As Jarrod Bowen bagged against the Baggies, the West Ham winger found himself the recipient of plentiful praise for what was an unusual goal, which opened the scoring in the Irons’ 2-1 triumph over West Brom.
The goal came on the stroke of half-time with an impressive directed shot with the 24-year-old’s chest. The cross from Said Benrahma, who then curled it to Vladimir Coufal, was an exhibition of superb build-up play and crossing accuracy leading up to the decisive moment from Bowen.
The forward is close to completing his first year at the London Stadium, having joined on transfer deadline day in January 2020 from Hull City.
In an interesting statistic, OptaJoe tweeted Bowen’s superb record when playing in east London. Nine of Bowen’s 12 goal involvements since his move from West Ham has come when playing at home in what amounts to five goals and four assists.
9 – Nine of Jarrod Bowen's 12 goal involvements for West Ham in the Premier League have come at the London Stadium (five goals, four assists), with this his first goal in any competition since November. Cue. #WHUWBA pic.twitter.com/NF34FJw5hj
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 19, 2021
His goal against West Brom was his first since November and should go a long way in shoring up his confidence.
Following the strike, the West Ham Twitter account poked fun at Bowen’s goal by focusing on Czech right-back Coufal’s emphatic reaction to the strike. Indeed, Bowen’s effort owed a lot to the Czech defender’s ability to pick out the 24-year-old.
Coufal was all of us when @jarrodbowen_ chested it in 😍 pic.twitter.com/Q862GIQiR3
— West Ham United (@WestHam) January 19, 2021
Reacting to the club’s humorous post, these West Ham fans wasted no time in praising Bowen and the squad at large. One Hammer excitedly, and perhaps a tad tongue-in-cheek, dubbed the winger the “best player of all time”…
Twitter: @WestHam @jarrodbowen_ West Ham for Europa
(@Whu_Alfie)
Twitter: @WestHam @jarrodbowen_ The only negative of Coufal is his trim (@ScoutSoucek)
Twitter: @WestHam @jarrodbowen_ I’m sure it was his shoulder not his chest, but I don’t care, what a superb reaction goal!
Twitter: @WestHam @jarrodbowen_ best player of all time (@creedyszn)
Twitter: @WestHam @jarrodbowen_ Goat (@whugeorgee)
