A FAST START
It was a cold, wet and grey afternoon at London Stadium when Nottingham Forest came to visit, but Lucas Paquetá made sure the home fans in attendance were quickly warmed up!
The Brazilian’s fine finish from the edge of the area less than three minutes into the Premier League fixture gave the Claret and Blue Army a reason to get out of their seats, cheer at the top of their voices and get the blood pumping.
Paqueta’s goal was so fast, it was actually West Ham United’s quickest Premier League finish in almost three years. Not since Angelo Ogbonna headed in for the Irons in the second minute of a 2-1 home win against Aston Villa have the Irons scored a quicker league goal. That match was played on 30 November 2020.
AMAZING AREOLA
While the Irons registered more shots throughout Sunday’s match, 16 to Forest’s ten, Alphonse Areola had to be on top form to deny the visitors when required.
The Frenchman won the October Premier League Save of the Month for an outstanding stop against Aston Villa and he will have certainly put himself in the running for the November award when he denied Taiwo Ayoniyi’s header on eleven minutes; one which looked certain to find the back of the net.
Again, Areola was called to stop Morgan Gibbs-White from scoring and, late on, had to react quickly to turn away Divock Origi’s powerful effort.
In a match of tight margins, Areola showed his ability once again.
WARD-PROWSE WIZARDRY
James Ward-Prowse has been a revelation in midfield at West Ham United.
Since joining the Hammers from Southampton the 29-year-old has both scored goals and registered assists, and the No7 added another two to his already impressive record on Sunday.
First, Ward-Prowse’s corner on 65 minutes was headed in by Jarrod Bowen. Then, with just minutes left on the clock, another Ward-Prowse corner was turned into the back of the net by Tomáš Souček.
His brace of assists ended a run of league games without a goal contribution for Ward-Prowse, but the midfield maestro has been setting some, frankly, absurd numbers in Claret and Blue.
With his efforts on Sunday, Ward-Prowse is now up to eleven goal contributions in 16 matches, comprised of two goals and nine assists. Incredibly, only two players have recorded more Premier League assists in 2023/24 than our No7.
Heart and desire
A common theme coming out of the post-match interviews across the West Ham United squad was a delight at the team’s graft in claiming the three points.
Words like heart, perseverance, attitude and application were banded about. And with good reason too.
Having been 2-1 behind at home, despite largely dominating proceedings, West Ham refused to allow their collective heads to drop. Less than two minutes after Forest’s second finish through Anthony Elanga, the Irons levelled and got the home fans jumping for joy again.
From there, it only ever looked like one winner would emerge at London Stadium. And so proved to be the case.
Manager David Moyes said: “Unfortunately we got done with a little bit of a sucker punch, went 2-1 down, but great credit to the lads because they picked themselves up and got the result.”
Well said boss! And speaking of the boss…
GAFFER’S CENTURY
The 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest was David Moyes’ 100th win as West Ham United manager.
An impressive week, which also saw the Hammers beat Olympiacos in the UEFA Europa League, mean the boss has now claimed a century of victories across two spells in charge in east London.
Congratulations on 100 Club wins, gaffer! ⚒️ pic.twitter.com/M39HA0eW2z
— West Ham United (@WestHam) November 12, 2023
His very first came at London Stadium too, in a 1-0 win over Chelsea in the Premier League back in December 2017. Since then, Moyes have overseen 100 wins across 226 games in all competitions.
The longest run of consecutive victories for Moyes at West Ham came in early 2021, when the Irons were victorious in six successive matches in all competitions. There was also a run of five consecutive wins in October 2021, when the side beat the likes of Everton, KRC Genk, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City and Aston Villa.
Congratulations boss!
