West Ham United left Vicarage Road with mixed emotions after a hard earned 1-1 draw against Watford on Saturday evening.
The hosts went in front from the penalty spot inside the opening three minutes, however it was West Ham who went on to dominate much of the remainder of the match, and could in fact have claimed all three points. Eventually, it was second-half substitute Andre Ayew who got the Hammers back on level terms, tapping in from close range to score his second goal in claret and blue.
The Hammers had more than one chance to square things up and were unfortunate on two occasions in the first half to have not clawed level. The impressive away performance continued in the second period and the equalising goal was the very least that West Ham United deserved.
The draw extended West Ham’s excellent away record this season. In fact, since the 3-2 defeat away at Tottenham Hotspur on 19 November, the Hammers have been beaten just once on the road in the Premier League (seven matches); a run which included dominating wins against Swansea City and Southampton, as well as credible draws at Old Trafford and Anfield.
Slaven Bilic’s side controlled the majority of possession at Vicarage Road, having 64.2 per cent of the ball: only once this league season have West Ham had more possession – home or away.
They made a total of 461 passes during the match- over 200 more than the hosts (259)- at a success rate of 80 per cent. Astonishingly, six of West Ham’s starting eleven made more individual passes than any one of Watford’s players.
José Fonte’s 73 passes was the most by a single player on the night, with Winston Reid’s 91 per cent topping the pass-success charts.
In the middle of the park, the Hammers dominated too. The duo of Mark Noble and Pedro Obiang made a combined 107 passes at a success rate of 87 per cent – far superior to the combined effort of Watford’s midfield trio Tom Cleverley, Valon Behrami and Etienne Capoue.
From the front-men, Manuel Lanzini was again the stand-out performer. The Argentinian had to work as hard off the ball as he did on it, however still attempted eight dribbles, 51 passes and covered almost eleven kilometres on the evening. Counterpart, M'Baye Niang was Watford’s best forward but completed fewer passes, fewer dribbles and covered less ground than Lanzini.
The courage and determination shown will give immense encouragement to Slaven Bilic and the Hammers fans. Ahead of the visit of Chelsea on 6 March, the manager will know that the same work rate, resolve and togetherness will certainly be required if West Ham United are to secure a positive result against the current Premier League leaders.