By Sam Tonks
West Ham made it three Premier League wins in a row for the first time since December 2016 as they came from behind to win 3-2 in an entertaining London Derby, against Crystal Palace.
James McArthur opened the scoring on seven minutes, but another second-half blitz swung the game to West Ham with goals from Robert Snodgrass, Chicharito and Felipe Anderson. They held on for the win despite Jeff Schlupp cutting the difference in the final 20 minutes.
West Ham were heading into a London Derby against Crystal Palace on fine form, two wins in a week and six goals scored. Despite the absence of Marko Arnautovic, Lucas Perez was in to start after his two goals in the week, Fabien Balbuena and Pablo Zabaleta were restored into the side.
Palace had picked up just one win in nine league games but Roy Hodgson picked an unchanged team with ex-Hammers James Tomkins and Cheick Kouyate reunited with their former employer.
It was a lively opening with both sides attacking out of the blocks, led by the direct runners of Anderson and Wilfried Zaha respectively. West Ham were the first to go close, Chicharito played through by Perez from the edge of the box, only to be denied by the sprawling body of Wayne Hennessey.
Palace made more of their first opportunity, as they opened the scoring inside seven minutes. A lofted free kick found centre-back Tomkins, who flicked it on to McArthur, managing to break the offside trap, he squeezed the ball under Lukasz Fabianksi.
It was hard-work for the remainder of the first half for the hosts who saw plenty of the ball, but little in sights of the Palace goal.
Anderson was demanding the ball, looking to bring his team level but the final ball was lacking for the Hammers. Both Zabaleta and Artur Masuaku found themselves in great positions down the flanks but were unable to pick out a team-mate with their crosses.
Declan Rice headed a Snodgrass corner over, which summed up the frustration for West Ham. The visitors’ backline was organised and resolute and they possessed a threat on the counter, full-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka a particular outlet down the right wing.
Palace skipper Luka Milovojevic came within inches of doubling the lead in added time, but his free-kick bounced off the cross bar with Fabianski beaten.
Manuel Pellegrini acted at half-time to bring a different dynamic to proceedings, Andy Carrol on for Perez.
Within four minutes of the restart, the equaliser came, not from Carroll, but Snodgrass. Zabaleta’s cross was blocked and the ball fell to the Scottish winger who took aim with his left foot and caught out Hennessey with a great striker, three assists and a goal in three games for the in-form Hammer.
The game became end-to-end as neither team fancied drawing a London Derby. Zaha had a shot blocked inside the box by Zabaleta, who went close himself as his shot on the edge of the box deflected off Patrick Van Aanholt but floated just pass the post.
It was a breathless second half, Milovojevic’s blocked shot fell to McArthur who broke the offside trap again, but Fabianski intercepted his pass to Max Meyer. Then on 64 minutes, the turn-around was complete.
Felipe Anderson’s free-kick was well saved by Hennessey but Chicharito was on-hand to smash the rebound into the roof of the net, a vintage goal from the Mexican poacher. Just three minutes later, it was another three-goal showing for the Hammers and a beauty from the Brazilian.
On the inside left-channel, he looked up and curled a stunning effort beyond the helpless dive of Hennessey, another superb second-half start in the space of four days.
West Ham seemed set to cruise to a second 3-1 win this week, until Palace restored the contest again. A short corner was played, Meyer crossed and substitute Schlupp beat Fabianski with a header to restore hope for the visitors.
The urgency was back in the visitors play, Jordan Ayew was brought on in the hope of delivering an equaliser of their own with 10 minutes to play. Grady Diangana was still trying to score his first league goal for the club, his shot from a tight angle was tipped over by Hennessey as the game headed into the final stages.
The Hammers saw the win through, nine points and nine goals in a week as they move up to 10th position, five points off the top six. The next visitors to London Stadium are Watford on 22nd December.
Â
