after he was booked in the first half for arguing with the match official.
11 vs 11, the game continued, and James Collins managed to claw back an equaliser in the 77th minute, following some great play from substitute Dimitri Payet. The Frenchman’s corner was whipped in and cleared only as far as Collins, who smashed home into the corner, sending the travelling fans into a frenzy.
A draw would have been a great result considering the disappointing performance and wealth of injuries in our squad, but Costa crushed Hammers’ hearts in the final minute.
Chelsea new boy Michy Batshuayi flicked it on to Costa, who found space and smashed the ball into the corner, through a box-full of claret and blue shirts. The result wouldn’t have been too hard to take if not for the fact that the striker was lucky to be on the pitch at this point. He wheeled away to the fans and leapt over the advertising boards, another bookable offence in some games.
It might have been a frustrating opening day for Slaven Bilic and Co., but it is just one of 38 games to come this season, and with a fully fit squad and some better refereeing decisions, we still have the potential to enjoy a great season.
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