After a season where they’ve conceded so many late goals, West Ham finally salvaged victory from the jaws of defeat when they came from 1-0 down to beat West Brom 2-1 at the London Stadium in their first game of 2018.
In what kick-started a run of three games in six days, the Hammers took on a struggling Baggies side that sat one place below them in 19th in what could only be described as a six-pointer.
It was the visitors that took the lead when James McClean’s long-range effort took a wicked deflection off Angelo Ogbonna and looped over Adrian and from then on, their only intention was to sit deep and soak up the pressure.
West Ham’s attacking intent in the second half paid off when Andy Carroll rose highest to head home Aaron Cresswell’s well-placed cross mid-way through the second half.
For the remainder of the game, it was one-way traffic but it looked as if the Hammers would not be rewarded with all three points until Carroll turned home a cross from Marko Arnautovic from a tight angle deep into injury time.
David Moyes’ side move up into 15th place ahead of tomorrow’s clash with Tottenham. Here are our player ratings.
Adrian: 6
The Spaniard was left helpless for the Baggies opener but commanded his box well against their aerial threat.
Pablo Zabaleta: 6
Did struggle at times against the pace of James McClean but an overall solid performance.
Winston Reid: 7
Dealt with the physical Salomon Rondon well all night.
Angelo Ogbonna: 7
Another composed performance, but his standout moment was making up considerable ground on Oliver Burke and putting in a magnificent last-ditch tackle to deny what would’ve been a certain goal.
Aaron Cresswell: 7
His delivery from wide has been criticised of late but finally put one on the money which led to Carroll’s equaliser.
Arthur Masuaku: 6
Had a couple of bright moments in an attacking sense but gave the ball away too often before his early substitution.
Cheikhou Kouyate: 5
Just gets lost in games these days. Gave the ball away often, his touch was woeful, just no influence.
Pedro Obiang: 5
Not his best game. His passing was off, he lost possession too many times and was hauled off at the half for Mark Noble.
Manuel Lanzini: 6
A game against West Brom isn’t one where you’d expect Lanzini to thrive, but he was at the heart of the Hammers’ best moves and could’ve easily netted in the first half if not for two fantastic saves from Ben Foster.
Marko Arnautovic: 7
Kept running until the final whistle. Was direct in terms of he was always looking to drive at defenders with pace, and his efforts were rewarded when his corss late on was tucked home.
Andy Carroll: 8
Held the ball up well against the towering Baggies defenders. Was always a threat from set plays or wide crosses and scored two excellent goals. What a time to bag your first goals of the season.
Mark Noble: 7
Came on at half-time and instantly dictated the tempo of the game. His calmness and composure in the middle was massive.
Chicharito: 6
Came on when we needed goals and constantly went in search of the ball as opposed to finding space and getting in position to make runs in behind. Lacking a defined role.
Declan Rice: 6
Came on for Cresswell on the left-side of defence and performed admirably against Hal Robson-Kanu late in the game.