West Ham United beat Wolves 2-1 in the Premier League at Molineux yesterday, and David Moyes was delighted with all three points in the end.
David Moyes left Michail Antonio on the bench for the Wolves vs West Ham United Premier League clash, and that decision set the tone for the game.
However, Moyes didn’t think that Antonio’s omission from the starting XI was the reason why we were so poor in the first-half.
It really was a painful first 45 minutes from the Hammers, with the likes of Kurt Zouma putting in their all too regular below average shifts.
When the boys came out after the half-time break though, they looked like different set of players. There was of course a personnel change, with Antonio and Ben Johnson entering fray, and then Aaron Cresswell not long after.
All three players made a huge difference for us at Molineux. The second-half performance was night and day from the first-half.
The message from Moyes to his players at half-time must have been about being more on the front foot and proactive in their play.
However, the Scot offered up a baffling excuse for the performance inside the first 45…
Moyes offers explanation for poor West Ham first-half display vs Wolves
The Scot addressed the media after our 2-1 win against Wolves, following a decision from VAR to rule out what would have been a late equaliser for the home side.
It was hugely encouraging to see the players respond in the way that they did after their poor first-half display, but the fact that they are so slow out the blocks quite regularly is a big concern
However, Moyes offered up a reason why they were so poor…and it really was quite laughable, as quoted by WHUFC.com:
“We didn’t look at the races in the first 45 minutes today, I don’t know if we were still struggling with the game in midweek, or the travel up to Wolves is not an easy one as everybody knows, but overall at least we came back into it.”
Sorry? The travel up to Wolves? Seriously, it’s a two hour journey, two-and-a-half tops, up the M1.
Why not just admit that he got the team selection wrong in the first place? Lucas Paqueta clearly doesn’t want to play out on the left and Jarrod Bowen simply doesn’t work as a centre-forward.
Shoehorning players into positions where they’re not comfortable doesn’t work. Moyes must realise this after West Ham beat Wolves.
Credit where credit’s due of course. The Scot had the courage to change things up at half-time and his substitutions helped swing the game in our favour.
The three points were huge for us yesterday. Roll on Fulham, but please Dave…no more silly excuses if things don’t go our way.
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