West Ham United extended their unbeaten run to five games with Saturday’s 4-1 victory at Huddersfield Town and moved up to eleventh in the Premier League table, much to the delight of returning defender Aaron Cresswell.
The 28-year-old was back in the starting XI at John Smith’s Stadium, after missing the previous two games with injury, and immediately slotted in alongside James Collins and Angelo Ogbonna as they restricted the Terriers to two shots on target.
At the other end Marko Arnautovic and Manuel Lanzini were in inspired form, combining in devastating fashion as David Moyes’ took the game away from Huddersfield with three goals in 16 second half minutes.
Cresswell was thrilled to be back and is keen to keep the fine run going as the Hammers prepare for Tuesday’s Emirates FA Cup third round against Shrewsbury Town.
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“It was a good game to come back in for,” he said. “It was an important one, so to get a 4-1 win away from home is massive. Some of the goals we scored were fantastic.
“It was just eleven seconds after half-time that we got the second goal and it was a great finish from Marko. He was on fire, scoring one goal and setting the other three up. You can’t ask for any more.
“The link-up play between him and Manu, especially in the second half, was great to look at. Watching them from behind, passing and moving, running in behind and Manu taking the space up, was fantastic.
It was an important game, so to get a 4-1 win away from home is massive. Some of the goals we scored were fantastic
Aaron Cresswell
“We can’t focus on teams below us, we need to focus on ourselves going into games like Saturday’s and collecting the three points.
“We’ve got some good games coming up that are winnable and we need to keep on getting those points.
“It’s a cup game next, another good game for us, and the FA Cup is important for us. You want to progress as far as you can, but you also want to survive in the Premier League. We’re on a good track at the minute and we need to keep it going.”