- West Ham United were defeated 3-0 by Brentford on Saturday lunchtime
- The London clash saw referee Craig Pawson consult the VAR on three separate occasions
- The Hammers are 18th in the Premier League – occupying the final relegation spot
West Ham United’s hopes of survival were dealt a bitter blow over the weekend, following their 3-0 defeat at the hands of Brentford.
The result, combined with the unwelcoming outcome of Tottenham Hotspur collecting all three points at Villa Park on Sunday evening, means that the Hammers have slumped into the Premier League relegation zone with three matches remaining.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are now in a precarious situation, with the preservation of their first division status now out of their hands.
Entering the weekend, the London clash against Brentford was seen as the ideal chance for West Ham to extend their gap on Spurs, but the loss, specifically the manner of it, has garnered reactions from all quarters.
Dermot Gallagher sides with three decisive decisions
Inside the opening quarter of an hour, West Ham found themselves behind when Konstantinos Mavropanos failed to deal with the results of an in-swinging cross and bundled the ball into his own net.
Although there was a melee in the six-yard box, with the dangerous ball dropping just in front of the goal line, it would be the Greek defender with the telling touch on the stretch whose attempted clearance struck the underside of the bar and into the net.
However, with close inspection, whether the Greek was fouled during the resulting touch was the main bone of contention. The Hammers defender remained on the ground in agony as Michael Kayode’s foot seemed to scrape along the defender’s shin before resting on his foot.
During Sky Sports’ Ref Watch programme, former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher stated he “wasn’t convinced” to overturn referee Craig Pawson’s decision.
“We play a physical game, and there is always going to be contact,” Gallagher, who refereed in England’s top-flight between 1992 and 2007, said.
“Is there enough to say he pushed him out [of] the way? I don’t think so. No one expects a foul.”
More difficult calls in the second-half
Gallagher would also side with Pawson’s decision to award Brentford a penalty nine minutes after the restart. In the 54th minute, after El Hadji Malick Diouf awkwardly chopped down Dango Ouattara just inside the box, Bees striker Igor Thiago sent Mads Hermansen the wrong way from the penalty spot.
On calls that Diouf’s slip played a factor in the incident, Gallagher said: “He does trip him, and when he slides in and doesn’t get the ball, the ball is gone, and there is the foul. I think [a] penalty.”
The referee pundit added: “If he gets past him, he’s through on goal.”
The hosts would add their third ten minutes from time, but minutes earlier, West Ham had a credible penalty claim for forward Pablo dismissed.
Following Crysencio Summerville’s curling effort from the left, which came back off the woodwork, his Brazilian teammate reacted quickly to the rebounding ball but was seemingly brought down in the box by Yehor Yarmoliuk. The play was cleared by the Video Assistant Referee crew.
“He goes over, and the Brentford player is on the floor.” Gallagher continued: “It happens in a football match; people come together. No [not a penalty].
“The West Ham player goes into him. I think he slips, and the West Ham player goes over him. I still don’t think it’s a penalty.”
Defeat leaves West Ham 18th and staring down the relegation barrel
As mentioned, the defeat in West London, combined with Spurs’ victory against Aston Villa, leaves the Irons with little to no room for error. The current gap between the two sides is now a single point, and given the similarity in their schedules, the risk of relegation has undoubtedly increased for West Ham.
Like Spurs, the Hammers have two of their three remaining games at home. After another unproductive away day on Saturday, it will take the latent spirit of the London Stadium to avoid the impending drop.
