Daily WHUFC News - 25th February 2018

Hammers defeated at Anfield
WHUFC.com

Liverpool 4 - 1 West Ham United
Premier League

Liverpool's attacking trio of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane
all found the net as the Hammers fell to a 4-1 defeat at Anfield on
Saturday. Salah, Firmino and Mane have been winning plaudits all season and
they showed exactly what they are capable of, taking the game away from the
Hammers after the break. Emre Can's first half header got the goalscoring
underway, and although Michail Antonio briefly gave the visitors hope by
making it 3-1 just before the hour, Liverpool reasserted their authority
when Mane rounded off the scoring near the end. The Reds went within a
whisker of taking the lead as early as the third minute when Salah's touch
took him away from James Collins inside the area and his low shot was
touched onto the post superbly by Adrian. With six minutes on the clock the
Hammers fans sang as one in memory of Bobby Moore, on the 25th anniversary
of his passing. Nine minutes later, Marko Arnautovic so nearly gave the
visitors the lead when he found himself one-on-one with Joel Matip and opted
to take the shot on early, striking the crossbar with a deft lob. So much
has been said of Liverpool's three-pronged attack this season, so the
Hammers would have been bitterly disappointed to fall behind to a simple
goal from a corner, Emre Can rising to nod home from Salah's delivery.
Adrian's protests that he had been blocked by James Milner fell on deaf ears
and the hosts led. West Ham's threat had been sporadic, but they did look
dangerous when they got Arnautovic on the ball and he forced a save from
Loris Karius three minutes before the break when his long range shot swerved
in the air and needed tipping over.

The Hammers would have felt they were still in the game at the break, but
Liverpool took it away from them with a two-goal blast inside the first
twelve minutes of the second period. First, Salah rolled into the bottom
corner after Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's persistence took him away from
Cheikhou Kouyate's attempts to tackle him, then Firmino made it 3-0, racing
onto Emre Can's ball over the top, beating Adrian to the pass and slotting
home. David Moyes introduced Michail Antonio from the bench in response, and
his first involvement was to cut the deficit, beating Karius after he was
sent through by Kouyate's raking pass. Liverpool kept on coming though and
Sadio Mane should have made it 4-1 with 20 minutes left, but he could only
hit the post with just Adrian to beat. Seven minutes later he made amends,
forcing home after Andrew Robertson crossed low from the left to round off
the home side's win.

Liverpool: Karius, Alexander-Arnold, van Dijk, Matip, Robertson, Can, Milner
(c), Oxlade-Chamberlain, Mane (Moreno 87), Salah (Solanke 87), Firmino
(Lallana 82)
Subs: Mignolet, Lovren, Gomez, Henderson
Goals: Can 29, Salah 51, Firmino 56, Mane 77

West Ham United: Adrian, Zabaleta, Collins, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Evra, Noble
(c), Kouyate, Mario (Rice 83), Lanzini (Antonio 57), Arnautovic (Chicharito
83)
Subs: Hart, Reid, Hugill, Byram
Goal: Antonio 59

Booked: Collins, Kouyate
Referee: Stuart Attwell

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Claret & Blue Army wear Bobby Moore T-Shirts
WHUFC.com

The 3,000 West Ham United supporters who attended this weekend's Premier
League contest with Liverpool all received a specially-commissioned
commemorative t-shirt, in honour of Bobby Moore, provided by the Club.

Saturday 24 February 2018 marked 25 years since the tragic passing of Moore,
with West Ham's greatest son passing away after a brave battle with bowel
cancer.

As part of our tribute to the late, great Bobby Moore, West Ham United
provided the travelling Hammers fans at Anfield with a t-shirt donning the
image of the iconic defender, along with the words '25 years gone, never
forgotten'.

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Noble: The 4-1 scoreline at Liverpool was a little bit harsh
WHUFC.com

Mark Noble admitted West Ham United had been punished for making 'individual
mistakes' in Saturday's 4-1 Premier League defeat at Liverpool. The Hammers
were well in the game during a competitive first half, when they hit the
frame of Loris Karius' goal and worked the German goalkeeper on a number of
occasions.
But from the moment Emre Can headed the Reds in front on the half-hour mark,
West Ham were up against it, and the game went away from them as Liverpool
added further goals from Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane,
rendering Michail Antonio's goal a consolation. "The first goal for us, the
set play, was really disappointing," said Noble. "In the first half,
especially, we played really well, played well on the ball and had two or
three really good chances. If we scored, it's a different kettle of fish.
"The second half was tough for us. We conceded the second goal [early on],
made a couple of individual mistakes, really, and they punish teams. They
did it to Manchester City here and scored four goals and pounced on
mistakes. "We hit the bar and had another shot that their 'keeper saved. If
only we could have been a little more clinical when we went forward. We got
in some really good positions. "There is no point making up excuses. They
were better than us today. They've got a fantastic front three with so much
pace, power and skill. They deserved to win. "To be fair, I think it's a
little bit harsh on us. It's not really a 4-1 victory, but it is what it is.
It's tough to take."

While Noble was disappointed with the result, he conceded that Liverpool are
simply are better team, with greater resources, and played well on the day.
"If we'd got anything out of the game we'd have been buzzing. Don't forget
they are competing for Champions League football. "The next three games for
us are massive and it was key that we came through this game without picking
up any injuries. "We gave it our best. I don't think you can say the lads
chucked it in, because they never did that, but at the end of the day they
were too good. That's why they pay so much money for their players."

West Ham now face three games against teams around them in the table, with a
trip to Swansea City followed by home games with Burnley and Southampton in
March. "We've got pick ourselves up and go again next week. These type of
games are a bonus. We've beaten Chelsea and drawn with Arsenal and picked up
some fantastic points, but to come here away from home, I thought conceding
four was a little bit harsh.
"These next three games are key for us."

Finally, the captain thanked the Claret and Blue Army for paying tribute to
Bobby Moore on the 25th anniversary of the late skipper's death, with all
3,000 donning commemorative t-shirts provided by the Club. "For us, he's a
fantastic part of our history and to have someone of his stature associated
with our Football Club, we need to keep his name strong in remembrance."

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Moyes: Our defeat at Liverpool was self-inflicted
WHUFC.com

David Moyes admitted his West Ham United team had simply been beaten by the
better side in Saturday's 4-1 Premier League defeat at Liverpool. Goals from
Emre Can, Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane condemned the
Hammers to just their second top-flight loss of the calendar year and third
in 13 matches overall, with only Adrian's heroics preventing a heavier
defeat. The Hammers had chances of their own at Anfield, too, with Marko
Arnautovic hitting the underside of the bar with the game still goalless and
Michail Antonio netting a second-half goal just moments after arriving as a
substitute. "It was a tough day, but we played a good team in form, but
we've done quite well against the top teams since I've been at the Club and
I thought for periods today we also did quite well," said the manager.
"Especially in the first half, we created some chances and I thought we
played with bits of composure, albeit Liverpool were creating opportunities
and with the players they have got at their disposal, they're always going
to do that. "Our goal gave us a chance of getting back in the game. We
always thought we had a chance of scoring, but the thing was to keep their
front players quiet. We did a good job of that at times, but most of our
goals we conceded were self-inflicted, which hasn't been the case for us
this season, or certainly in the last six weeks, when we've been really
organised and not made individual mistakes. "We gave the ball away, got
caught on the ball and when you do that, Liverpool will punish you."

It was not all doom and gloom, though, as West Ham created chances
themselves, with Arnautovic and Pablo Zabaleta going close with the game
still poised at 0-0 before Can's 29th-minute opener. "With a little bit more
courage in the first half, I thought we could have gone in front if we could
have taken the opportunities, or could have taken control of the ball a bit
longer and kept possession. There were good things about it, but ultimately
we're playing against a team in really good form at the moment."

With the standings so congested in the bottom half, Moyes dismissed any
notion of this being a 'bonus' game and it being more important for his West
Ham team to beat the sides around them in the Premier League table. "You're
still looking to take points en route. We had a really good win against
Chelsea earlier this season and we picked up a point against Arsenal, so
we'll have to do that, but the other teams will be saying just the same.
"Every game is going to change the dynamics of the table. We're in a
relatively good league position, but not in a relatively good position
points-wise, because everybody is so closely bunched.
"It was important that we didn't lose by an even heavier margin, because
goal difference could be important come the end of the season."

Despite seeing their team beaten, West Ham's 3,000-strong travelling support
made themselves heard throughout the 90 minutes, by both cheering for their
team and singing the name of the late Bobby Moore in the sixth minute of
each half on the 25th anniversary of the late captain's death.

The Claret and Blue Army will hope for a more positive result when they head
to Swansea City next Saturday.

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