Struggling Hammers Lose to Battling Bees At London Stadium
I hope everyone is safe and well.
I was about to leave for this match when my wife and youngest boy noticed that the hot water tap was not running properly. Trying the taps myself, I found the water barely dripping out. It was the same with the cold water tap as well.
I quickly checked the boiler and water mains and everything seemed to be as normal. But still no water from the taps. What could be causing this?
I slipped on my boots and knocked on our neighbours door asking if they were having trouble with their water as well. Yes, they were so phew! It’s not anything wrong with our end but we had noticed some workmen behind our row of houses who were busy digging a hole in the communal garden area.
I walked round to ask them what they were doing – apparently they were upgrading some pipework and needed to turn off the water mains. I challenged them both “Did you not think to tell anyone you were going to turn the water off?” One of them, who was leaning over a barrier surrounding the hole and clearly busy on his phone, just looked up and nodded.
“Well, how long you going to be?” “‘Bout ‘arf ‘our mate”
Strewth! They are not my mates and I started thinking what would someone do if they were in the shower when the water was turned off, or used water for a medical need, or needed the heating on. So inconsiderate and frustrating in equal measure. I thought about giving them both a piece of my mind, but decided it wasn’t worth my time and turned on my heals to quickly get ready and get to the match, we were already late by this time.
My patience was tested and my blood boiling from the short exchange with these noons, so as I walked to the match with my son, we talked about the team sheet and whether we would win this match. Brentford have been on a good little run but after our Chelsea performance, I was really hoping we could win this match. Bowen back in the team, Ferguson and James on the bench and the exciting Scarles likely to make another showing we were definitely feeling positive. Potter has done some good work so far with the team and we were expecting to see some more improvement in how the team play.
Being late meant I did not have the time to come towards the stadium from a different route to my usual. I have been meaning to approach the stadium from different areas around Stratford to get a few different perspectives, but today it was about getting to the stadium as soon as we could before the start of the match.
The steps are quite striking, especially taken using my nifty 50mm lens. I manage to get through security easily enough with a bit of banter and distraction away from my camera, and I send a quick text to check if my brother has arrived.
As it is so close to kick off, there are plenty of fans mingling around on the concourse that surrounds the stadium, and me and my boy quickly meander through the crowd towards the turnstile. I try and capture a sense of people gathering together before the game and finally get to the turnstile to find my brother waiting.
As my brother buys our coffees and some crisps, I scan around for anything interesting to quickly snap.
Then we rush round past the founders wall and up the stairs that lead into the stands and we are in time to hear the crowd singing and music playing as the players enter the pitch with bubbles billowing around us.
As the players form lines around the centre circle the announcer introduces a celebration of Ronnie Boyce to gentle applause, who played his entire career for West Ham United, making 282 Football League appearances for us scoring the winning goal in the 1964 FA Cup final against Preston North End and then go on to help the Hammers win the 1965 European Cup Winners’ Cup.
The match starts and it’s quite hard to know what has happened since we last played against Chelsea away. Brentford rush breathlessly forward time and again.
We are over run and outplayed and whatever the plan was for the first half, surly it wasn’t to concede endless space and allow the visitors to attack almost without resistance.
Schade’s goal is briefly checked by VAR and confirmed as an early sucker punch before the team had a chance to get hold of the ball.
Paqueta, who was definitely struggling, thumps a naive cross field pass in front of our 18 yard box that is eventually snatched up by Wissa to sink home and its 2-0 before I’ve had a chance to drink any coffee or taste a crisp!
After a short time, the goal is ruled out for off side, maybe this could be our day but it seemed only inevitable the Bees would be pressing again and again to try and double their lead.
Soucek is yellow carded for a silly challenge and again Kevin Schade was causing problems down the left side for us as he thumps another ball into the area.
But what on earth is going on with the short passes out from the keeper that time and again puts us under pressure as we struggle to get the ball up field? Every time either Areola or a defender soft passed the ball out from the 6 yard box, Brentford rushed forward to put whoever had the ball under pressure. This doesn’t work for us and leaves us exposed at the back.
We were lucky not to be 3 or 4 nil down by half time! If I was upset before the game I was feeling absolutely beside myself by half time. Surely Potter didn’t send the team out to play like that? Strewth! We just hoped something will change for the second half.
The first half felt like pre-Potter, where Lopetigui had the team set up in such as way as to leave the players confused about their roles in the game. Brentford came at us quickly and with purpose, cutting through our midfield like a hot knife through butter.
It wasn’t working at all and we were fortunate for both VAR and Brentford’s lack of composure to finish off some of their chances. They were defending high on the press and we were giving them time and space on the ball.
But Potter rang the changes at half time introducing Prowse, Scarles and Ferguson to inject some purpose and energy into the team and try to tighten the midfield. And we looked a lot more competitive, turning the play over and making forward runs, but crucially the players worked harder to close down and chase that second ball.
And we got to see James Ward-Prowse in action with plenty of corners and free kicks in front of the visitors penalty area. Nothing came of them, but it was great to see our dead ball specialist back in claret and blue. You felt as if something could happen, we held more of a threat from set ball plays, but in the end it just wasn’t to be and maybe too much to expect from JWP for his first match back in the first team.
And what a difference having Scarles and Ferguson on for the second half. We suddenly started to close down and defend higher up the pitch. We ran for the second ball, challenged and harassed and we were probing and searching for a way through the visitors defence. Both Ferguson and Scarles injected some well needed quality with Ferguson looking to be in the right place, Scarles throwing himself into the game and trying to make things happen.
The crowd were getting behind the team and there was a sense that we could at least take a point from this encounter, but ut was not to be. Brentford had done enough in the first half and held on for a win against a team still in some transition where Potter has a lot more work to do before we can find some consistency but get into a run of form and start securing points to take us up the table.
A frustrating game for sure, you could see how much it meant to Scarles and the crowd were left to wonder what the result could have been if the team that finished the match had started the game. One thing that we noticed was how much better Paqueta was in the second half. More of that please.
It was cold and wet, and after the game me and the boy didn’t want to hang around. My brother said his good byes and me and my son walked quickly around the stadium towards our exit for home. I try and grab a few shots but a lot of fans had gone already. I do love the shots with just enough light to capture a face or outlines of people at the bar. Although these hosts often need a bit of careful editing to bring anything worthwhile out of them.
A few younger fans playing football after the match – a bit of a challenge to capture even with the new kit – but I like these shots even if the focus is a little out the blurred with movement. But enough now, we both thought, it’s time to get home and reflect on a missed opportunity to secure a mid table spot in the league.
Take care everyone
Dawud
From the Stands 