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David Hautzig's Match Report

West Ham 2, Manchester United 0. The Rising Tide In East London.

When I was in London a couple of weeks ago over the DAMNED INTERNATIONAL BREAK THAT DENIED ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO TO A MATCH I had dinner with Nigel Kahn and his family. On the train to his home that night, we talked sport. A little Ashes, but mostly football. Nigel is never one to make rash judgements about anything related to West Ham (BFS not withstanding). So getting hyped up over our decent start was not in the cards. He did, however, say that IF we got a result at Villa he would pay extra attention to todays match. “If we beat United, then I might think a European place is possible”. The Red Devils came into The London Stadium without a win in their previous eight matches away from home, and we played very well against them last season in both fixtures. So optimism would not have been inappropriate today. In fact, it might even be called for now.

Instead of the normal slow, almost sleepy start we have become accustomed to, West Ham began the match with energy and speed. In the opening minutes the home side forced the visitors to lose the ball three or four times, including an unforced error to give West Ham a corner. The delivery from Fornals was poor, but the intent was good to see.

Early yellow cards have a way of making me very, very anxious. Especially when the card is shown to someone who does have a history of silly fouls. So when Ogbonna was booked in the 14th minute for a body check worthy of the NHL on Pereira, my vision of the future looked a bit more bleak.

Manchester United won their first corner of the match in 18th minute when Mata sent a long ball for James to chase. Fredericks got there first and put it out. West Ham handled the set piece, and eventually countered when Anderson set up Yarmolenko at the top of the eighteen yard box but his shot was weak and easily dealt with by daGea.

Manchester United should have taken the lead in the 21st minute when Rashford was sent in alone on Fabianski. But for some reason, the young England International slowed down. That allowed another young England International named Rice to catch up and dispossess his England teammate. But the action was all in the West Ham half, and the home side was finding it difficult to get on the ball.

The match swayed back and forth in terms of possession, with neither side asking any real questions of the opposing keeper. United won their fourth corner of the half in the 32nd minute, but the delivery was cleared for a West Ham counter. Fornals got to a long through ball first, but Wan-Bissaka made a crucial sliding tackle to end the attack.

The Hammers first half chance came in the 36th minute when the home side, or more accurately Noble, won a free kick on the left side of the Manchester United half. Fornals sent a looping pass to the top of the box that Noble connected with. However he didn’t get the power behind it that he wanted and daGea handled it with relative ease.

As the first half seemed to be lumbering to a scoreless scoreline, a man who has been inexplicably slated on social media showed why his innate skill cannot and should not be ignored. Noble stayed on the ball near the top of the United eighteen yard box. A quick turn to his left opened up some space, and he rolled a pass to Anderson. After quite a few misplaced passes in the opening 45 minutes, the Brazilian showed his innate skill with a lovely one touch pass to Yarmolenko. We have seen the man’s ability to curl a ball with his left foot before. I’ll never get bored of it, I can tell you that.

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Halftime
West Ham 1
Manchester United 0

The opening minutes of the second half should have seen an early equalizer from United when Cresswell stood virtually still as Matic went by him and rolled the ball to Pereira. The Brazilian sent a low cross that Mata should have poked past Fabianski but somehow he put it wide. Moments later Yarmolenko found the ball on his left foot again at the top of the United eighteen yard box, but this time the curl was not so curly and it landed in the arms of daGea.

The Hammers won a corner in the 56th minute, and a set piece clearly worked on in training almost came off. Fornals took it short to Anderson, who then almost found the run of Cresswell in the box. A few seconds later, it was the visitors on the run. Rashford and Mata tried to work together to get the ball to James, but the West Ham back line held firm and all United could manage was a weak attempt that Fabianski gathered up.

West Ham had a good chance to double their lead in the 63rd minute. After a spell of possession, Yarmolenko worked the ball to Anderson on the right side of the box. The angle was tight so the chance would have needed a bit of brilliance to go in. Instead it was the leg of daGea that got in the way.

Manchester United won a corner in the 68th minute, and they came close to an equalizer when Maguire ran into the box and forced a fine save from Fabianski. There was a lot of jostling inside the box, and I half expected a penalty to be awarded. Between the save and the lack of a whistle, we all breathed a sigh of relief.

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I wish I could understand the psychology of being a supporter when you are in the lead late in a match. In some ways the anxiety is worse than when you trail. But when Wilshere won a free kick 25 yards from goal, my stomach was in full somersault mode. Cresswell sent his shot well over the bar, so the relief I so desperately needed did not come. Moments later United earned a corner after Fabianski won a race with James to the ball but could not hold on to that ball. Thankfully Yarmolenko was there to deflect the attempt on goal out for the set piece.

I remember years ago Cresswell scored a beauty of a free kick against…was it Newcastle? I remember thinking, and probably writing at the time he should take more free kicks. Anyway, West Ham won another free kick after a foul on Noble by Young, this one from about 30 yards out. Just like a few minutes ago, the left back everyone has written off stepped up. Close your eyes and imagine it was Payet.

Final Score
West Ham 2
Manchester United 0

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I’ll probably call Nigel this weekend to see if his thought process is the same as it was on the train. Me? Well, if Betway existed here in the USA I still wouldn’twager on a top six finish. Sean and Nigel pointed out on Moore Than Just A Podcast that when you compare this seasons results so far with the corresponding fixtures from last season, we are actually about even. But there is definitely a different feel. Heck, we didn’t really look that good today yet we won. We kept a fourth clean sheet in a row for the first time since dinosaurs roamed around Stratford. Despite not scoring, Haller was still a force that kept Manchester United’s defense on edge. And I think Fornals will benefit and grow from the minutes he will get due to Lanzini’s injury. Unlike other seasons in which we played far better than expected, this one looks to be based on a strong foundation of young, skillful players being complemented by leaders such as Noble and Zabaleta.

It’s weird to be happy, isn’t it?

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