West Ham 1-0 Wolves: Tomas Soucek winner moves Hammers to within two points of top four
Match report and free highlights as West Ham move to within two points of fourth-placed Manchester United with their second league win in six; Wolves remain eighth, seven points off the top four after a second defeat in four days dampens their chances of Champions League qualification
Monday 28 February 2022 09:39, UK
West Ham reignited their push for a top-four finish with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Champions League qualification rivals Wolves at the London Stadium.
Tomas Soucek's 59th-minute goal was enough to hand David Moyes' side just their second win in six league games to move within two points of fourth-placed Manchester United after they drew 0-0 at home to relegation-threatened Watford on Saturday. The Hammers are fifth, ahead of Arsenal on goal difference.
Wolves boss Bruno Lage decided to make five changes after Thursday's 2-1 defeat at Arsenal with Raul Jimenez, Daniel Podence and Joao Moutinho dropping to the bench. It proved costly for his side, who were only able to register one shot on target, and remain eighth, seven points off fourth.
Soucek scored from close-range after a cut-back from Michail Antonio put it on a plate for the midfielder on his 27th birthday, following some bad Wolves defending at a throw-in.
"It was the difference in the result," said Lage. "They scored a goal because we gave them a good chance to score."
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He added: "The way we suffered that goal was unbelievable - but this is football."
Jarrod Bowen was presented with a chance to double their lead less than 10 minutes later, as he was found unmarked in the area by Pablo Fornals, only to rush the opportunity and hit it straight at Jose Sa.
The visitors pushed hard for an equaliser, bringing Pedro Neto, Jimenez and Podence off the bench, but were kept out well by West Ham, with Kurt Zouma playing a starring role at the back for the Hammers.
Wolves offered almost nothing going forward for the opening 45 minutes - failing to register a shot on target - but Hwang Hee-chan had the best chance of the half, firing wide after the ball was cleared to him in the box just before the break.
West Ham captain Declan Rice came closest for the home side in the first half, with his long-range effort striking the post from the edge of the area.
West Ham show support for Ukraine and Yarmolenko
West Ham forward Andriy Yarmolenko was left out for Sunday's match on compassionate leave following the invasion of his country Ukraine by Russia.
West Ham wore Yarmolenko shirts in the warm-up, while Wolves showed an anti-war message as they trained before the match.
The London Stadium projected an image of support for their forward and Ukraine, which read: "Sending love and prayers to Andriy Yarmolenko and the people of Ukraine".
Rice led out the West Ham team and as they lined up, he raised a Yarmolenko shirt, as the in-screen stadium screen showed the same message of support before kick-off.
After the game, the West Ham captain dedicated the win to his team-mate in a post on Twitter, in which he wrote: "Back to our best today. Big performance and win. Yarmolenko, that was for you brother."
Asked about the tributes for Ukraine, Moyes said: "Premier League football is so looked at throughout the world. I think that there is a message coming from the Premier League that nobody over here in this part of the world is recognising war.
"We support Ukraine and want to support Andriy Yarmolenko. I believe he will come back into training tomorrow. We are more interested that he has everyone in his family safe."
'Exceptional' Zouma comes up big for West Ham
Wolves were tame, especially in the first half, but West Ham did an excellent job of intervening before any dangerous opportunities arose. Zouma stood out above the rest.
There was a moment in the first half which saw 19-year-old Wolves forward Fabio Silva through on goal in the area - one of their best opportunities of the game - which Zouma dealt with expertly. The former Chelsea defender had no option but to time his tackle to perfection, and that's exactly what he did.
In the second half, as the visitors pushed for an equaliser, he was a mountain for the hosts, constantly on hand to clear the ball from wave after wave of Wolves attacks.
No player won more aerial duels than the France defender. His 11 clearances ranked highest among his team, he had the joint-second most interceptions and made that crucial, potentially goal-saving, challenge on Silva.
Moyes described Zouma's performance at the back "as strong and commanding", adding: "I thought Kurt was exceptional today."
Zouma earlier this month had his cats taken away from him after video emerged of him kicking and punching one of his pets. Moyes added: "We are trying to help him at a difficult time, and a time that we all regret."
Lage's decision to rotate comes back to bite Wolves
Wolves had just two full days of rest following the defeat at Arsenal on Thursday night - West Ham had a full week off to prepare - and head coach Bruno Lage decided to make five changes.
It came as a surprise to see Jimenez and Podence, Wolves' joint-top scorers, on the bench, with Joao Moutinho also left out of the starting line-up.
Wolves, who failed to score for the 12th time in the Premier League this season, struggled to create any clear-cut chances without their key men, who were unable to make any real impact off the bench.
After a run which saw them win five of their last eight league games, this result leaves them seven points adrift of the top four with 12 games to go. It feels like Lage took a big risk, especially after a defeat on Thursday night, which has ultimately ruined his side's momentum and leaves them with little chance of making a run for the top four.
After the game, he said: "The last two games were good for us to see we are not far away from [the teams going for top four]. We are not far away from these teams, it is in small details and experience."
Perhaps, it is too much to ask of Wolves to challenge for the top four. But with the teams around them showing a real lack of consistency, this felt like a good opportunity to at least make a sustained push for the Champions League.
Moyes praises West Ham improvement | Sets Soucek target
West Ham manager David Moyes said: "Soucek has got four goals now, so I'm not putting 10 beyond him. He got 10 last year and he had a great season so I'm hoping that gives him the confidence.
"I thought he played better today. I thought his whole performance as well as the goal - and it's the performances I'm after, I'm looking for improved performances and I thought today's - was a much-improved performance.
"I thought we were good on the ball, created some much-improved stuff. I thought we created more chances than we have in other games, so I thought there was lots of good things about today's performance."
Lage: Good performance against a strong team
Wolves head coach Bruno Lage said: "I think it was a good performance, I think we played the way we want, and we like," Lage said.
"In the end, when you look at our performance it was a good performance but the way we conceded the chances and the way we suffered that goal was unbelievable - but this is football."
He added: "We played 30 minutes in their half of the pitch and we tried to create our chances and also to understand we are playing against a strong team.
"Fabianski is one of the best goalkeepers in the world to stop crosses, tall defenders, and we needed to find a way - especially with our players - to score a goal."
What's next?
Live Premier League
West Ham will face Southampton in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Wednesday night at 7.30pm, before returning to Premier League action against Liverpool on Saturday at 5.30pm, live on Sky Sports.
Wolves will next take on Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday; kick-off 3pm.
