West Ham clinched their first three points of the season away at Vicarage Road yesterday.
A superb second-half performance proved the difference as Watford failed to take their chances whilst West Ham and Sebastian Haller took theirs.
West Ham got off to a flying start with Mark Noble converting his penalty after Manuel Lanzini was brought down in the penalty box. From then, Watford turned the pressure up on the Hammers and their back four came under siege. This eventually told with Will Hughes slipping through Andre Gray to convert his chance with aplomb.
It then became a test of West Ham’s resolve. In the past two games, they have struggled to be defensively solid. However, the return of Mark Noble seemed to galvanise their work ethic as they threw numbers in front of the ball and made it difficult for Gerard Deulofeu and Will Hughes to create chances.
In the second half, it became a story of West Ham’s quality in the final third that clinched the win. Haller and Anderson teamed up on the edge of Watford’s box to elude the three Watford defenders and allow Haller to slot home from two yards.
The introduction of Michail Antonio once again proved the turning point. A Manuel Lanzini corner was met by the powerful Antonio, who saw his header expertly saved by Ben Foster before Sebastian Haller showed why he’s worth £45 million, acrobatically finishing off the second ball.
It was an away day to remember for West Ham, who hadn’t won a game in August since 2016. Here are our player ratings…
