{"id":128983,"date":"2023-12-08T16:48:59","date_gmt":"2023-12-08T16:48:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2023\/12\/08\/player-ratings-as-bowen-inspires-hammers-comeback\/"},"modified":"2023-12-08T16:48:59","modified_gmt":"2023-12-08T16:48:59","slug":"player-ratings-as-bowen-inspires-hammers-comeback","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2023\/12\/08\/player-ratings-as-bowen-inspires-hammers-comeback\/","title":{"rendered":"Player ratings as Bowen inspires Hammers comeback \u2013"},"content":{"rendered":"

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West Ham United claimed a hard fought Premier League victory over London rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday night after coming from behind to win 2-1.<\/strong><\/p>\n

An early header from Cristian Romero looked as though he might have set an initially dominant Spurs on the way to ending a run of win-less league games at four.<\/p>\n

But Jarrod Bowen\u2019s 50th goal for a resilient\u00a0Hammers\u00a0side that played with far greater energy after the interval brought things level, before James Ward-Prowse won it in slightly fortuitous circumstances.<\/p>\n

How the game unfolded<\/h3>\n

West Ham had barely touched the ball by the time Romero found the top corner with a header in the 11th minute. Spurs controlled possession majestically and all the visiting Hammers seemed able to do for a sustained period was clear their lines and wait for the next wave.<\/p>\n

It was no surprise it couldn\u2019t last and the resistance was broken when an unmarked Romero rose highest in the middle of the box to direct Pedro Porro\u2019s corner beyond the reach of Lukasz Fabianski.<\/p>\n

West Ham initially responded well to the setback, playing with a little more adventure, but Spurs soon reapplied a relentless stranglehold of the ball that was almost impossible to break.<\/p>\n

The frame of the goal came to Kurt Zouma\u2019s aid when he stretched with every sinew to cut out a potentially dangerous cross from Giovani Lo Celso on the left, ricocheting off the woodwork. The chance had been engineered by great interplay from Dejan Kulusevski and Yves Bissouma.<\/p>\n

It took until the closing moments of the first half for West ham to carve out a genuine chance, but after excellent work from Mohammed Kudus on the right to cross towards the far space, Lucas Paqueta\u2019s attempted header in acres of space was somewhat pathetic.<\/p>\n

Even with all the ball, the home side weren\u2019t doing enough to add to their led, with most of the shots peppered at the West Ham off-target and those weren\u2019t straightforward for Fabianski. They were punished for that when Bowen got a break out of nowhere, presented with the ball and the goal gaping when Kudus\u2019 shot doubled ricocheted off Romero and Ben Davies.<\/p>\n

The goal gave the Hammers a bit more belief than they\u2019d had all night and it was the first time Tottenham had been under any real pressure. It wouldn\u2019t have counted because of an offside flag, but Guglielmo Vicario even had to pull off a spectacular one-handed save from Tomas Soucek.<\/p>\n

Fabianski had strong palms to parry a driven effort from Spurs right-back Pedro Porro, while substitute Richarlison missed the target by mere centimetres with a header.<\/p>\n

But West Ham\u2019s vigour forced the go-ahead goal as the game approached the final quarter. Pressure on Destiny Udogie let to a short back-pass to Vicario that was chased down by Bowen, with the Spurs goalkeeper only able to push the ball straight out to Ward-Prowse. The initial shot struck the post but fell straight back to the Hammers midfielder with the open goal at his mercy.<\/p>\n

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Tottenham player ratings (4-2-3-1)<\/h2>\n
\"Cristian<\/figure>\n

Cristian Romero scored early for Tottenham \/ Nigel French\/Allstar\/GettyImages<\/p>\n

GK: Guglielmo Vicario \u2013 5\/10 \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>Couldn\u2019t do much with either West Ham goal.<\/p>\n

RB: Pedro Porro \u2013 7\/10 \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>Delivery made the early goal and often played like an extra winger the amount that Spurs had the ball. Put in some really dangerous balls.<\/p>\n

CB: Cristian Romero \u2013 6\/10 \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>Jumped highest to break the deadlock, albeit unchallenged. Couldn\u2019t deal with Bowen snapping at his heels after half-time.<\/p>\n

CB: Ben Davies \u2013 6\/10 \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>It was a mix-up that gifted West Ham\u2019s equaliser but there wasn\u2019t much else he could have done about it.<\/p>\n

LB: Destiny Udogie \u2013 5\/10 \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>Played with real vigour up and down the left flank. But his underhit back-pass ultimately gave West Ham their second goal.<\/p>\n

CM: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg \u2013 6\/10 \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>A comical fall in the first few minutes as he swung for the ball and missed didn\u2019t define his night but it was funny to watch.<\/p>\n

CM: Yves Bissouma \u2013 7\/10 \u2013<\/strong>\u00a0Basically controlled the game in the first half.<\/p>\n

RM: Dejan Kulusevski \u2013 6\/10 \u2013<\/strong>\u00a0Looked dangerous when making darting runs either with or without the ball. Just lacked the quality in the key moments.<\/p>\n

AM: Giovani Lo Celso \u2013 7\/10 \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>Took up good positions throughout the first half and almost forced an own goal fro Kurt Zouma just before the break.<\/p>\n

LM: Brennan Johnson \u2013 6\/10 \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>Started brightly but definitely faded.<\/p>\n

ST: Son Heung-min (c) \u2013 6\/10 \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>Impact was bizarrely minimal given how Spurs dominated.<\/p>\n

Substitutes<\/h3>\n

SUB: Richarlison (67\u2032 for Lo Celso) \u2013 6\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n

SUB: Oliver Skipp (67\u2032 for Hojbjerg) \u2013 6\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n

SUB: Bryan Gil (84\u2032 for Johnson) \u2013 N\/A<\/strong><\/p>\n

SUB: Pape Sarr (84\u2032 for Bissouma) \u2013 N\/A<\/strong><\/p>\n

SUB: Alejo Veliz (88\u2032 for Son) \u2013 N\/A<\/strong><\/p>\n

Subs not used: Forster, Royal, Dorrington, Donley<\/em><\/p>\n

Manager<\/h3>\n

Ange Postecoglu \u2013 5\/10 \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>Spurs players sometimes seemed a little too attached to the blueprint rather than reacting to the moment.<\/p>\n

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West Ham player ratings (4-2-3-1)<\/h2>\n
\"Jarrod<\/figure>\n

Jarrod Bowen scored his 50th West Ham goal \/ Shaun Botterill\/GettyImages<\/p>\n

GK: Lukasz Fabianski \u2013 8\/10 \u2013<\/strong>\u00a0Helped by wayward Tottenham shooting but made decent saves when he was called upon, including just before West Ham took the lead.<\/p>\n

RB: Vladimir Coufal \u2013 7\/10 \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>Didn\u2019t have too much of the ball but hardly let Johnson past him.<\/p>\n

CB: Kurt Zouma (c) \u2013 7\/10 \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>Nearly scored an own goal with an interception that stopped a dangerous cross getting into the box. Probably the luck he deserved.<\/p>\n

CB: Nayef Aguerd \u2013 7\/10 \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>Will think he could have done more to stop Romero getting a free jump to score the early Spurs goals, but so solid after that.<\/p>\n

LB: Emerson Palmieri \u2013 8\/10 \u2013<\/strong>\u00a0Put in an excellent defensive shift.<\/p>\n

CM: Tomas Soucek \u2013 8\/10 \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>Disciplined out of possession and made it difficult for Spurs to turn their possession into anything more meaningful.<\/p>\n

CM: James Ward-Prowse \u2013 7\/10 \u2013<\/strong>\u00a0Got the winner and gave his usual threatening delivery.<\/p>\n

CM: Edson Alvarez \u2013 7\/10 \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>Similar to Soucek, he shut Spurs down in the key moments.<\/p>\n

RW: Jarrod Bowen \u2013 9\/10 \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>Hardly had a sniff before his goal, taking his first real chance of the game like a seasoned \u2018number nine\u2019. The best player on the pitch in the second half.<\/p>\n

ST: Mohammed Kudus \u2013 8\/10 \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>Even for large periods where the Hammers weren\u2019t doing a lot, he still looked like he could be a threat and was involved in most of what his team did.<\/p>\n

LW: Lucas Paqueta \u2013 6\/10 \u2013<\/strong>\u00a0Squandered a glorious chance at the end of the first half. Grew into the game as it progressed.<\/p>\n

Substitutes<\/h3>\n

SUB: Pablo Fornals (88\u2032 for Kudus) \u2013 N\/A<\/strong><\/p>\n

Subs not used: Anang, Kehrer, Mavropanos, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Benrahma, Mubamba, Ings<\/em><\/p>\n

Manager<\/h3>\n

David Moyes \u2013 9\/10 \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>The Hammers were disciplined when under relentless first half pressure and played in their manager\u2019s image. The second half then saw much more intesnsity at the right time.<\/p>\n

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Player of the match \u2013 Jarrod Bowen (West Ham)<\/h3>\n
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