West Ham United 3-1 Fulham
Premier League, London Stadium, Sunday 9 October 2022
Jarrod Bowen and Gianluca Scamacca struck in consecutive Premier League victories as West Ham United came from behind to beat Fulham 3-1 at London Stadium.
Bowen cancelled out Andreas Pereira’s opener when his first-half penalty set the tone for the Hammers’ fifth victory in our last six games.
Scamacca then secured a fifth consecutive home win over Fulham when he netted his third goal in eight days, with a dinked finish from close range just passed the hour.
An impressive goal-line clearance from Aaron Cresswell kept Tom Cairney’s late effort out of the net, before Michail Antonio struck in stoppage time to ensure West Ham recorded a third straight win in all competitions.
While the points were eventually secured from a hard-fought London derby, it was far from the ideal start for the Hammers as Fulham took the lead on five minutes when Pereira was found by Neeskens Kebano. The Brazil midfielder drove into the penalty area and then saw his left-footed strike fly past Łukasz Fabiański and into the top corner.
But, while Daniel James struck the bar from distance, the Hammers responded to the early setback well and certainly had the better of the first half. There were plenty of chances for West Ham to equalise, before David Moyes, who is yet to lose a home match against Fulham across his managerial career, saw his side restore parity with 29 minutes played in east London.
Looking to repeat his neat finish from midweek, Scamacca thrashed the ball narrowly past the post, while Lucas Paquetá found space on the edge of the area and neatly chipped the ball to Scamacca, who had peeled to the back post.
Here, the Hammers No7 only saw his header palmed away by Bernd Leno - a feat the former Arsenal stopper repeated moments later when Fornals and Cresswell combined beautifully down the left, before Scamacca’s header was again pushed away. Bowen then, on the rebound, somehow saw his effort deflect wide.
Yet that pressure midway through the half signalled an equaliser was on the horizon. And, roared on by the Hammers faithful, the resulting corner brought West Ham level via a penalty.
Having had a few shirt pulls while the corner was waiting to be taken, Pereira clearly bundled Craig Dawson to the floor, as the set piece spun into the penalty area. Referee Chris Kavanagh pointed to the spot, before Bowen struck home his second penalty of the season. Leno dived to his left, as the England forward rolled the ball into the opposite corner with ease, scoring in his second consecutive league match at London Stadium.
Early in the second half, Lucas Paquetá might have put West Ham ahead. From the left touchline, Cresswell tricked back inside and passed to the Hammers No11, who almost caught Leno out when he targeted the near corner from the edge of the area. As the Hammers pressed for a second goal of the afternoon, Scamacca then headed wide, with Cresswell again the provider.
But the Hammers No7 would get his goal on 62 minutes when Lucas Paquetá dinked the ball into his path. Scamacca controlled the ball and chipped the on-rushing Leno exquisitely to put the Irons ahead. His third goal in eight days, and arguably his best finish of what has been a delightful bunch.
To their credit, Fulham pushed for their second of the afternoon and substitute Tom Cairney would have found the net but for a superb goal-line block from Cresswell, who was impressive at both ends of the pitch.
Moyes then switched to a back-five to hold on to victory, with Emerson Palmieri and Antonio introduced to the action in east London. And it looked, like the last Premier League meeting between the two sides, as if West Ham would prevail by a one-goal margin in east London, before Antonio had other ideas.
The Hammers No9 broke behind the Fulham defence and tapped home from close range after his first effort was saved by Leno. Bowen might have added a fourth goal late on when he stretched to poke home, but Antonio’s second Premier League strike of the season would be the final action to sweeten what was a deserved London derby victory for the Hammers.
West Ham United: Fabiański, Kehrer, Dawson, Zouma, Cresswell, Rice (c), Souček, Bowen, Lucas Paquetá (Emerson 77), Fornals (Downes 90), Scamacca (Antonio 71)
Subs not used: Areola (GK), Ogbonna, Johnson, Coufal, Lanzini, Benrahma
Goals: Bowen pen 29, Scamacca 62, Antonio 90+1
Booked: Kehrer
Fulham: Leno, Adarabioyo, Ream (c), Robinson, James (Wilson 77), Reed (Cairney 71), Palhinha, Pereira (Onomah 77), De Cordova-Reid, Kebano (Duffy 88), Carlos Vinícius
Subs not used: Rodák, Mbabu, Diop, Harris, Godo
Goal: Pereira 5
Booked: Pereira, Reed, M.Silva, Carlos Vinícius
Attendance: 62,454
Referee: Chris Kavanagh
