Just days after Potter was vanquished at the London Stadium, Nuno Espirito Santo benefitted from a bit of ‘magic’ from one of his West Ham United wizards.
A hard-fought 1-1 draw at Everton kicked-off the Nuno era on Monday night.
A performance of many ‘positives’, to quote the new head coach, but a few ‘negatives’ as well. Nuno Espirito Santo will demand a lot more from his charges over the coming days, weeks, and months, as he looks to emulate his Nottingham Forest success at another, similarly-sized, underachieving institution.
And while this was a clear step forward from the dross served up by Graham Potter at the start of the season, Nuno still needed a bit of ‘magic’ from West Ham United’s chief warlock.
A swish of Jarrod Bowen’s wand, and a point secured.
But speaking to Sky Sports at full-time, the Hammers’ other wing wizard – Crysencio Summerville – was keen to remind his West Ham teammates that Bowen is not the only one capable of turning water into wine.
Crysencio Summerville says he and Jarrod Bowen can produce West Ham United ‘magic’
A month after Crysencio Summerville destroyed Nuno’s Nottingham Forest in a devastating City Ground cameo, the former Leeds winger took another major stride towards rediscovering his best form following eight months on the sidelines.
Was this his finest performance in a West Ham shirt? It was certainly up there. Sky Sports commentator, and Everton icon, Andy Hinchcliffe labelled Summerville ‘outstanding’ on the night, while the aforementioned Bowen loved seeing West Ham’s number seven ‘link up’ to brilliant effect with the rampaging El Hadji Malick Diouf.
“It’s really tricky when these things happen,” Summerville said, reflecting on the sacking of Potter and the appointment of Nuno just two days prior. “I think the boys did well to focus on the game.”
“I think the team, [with] me and Jarrod on the side, just give us the ball and [let us] try our magic. We tried to do that today.
“We stayed in the game and our guy [Bowen with the equaliser]!”
Bowen ‘so impressed’ by Nuno Espirito Santo
With three goals in six Premier League appearances already, West Ham’s skipper is well on his way to hitting double figures in the top-flight for a third successive campaign.
Bowen has been ‘so impressed’ by Nuno’s impact just days into taking the Hammers job, meanwhile. Though the former Wolves and Tottenham boss only made two changes from the XI which lost at home to Crystal Palace a week earlier, the togetherness and the fighting spirit demonstrated at the Hill Dickinson Stadium had his fingerprints all over it.
“He didn’t change a lot but we enjoyed ourselves today,” Summerville added. “I think we will build on this and go again on Saturday [away at Arsenal].”
“I think we’ve all been in football long enough. We know changes happen,” explains Bowen. “But we are professionals, we want to do well, and we have a really good group here who want to change our fortunes.
“We’ve had Nuno for two days, and I thought we put in a really good performance. I think we are heading in the right direction and tonight is a good start.
“I’ve been so impressed with him so far, with the way he manages himself, and what he wants and demands from the team.
“I think we’ve all bought into that, and I think the performance tonight was a credit to him. We’ve played against him many times in the Premier League, and we’re all excited to work with him.”
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