West Ham 1 - 0 SwanseaDiafra Sakho hits West Ham’s winner in basement battle against Swansea
Home team scorers
Diafra Sakho 90
Diafra Sakho, the man who tried to engineer a move to Rennes on the final day of the transfer window, lifted the pressure on Slaven Bilic when he settled a dreadful game in West Ham’s favour with a winner in the 90th minute.
Bilic limps on, safe from the sack for now. He faced mutiny from the London Stadium crowd at times, not least when he chose to replace Javier Hernández with Sakho with 12 minutes to go, but the change was justified when Sakho converted a cross from another substitute, Arthur Masuaku, to lift West Ham to 15th.
Swansea had been stubborn opponents, but they left with nothing in the end and this defeat leaves them in the bottom three.
On an afternoon when West Ham needed to draw energy from the crowd, this strange, lopsided muddle of a stadium felt even quieter than usual for much of a soporific first half. Bilic picked an attacking team, ditching the cautious 3-4-3 system he has used recently for a more straightforward 4-4-2, with Andy Carroll and Hernández forming a classic little and large partnership up front. It was possible to appreciate the intent: despite showing all the mobility of the ArcelorMittal Orbit structure outside the ground during his wretched cameo against Tottenham last week, Carroll has terrorised Swansea in the past and West Ham tried to make a fast, physical start, maintaining good width and almost taking an early lead when Michail Antonio met Aaron Cresswell’s cross with a bouncing volley that Lukasz Fabianski pushed out.
West Ham’s threat soon subsided, however. Urgency disappeared and they were looking painfully bereft of confidence and cohesion. At one point Carroll ambled down the right, realised that he wasn’t in the area and ended up conceding a throw, while there was a whiff of desperation about Bilic telling Antonio and André Ayew to swap flanks midway through the half.
Disciplined and organised, Swansea started to exert control. They outnumbered their hosts in midfield, with the 35-year-old Leon Britton bringing composure on his return to the side and Renato Sanches offering tantalising hints of his talent with some adroit touches. They monopolised possession, much to the annoyance of the home fans, who sounded as though they were losing patience with their team’s inertia when a tentative move ended with the ball finding its way to Joe Hart, who proceeded to whack it out of play.
Swansea’s stylish passing was catching the eye, but it was largely restricted to unthreatening areas. They were crying out for a moment of class in the final third, substance to go with the midfield craft. Toothlessness threatened to undermine them. Clement used Jordan Ayew behind Tammy Abraham and Wilfried Bony, who forced Hart to make a flying save with a powerful drive from 25 yards, but Swansea were short of ideas.
At least they could take heart from hearing the locals greet the half-time whistle with loud boos. The onus, after all, was on West Ham to take the game by the scruff of the neck. Swansea backed themselves to absorb West Ham’s directionless pressure.
There was more chuntering in the stands when Cresswell took a free-kick short instead of crossing, while Ayew sparked howls of derision when he miscontrolled a simple pass. The introduction of Manuel Lanzini, available again after a month out with a knee injury, briefly lifted the mood, but West Ham were weighed down by anxiety and uncertainty. Hart was relieved to see Martin Olsson’s curling shot bounce just wide.
There were more jeers when Bilic replaced Hernández with Sakho. The Mexican angrily shook his head as he sat on the bench, baffled that he had made way instead of Carroll.
But perhaps Bilic knew what he was doing. Masuaku, who had come on for Ayew, started to make an impact with driving sorties down the left and Carroll hooked a shot against the bar from one delivery.
Having seen him cause similar problems against Tottenham, West Ham were getting the ball to Masuaku at every opportunity. The ploy worked. Another run ended with him slamming a low cross to the far post, where Sakho slid in to crash the ball high past Fabianski.
Guardian
