West Ham 1-1 Leicester Kouyate leveller lifts Moyes
One way to draw the poison from a potentially toxic atmosphere is to at least try and there was no faulting the effort as West Ham United came from behind to claim a vital point in David Moyes’ first home game in charge.
That, and the creation of an atmosphere that Leicester City’s goalscorer Marc Albrighton described as “intimidating” – not something commonly associated with the London Stadium since the move there – was the good news for West Ham.
The bad news is that, having been fortunate not to concede a first-half penalty, they were then embroiled in controversy as one of their players, Andre Ayew, threw himself to the turf late on in a desperate search for a spot-kick.
The substitute’s pathetic effort was waved away by referee Martin Atkinson and, under the Football Association’s new rules, he cannot face further sanction – unlike Everton’s Oumar Niasse, who has just received a two-match ban.
And the second fixture of that ban? It will be Everton’s home game against West Ham, which also marks Moyes’ return to Goodison Park, next Wednesday, for which he will have Ayew available. Everton fans will be fuming at that one, while the fact the game is followed by fixtures against Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal means this may have been an opportunity lost for West Ham.
Still, they have something to build on, even if they remain in the bottom three, albeit on goal difference. And, yes, the atmosphere was good once they drew level. For a period in the second half, it was as good as it has been since the move to this stadium, although, despite Moyes’ efforts to talk it up, it was not matched by quality football.
West Ham – and Leicester – tried but, after half-time, this was very trying. Not a good advert for the quality of the Premier League and more an indicator of how desperate it can be to try to avoid relegation.
“It was a start of us,” Moyes said, whose first game in charge after succeeding Slaven Bilic ended in defeat at Watford. “It has not been the best for us, but the performance by the players merited more. The fans were fantastic, after all the negatives we heard, it was the opposite… I thought it was more like Upton Park for me. There was a period of the game when the crowd were right behind the team.”
That was summed up, in fact, by the unlikely figure of Marko Arnautovic, who is West Ham’s record signing but is yet to score for the club. He pushed himself hard – something he has been accused of not doing since his £24 million move from Stoke City.
Moyes’ assessment was blunt enough: “We told him, if you do not run, we will not play you. So, he has run. He has power and pace so defenders do not want to play against him. We need him to score goals and make goals, he played well.”
The West Ham programme proclaimed, “David Moyes: Man on a mission”, ahead of this fixture, which was fraught with the possibility of danger and a mutinous home support, and there was certainly a far greater sense of purpose.
On this occasion, at least, there was no need for those despondent West Ham supporters to dial 999.
Moyes had challenged his players to stand up and be counted; to take responsibility – and he took a telling decision himself by dropping captain Mark Noble. The team, Moyes said, needed more “speed” and also needed to make a quick start. They needed to get a goal, otherwise it would be tough, he added. Instead, they conceded. Badly. It was a slack goal to concede, a sharp one for Leicester to score.
It came after eight minutes, from a throw by Christian Fuchs. He hurled it to Demarai Gray, who laid it back to Wilfred Ndidi, whose first-time pass sent Jamie Vardy down the left with Arnautovic
vainly claiming he was offside. He was not and Vardy crossed low, with Angelo Ogbonna failing to cut it out – the ball, in fact, went through the defender’s legs – and Albrighton sliding in to slam it first time and low past Joe Hart for his first goal of the season. It was also the fourth time in their past six matches that West Ham had conceded from the first shot on target.
“You’re getting sacked in the morning,” sang the jubilant Leicester fans, while there was stunned resignation from the home supporters. Albrighton then appealed for a penalty as Noble’s replacement, Arthur Masuaku, needlessly barged into him. It was not given.
That proved pivotal, as did, just on half-time, West Ham winning a corner. Manuel Lanzini took it and his delivery was delicious. Leicester’s concern at stopping Andy Carroll allowed Cheikhou Kouyate to simply head the ball past Kasper Schmeichel, via a deflection off Danny Simpson’s shoulder, with his marker, Ndidi, slow to react.
Kouyate had made a hash of an earlier header but this time he was emphatic and, improbably and to huge relief, West Ham were level. And that – apart from an overhead kick in second-half injury time from Ayew – was it. There was plenty of effort, and plenty of injury, after the interval but the game became broken, fraught with the desire not to lose, and played itself out to an inevitable draw.
“I think at the end, it is a bit disappointing,” admitted Leicester manager Claude Puel. “It is difficult to accept it for a draw.” But he – and Moyes – will take the point.