On This Day: Rice's thunderbolt helps the Hammers past Watford

 

Taking a look back at a classic West Ham United moment on this day in history, in association with RoadX Tyres...

West Ham United all but confirmed Premier League survival with a 3-1 win over Watford at the London Stadium on this day in 2020.

Originally scheduled to take place on 3 April, the Hornets' visit to east London eventually occurred over three months later as part of the Premier League's 'Project Restart'.

With both sides battling to retain their status in the top division of English Football, a cagey affair might have been expected, but the Hammers quickly jumped into a 2-0 lead with goals from Michail Antonio and Tomas Souček inside the first ten minutes.

David Moyes' side extended their advantage even further not long after, Declan Rice's rasping effort from outside the box leaving Ben Foster motionless as it flew past him and into the net and handing the boys in Claret and Blue a seemingly unassailable lead before half-time.

To their credit the visitors hit back just after the break through Troy Deeney, but West Ham stuck to the task well and defended valiantly in the late stages to secure a crucial three points.

RoadX Tyres is West Ham United's Official Tyre Partner. RoadX Tyres is a new tyre brand which successfully launched around the world at the end of 2019. The company focuses on providing comfortable and durable high-performance tyres and is backed with the highest level of testing, manufacturing, and research and development capabilities