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Jarrod Bowen scored a hat-trick as West Ham beat bogey side Brentford 4-2 to ease the pressure on David Moyes.
Bowen scored his first goals since the previous Christmas, leading the Hammers to victory in their first match of 2024. This ended their streak of eight games without a win and quieted speculation about the manager’s future.
They had a regrettable record of losing all five of their games against Brentford in the Premier League. Brentford was the only team out of the 43 that Moyes had faced in the top division that he had not yet defeated.
In the end, the decline was halted for Brentford. They had been pushed further into the relegation battle on Monday when Everton’s points penalty was decreased from 10 to six, adding to their struggles. This recent loss marks their 12th defeat in 15 games since defeating West Ham at home in November.
West Ham rejoices in a crucial victory.
The image used in this action was obtained through Reuters.
It is uncertain where West Ham has been for the past two months. They missed an opportunity in the third minute when James Ward-Prowse redirected Vladimir Coufal’s cross, but Tomas Soucek shot over from six yards.
Shortly after, they took the lead as Ward-Prowse passed the ball to Emerson Palmieri on the left side.
The defender from Italy passed the ball back to Bowen, who controlled it before powerfully shooting it past Mark Flekken.
After going goalless in seven consecutive Premier League matches, Bowen managed to score two within the first seven minutes.
Coufal located the promising England player within 10 yards and smoothly scored, increasing the lead.
The Bees were provoked and quickly reacted, scoring in the 13th minute with a goal from Neal Maupay, marking his fifth goal in five consecutive games against the Hammers.
In the first half, West Ham attempted to score a third goal, but Soucek failed to make a proper kick in front of the goal. Lucas Paqueta, who had recently recovered from an injury, then attempted a volley that missed wide. A shot by Mohammed Kudus was caught by Flekken.
It had not been a particularly niggly half, but Maupay, Brentford’s premier wind-up merchant, seemed to say something which riled Hammers coach Kevin Nolan as they came back out of the tunnel, with Bees defender Mathias Jorgensen separating the pair.
Unfortunately, Ivan Toney narrowly missed the chance to score a tying goal as he was unable to make contact with a well-placed pass from Keane Lewis-Potter.
Bowen scored his third goal in the 64th minute, making him the first West Ham player to do so at the London Stadium. He scored with a basic header from a cross delivered by Kudus.
The home team’s goalkeeper Alphonse Areola made a crucial save on Frank Onyeka’s strike near the ground, just by the post. Shortly after, the Hammers scored their fourth goal in a stylish manner.
A pass from Kudus was directed to Emerson, who was 20 yards away. The full-back then fired a powerful shot into the top corner, past Flekken.
Bees substitute Yoane Wissa pulled another back late on and Areola denied Toney in stoppage time as West Ham held on for a win which was almost as impressive as it was unexpected.
Source: independent.co.uk
