Southampton 0-1 West Ham United
Premier League, St Mary’s Stadium, Thursday 26 December 2024, 3pm GMT
Talismanic captain Jarrod Bowen was West Ham United’s matchwinner yet again as his second-half goal secured a hard-fought 1-0 Premier League victory at Southampton on Boxing Day.
Bowen was the right man in the right place yet again for the Hammers just before the hour-mark, reacting quickest after Niclas Füllkrug had flicked Tomáš Souček’s header into the six-yard box to prod the ball past Aaron Ramsdale.
If anyone was going to break the deadlock and gift the Claret and Blue Army a welcome Christmas present, it was Bowen, who marked his 175th Premier League appearance for the Club by moving into second place in the all-time Premier League scorers list with 48, behind Michail Antonio.
West Ham’s third away win of the season did not come without cost, however, as Maximilian Kilman, Łukasz Fabiański and Carlos Soler were all injured and both Guido Rodríguez and Tomáš Souček were booked and will miss Sunday’s home game with Liverpool through suspension.
Fabiański’s injury looked particularly worrying as the goalkeeper was stretchered off following a first-half challenge from Southampton defender Nathan Wood, but thankfully the Pole was able to take his seat in the West Ham dugout in the second half.
West Ham were made to work very hard for three points by the Premier League’s bottom side, who could have taken the lead themselves in the first half.
After Carlos Soler had thundered Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s cross against the underside of the crossbar inside five minutes, Southampton’s 6’7 centre-forward Paul Onuachu took centre-stage, sending one header skimming past the post and testing both Fabiański and his replacement, Alphonse Areola, with further efforts. Fabiański also shovelled a Mateus Fernandes header away, and both goalkeepers saved from Kyle Walker-Peters before the break.
West Ham had opportunities themselves in a first half that lasted 55 minutes, with Bowen firing over and seeing a shot blocked by Jan Bednarek, before Wan-Bissaka volleyed Mohammed Kudus’s deep cross past the post.
The second half was more of the same, with both teams creating chances, but it was West Ham’s captain who was the only player who showed himself capable of taking one.
After a relieved Guido Rodríguez saw the red card he was shown for a sliding challenge reduced to a yellow following a pitchside review by referee Lewis Smith, Bowen struck after Southampton full-back Yukinari Sugawara had carelessly conceded a corner to put his side under pressure.
Having gone ahead, West Ham carried less of an attacking threat as they protected their lead, with Bowen and Kudus' blocked shots the closest Julen Lopetegui’s side came to doubling their advantage.
Onuachu again proved a handful throughout for the home side, volleying into the side netting and twice heading wide again late on, while Fernandes shot narrowly wide as Southampton fought gamely but ultimately failed to score for the ninth time this season.
For West Ham, a third clean sheet and sixth Premier League win secured in challenging circumstances takes us onto 23 points from 18 games and, for the time being, above Manchester United and up to 13th in the table.
Southampton: Ramsdale, Sugawara (Bree 61), Harwood-Bellis, Bednarek ©, Wood, Walker-Peters (Manning 86), Downes (Aribo 61), Ugochukwu (Lallana 87), Fernandes (Dibling 73), Armstrong (Sulemana 73), Onuachu
Subs not used: McCarthy (GK), Fraser, Archer
Booked: Wood
West Ham United: Fabiański (Areola 36), Wan-Bissaka, Mavropanos, Kilman (Todibo 19), Emerson (Coufal 88), Rodríguez (Cresswell 67), Souček, Kudus, Soler (Álvarez HT), Bowen ©, Füllkrug (Summerville 67)
Subs not used: Irving, Luis Guilherme, Ings
Goal: Bowen 59
Booked: Rodríguez, Souček
Referee: Lewis Smith
Attendance: 31,059
