Michail Antonio and Nayef Aguerd at it again as sloppy West Ham throw away lead to slip out of European contention.
Many West Ham fans will be quick to point the finger of blame at David Moyes for the 3-2 defeat at Brentford.
But sometimes you simply cannot legislate for the rank awful actions of individual players out there on the pitch.
And it was two players many West Ham fans have long called to be dropped who cost them dear at the G-tech.
Michail Antonio and Nayef Aguerd were at it again as sloppy West Ham throw away the lead to slip out of European contention.
Michail Antonio and Nayef Aguerd at it again as sloppy West Ham throw away lead to slip out of European contention
The Hammers were without key trio Kurt Zouma, Lucas Paqueta and Edson Alvarez. But Brentford were missing no fewer than SEVEN first team stars – and they lost their goalkeeper halfway through the match.
West Ham went behind when Aguerd and Tomas Soucek were marking each other in the box and both went up for the same header only for it to fall to the worst striker in the Premier League – Neal Maupay.
Without a goal in 14 months, you know what happened next.
But West Ham fought back and scored a superb goal through Mohammed Kudus and then Jarrod Bowen to lead this game 2-1.
Antonio unforgivably took a tap-in at the far post off Said Benrahma’s foot and rather predictably missed. Benrahma was incandescent with Antonio, who was once again very poor. It should have made it 3-1 to West Ham.
Moyes can’t legislate for awful mistakes from his players but he can drop them
Instead it kept Brentford in the match. And it proved oh so costly when bag of nerves Aguerd – who too often seems more concerned with looking elegant on the ball than concentrating on his primary objective to defend – needlessly gave away a corner with a terrible touch 25 yards from goal.
From the resulting corner Brentford equalised and they would go on to score again to make it three Premier League defeats on the bounced and just one win in the last seven top flight games for the Hammers.
Antonio was surely only playing because Paqueta was suspended. Moyes himself said the Arsenal line-up is the ‘new way forward’ for his side.
Not many West Ham players covered themselves in glory besides Bowen and Kudus.
But the defeat sees West Ham slip into the bottom half of the table. By no means a disaster of course.
However early season optimism of a challenge for the European spots is already looking a stretch at nearly a third of the way through the campaign.
READ ALSO
Mammoth West Ham cash boost worth hundreds of millions unveiled.
Moyes makes staggering Paqueta admission that will shock West Ham fans.
What out of favour Prague hero did proves he is desperate to save West Ham career.
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox
