Sunday 21 August 2016

West Ham 1-0 Bournemouth: Player Ratings


Premiership life at the Olympic Stadium got off to a winning start today as West Ham managed to find a late winner. however, the game was a rather scrappy affair notable for the many absences in the host's line up. How did our troops fare - here's the VERYWESTHAM verdict:

Adrian: Upbeat, positive, a ray of sunshine. He also managed to maintain his concentration on a quiet day at the office, keeping out two dangerous second half strikes from Josh King with acrobatic saves. 7/10.

Sam Byram: Solid in defence if a little uninspiring coming forward> he merits a starting place in the side and is our only recognised specialist right back. 7/10.

Arthur Masuaku: Excellent throughout. Comfortable on the ball and eager to get forward. Also put in a few decent defensive challenges. He is proving to be a decent replacement for Aaron Cresswell. 8/10.

Winston Reid: Solid as ever. Picked up a silly yellow card for dissent but otherwise unperturbed. 7/10.

James Collins:  Quietly effective but also nearly scored from an unusual set piece play for a  first half corner. ginger Pele almost became our top scorer! 7/10.

Havard Nordtveit: Solid part of a midfield that dominated Bournemouth without managing much on the creative side. 7/10.

Mark Noble: Never gave up even though the game looked to drivelling to a stalemate. Tireless in his efforts to keep the Hammers engine ticking over. 8/10.

Cheik Kouyate: Probably our best player on the day. Not just a physical force at the back but the source of our best attacking moves with his pace on the break , one of which brought the second yellow for Harry Arthur that tilted the game in West Ham's favour. 9/10.

Gokhan Tore: Had a busy day - with mixed results. On the up side he supplied an excellent cross for Michail Antonio's winner but otherwise does not look up to full speed and his set piece delivery was very modest in comparison with the absent Mr Payet. 7/10.

Enner Valencia: Typical performance from the Ecuadorian. He loses possession so often and seems to still be struggling with the physicality of the Premiership. 6/10.

Michail Antonio: Not at his best until he switched from the left to his natural right-sided wide attacking position where he thrived. He deserved the goal for all his loyalty and courage during the right back experiment which hopefully is finally over. 8.5/10.

Subs: Calleri looked lively in a useful 30 minute run out but will be disappointed with failing to net a one on one during injury time. Obiang and Fletcher were not involved for long enough to warrant critique.

Word is that Payet will be available for this week's Europa League second leg but SuperSlav will probably hold him back on the bench unless circumstances warrant his intervention.

 

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