Our fan blogger looks back at Wednesday's victory against Watford
Our fan blogger Joe Difford looks back at Wednesday’s win against Watford…
Following a run of four successive league draws, Slaven Bilic's men were in desperate need of three points on Wednesday night. With our squad at full fitness for the first time all season and two strikers fielded, it was clear that the gaffer meant business.
Dimitri Payet and Manuel Lanzini were a handful from the off, and a number of through balls from the Frenchman came close to finding either Andy Carroll or Diafra Sakho. It was this combination that lead to the opening goal, as Payet played a wonderful lobbed pass and Carroll broke the offside trap to volley home.
Considering our luck in recent games when it comes to offside decisions, you could almost feel the whole of the Boleyn hold its breath and glance at the linesman, but his flag stayed down as the big number nine wheeled off in celebration.
Our penalty record is well-known by now, with our spot kick on Sunday against Leicester being only the tenth in four years, when the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City have been awarded almost thirty. So who'd have thought we'd find ourselves with two, clear-cut penalties against Watford?
The first saw Cheikhou Kouyate bundled to the ground, not able to even compete for a header, and Mark Noble buried the spot kick as expected. Heurelho Gomes managed to save two penalties at the weekend to earn his side a 1-0 victory over West Brom, but he couldn't get near either of Noble's efforts.
The second saw Michail Antonio burst forward into the penalty area, redefining the right back role, before being brought down by Almen Abdi, again, Noble scored the resulting penalty.
It was typical of how Bilic has got this side playing for most of the season that at 3-0 we didn't rest on our laurels but instead continued to press and Manuel Lanzini will be devastated not to have added two to the score sheet. Victor Moses was also denied late on by a fantastic Gomes save, but regardless, we were making a statement to those sides around us.
The visitors did pull a goal back through Sebastian Prodl, who expertly volleyed home from a wide set piece, fooling anyone not familiar with the defender into thinking he was a striker. The Hornets almost set up a dramatic final few minutes as Angelo Ogbonna brought down Prodl to force referee Mike Dean into giving the third penalty of the game.
But unfortunately for substitute Troy Deeney, the penalty expert Adrian made a wonderful save with his left arm to keep the score at 3-1. It has now been a magnificent 15 home league games without defeat, and we are so close to the perfect farewell to the Boleyn Ground.
Dimitri Payet was the star of the show after a few quiet performances in recent games, and he could have scored three in the first half but sent his efforts narrowly over the crossbar. Despite this, he was a nuisance all game and was constantly looking to play in the ever-present Sakho who it was great to see back in the squad.
Next up for the Hammers is a trip to West Brom followed by the visit of Swansea City in our penultimate game on Green Street, and if we get the six points we know we are capable of, we will be in a very strong position going into the last two games of the season.
For more West Ham fan views or to join the conversation visit www.90min.com
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of West Ham United
Following a run of four successive league draws, Slaven Bilic's men were in desperate need of three points on Wednesday night. With our squad at full fitness for the first time all season and two strikers fielded, it was clear that the gaffer meant business.
Dimitri Payet and Manuel Lanzini were a handful from the off, and a number of through balls from the Frenchman came close to finding either Andy Carroll or Diafra Sakho. It was this combination that lead to the opening goal, as Payet played a wonderful lobbed pass and Carroll broke the offside trap to volley home.
Considering our luck in recent games when it comes to offside decisions, you could almost feel the whole of the Boleyn hold its breath and glance at the linesman, but his flag stayed down as the big number nine wheeled off in celebration.
Our penalty record is well-known by now, with our spot kick on Sunday against Leicester being only the tenth in four years, when the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City have been awarded almost thirty. So who'd have thought we'd find ourselves with two, clear-cut penalties against Watford?
The first saw Cheikhou Kouyate bundled to the ground, not able to even compete for a header, and Mark Noble buried the spot kick as expected. Heurelho Gomes managed to save two penalties at the weekend to earn his side a 1-0 victory over West Brom, but he couldn't get near either of Noble's efforts.
The second saw Michail Antonio burst forward into the penalty area, redefining the right back role, before being brought down by Almen Abdi, again, Noble scored the resulting penalty.
It was typical of how Bilic has got this side playing for most of the season that at 3-0 we didn't rest on our laurels but instead continued to press and Manuel Lanzini will be devastated not to have added two to the score sheet. Victor Moses was also denied late on by a fantastic Gomes save, but regardless, we were making a statement to those sides around us.
The visitors did pull a goal back through Sebastian Prodl, who expertly volleyed home from a wide set piece, fooling anyone not familiar with the defender into thinking he was a striker. The Hornets almost set up a dramatic final few minutes as Angelo Ogbonna brought down Prodl to force referee Mike Dean into giving the third penalty of the game.
But unfortunately for substitute Troy Deeney, the penalty expert Adrian made a wonderful save with his left arm to keep the score at 3-1. It has now been a magnificent 15 home league games without defeat, and we are so close to the perfect farewell to the Boleyn Ground.
Dimitri Payet was the star of the show after a few quiet performances in recent games, and he could have scored three in the first half but sent his efforts narrowly over the crossbar. Despite this, he was a nuisance all game and was constantly looking to play in the ever-present Sakho who it was great to see back in the squad.
Next up for the Hammers is a trip to West Brom followed by the visit of Swansea City in our penultimate game on Green Street, and if we get the six points we know we are capable of, we will be in a very strong position going into the last two games of the season.
For more West Ham fan views or to join the conversation visit www.90min.com
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of West Ham United