West Ham United 1-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers: Hammers beat fellow top-four hopefuls

West Ham claimed a useful Premier League victory over Wolves to reignite their pursuit of a top-four end.

The consequence strikes West Ham as much as fifth within the desk, above Arsenal on purpose distinction and two factors behind Manchester United in fourth – nonetheless the Gunners have three video games in hand on each.

Consecutive attracts had seen David Moyes’ facet lose floor close to the highest of the desk however they created a number of glorious probabilities to attain and deserved their win over opponents who even have European aspirations.

Aaron Cresswell and Declan Rice each went near opening the scoring for the hosts, with England midfielder Rice curling an excellent 20-yard effort towards the right-hand submit.

Jarrod Bowen, Soucek and Pablo Fornals all had alternatives to double their benefit and guarantee a extra comfy conclusion for the hosts who had been pressured to face up to some late stress from Wolves, who keep eighth.

Bruno Lage’s workforce struggled for fluency after he made 5 modifications to the facet that began Thursday’s defeat at Arsenal.

And whereas they improved after the break, the second-half introductions of Raul Jimenez, Daniel Podence and Pedro Neto had been unable to make a distinction to the result.

Earlier than kick-off West Ham captain Rice held up a shirt with team-mate Andriy Yarmolenko’s identify and quantity on the again as the perimeters lined as much as specific their assist for the Ukrainian and his homeland which remains to be underneath assault by Russia.

Lacklustre Wolves

Previous to kick-off Lage stated his modifications had been designed to supply Wolves with higher vitality.

Nevertheless, after the opening quarter-hour there was no noticeable proof his determination was influencing proceedings as West Ham grew into the sport.

Rice and Soucek took management of midfield and the likes of Craig Dawson and Kurt Zouma loved a comparatively comfy afternoon towards Fabio Silva and Hwang Hee-chan.

The South Korea worldwide was additionally responsible of lacking Wolves’ greatest alternative, inserting the ball extensive from 12 yards simply earlier than the break.

Had he discovered the underside nook it might have altered the complexion of the match, and ensured Wolves got here away with a minimum of some extent regardless of having just one shot heading in the right direction.

Hammers again on monitor

After a slight stutter of late this was extra prefer it for West Ham and their supervisor Moyes, who punched the air with delight on the ultimate whistle.

Whereas Antonio’s goalless run prolonged to eight video games, the Jamaica ahead was a handful all through.

He made a significant contribution in teeing up Soucek and should have had a purpose of his personal had he elected to shoot as a substitute of selecting out a team-mate after escaping down the left.

In the meantime, Rice and Soucek, working in tandem on the base of the Hammers’ midfield, epitomised the whole lot that was good about their efficiency.

The duo coated extra floor than every other gamers on the pitch, by no means shirked their defensive duties and on one other day each might need been rewarded with targets from a number of glorious forays upfield.

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