West Ham United 0-1 Brentford
Premier League, London Stadium, Saturday 15 February 2025, 3pm GMT
Kevin Schade netted the only goal of the game to clinch victory for Brentford and condemn West Ham United to a narrow defeat at London Stadium.
The German forward prodded home after four minutes which proved to be enough for the visitors to take all three points, but for us it was an afternoon of frustration as plenty of good opportunities went begging, with our best falling to Mohammed Kudus who couldn't convert from close range early in the second half.
Prior to kick-off, the fans and the legends on show had paid a poignant tribute to Ronnie Boyce, who sadly passed away this week, aged 82.
A minute's applause rang out for a true Claret and Blue giant, who scored the goals which took West Ham to the 1964 FA Cup final and headed the winning goal in the final at Wembley Stadium at 21, and won the European Cup Winners’ Cup at 22, dedicating 34 years of service to the Club as a player and coach.
The Hammers got the action underway in east London, aiming to muster a response to last week’s defeat at near-neighbours Chelsea, but they found themselves behind inside four minutes.
A bright start from the visitors was rewarded when Yoane Wissa's hoisted ball over the top from the right was flicked on by Bryan Mbeumo into the path of Schade, and, after Alphonse Areola denied him twice – scrambling to claw off the line after the initial effort looped back over him towards goal – Brentford’s No7 reacted quickest to lash the rebound in, backed up after a lengthy VAR check for offside.
Brentford continued to press and went close to a quickfire second. Maximilian Kilman blocked Wissa's shot, Mikkel Damsgaard's effort went wide of the target, Areola saved at his near post from a low Mbeumo shot, and Wissa’s tap-in was ruled out by a belated offside flag having earlier been denied at full stretch by the Frenchman.
It remained one-way traffic, and as an attacking force, Brentford were rampant. West Ham struggled to cope, as Wissa took Schade’s pass in his stride, skipped past Dinos Mavropanos and fired wide with an angled effort from beyond the left-hand edge of the penalty area.
The Bees could have added another a few minutes later, when Schade struck the base of the left-hand post having used his pace to race in on goal, while Damsgaard saw a dipping free-kick well blocked by Lucas Paquetá.
West Ham offered very little in attack in the opening 45 minutes, and were lucky to escape into the interval just one goal behind when Brentford had a second goal ruled out for a marginal offside four minutes before half-time.
An intricate move saw Mbeumo pass into the path of Vitaly Janelt on the edge of the box. He played a one-two with Kristoffer Ajer before playing in Wissa, who slotted the ball home, only to see the assistant referee’s flag raised. The VAR check agreed with the offside decision, but it was close.
Something had to change and it did as Graham Potter made three half-time substitutions, replacing Tomáš Souček – who had been booked – Carlos Soler and Emerson with Ollie Scarles, James Ward-Prowse and debutant Evan Ferguson.
The changes sparked an improvement as Ferguson got to the byline and pulled a fine ball back for Kudus, but he fired over the bar from a great position inside the six-yard box. Paquetá and Ferguson then saw powerful right-foot shots blocked and spin over the crossbar for corners, while Scarles’ goal-bound piledriver was deflected past the right post by Sepp van den Berg.
Seven minutes later, Kudus received the ball on the edge of the area, steadied himself, but his left-footed effort sailed harmlessly wide.
The Hammers fought hard in search of an equalising goal, as Paquetá’s angled strike fizzed wide of Mark Flekken’s post, while at the other end, after 25 minutes on the back foot, Brentford hit back, with Areola stopping Mbeumo from rounding him after racing beyond the last line of defence.
Ferguson was next to have a go as he expertly held off the challenge of his marker, swiveled and fired a shot towards goal, but was unable to beat Flekken.
With both sides tiring and spaces opening up at both ends, another goal looked likely. After Keane Lewis-Potter's whipped effort was held well by Areola, Ward-Prowse’s out-swinging corner fell straight to Scarles on the edge of the box, but his attempt went just wide of the target, an effort which ultimately symbolised our fortunes on the day, with things not quite falling our way.
West Ham United: Areola, Wan-Bissaka, Mavropanos (Luis Guilherme 88), Kilman, Emerson (Scarles 46), Álvarez, Souček (Ward-Prowse 46), Soler (Ferguson 46), Bowen ©, Kudus, Paquetá
Subs not used: Foderingham (GK), Todibo, Cresswell, Rodríguez, Irving
Booked: Souček
Brentford: Flekken, Ajer, Collins, van den Berg (Pinnock 60), Lewis-Potter, Nørgaard ©, Janelt (Yarmoliuk 75), Damsgaard (Kayode 90+1), Schade (Jensen 75), Wissa (Carvalho 90+1), Mbeumo
Subs not used: Valdimarsson (GK), Mee, Konak, Maghoma
Booked: Damsgaard
Goal: Schade 4
Referee: Darren England
Attendance: 62,467
