West Ham 1 Middlesbrough 1
Payet 51 Stuani 57
There was much to be admired about Middlesbrough’s 1-1 draw
away at West Ham on Saturday afternoon however, in league where points are hard
to come by and wins can be scare for newly promoted sides, there was general feeling
that this was an opportunity missed.
Boro huffed and puffed to produce another typical,
hardworking away performance, like the ones at Sunderland and West Brom.
In the end they were denied a commendable victory by a piece
of brilliance from Dimitri Payet, whose second half equaliser eased some
criticism about the Hammers’ new home, The London Stadium.
Up until that point Boro had their hosts exactly where they
wanted them. A goal up after 51 minutes, courtesy of Cristhian Stuani’s header,
Aitor Karanka’s side had relented some first half pressure and looked on course
to record their second victory of the season. That was until Payet stuck.
The mercurial Frenchman found space on the left and skipped
past Antonio Barragan with ease. Back came Marten De Roon, who had enjoyed a
robust game in the middle of the park, but still Payet couldn’t be stopped. He jinked
past Calum Chambers, then Ben Gibson and finally George Friend before tucking
the ball past keeper Victor Valdes. Yes, the defending could have been
questioned. But this was a solo goal of immense quality.
Payet could have been the difference in this cagey game
between two sides which were experiencing similar losing streaks, yet the
visitors managed to keep him at bay for the final half an hour.
Adam Forshaw produced another splendid display in the heart
of midfield. Not only did he look like Boro’s most creative player, but he also
did well to take the sting out of proceedings when the Hammers threatened to
take control.
Karanka raised a few eyebrows with his team selection, which
saw Adam Clayton, Gaston Ramirez and Alvaro Negredo drop to the bench. In their
place came Forshaw, Viktor Fischer and Jordan Rhodes.
It was the Fischer who had the game’s first real attempt
when Rhodes nodded the ball into the Danish playmaker’s path but he fired just
wide.
Boro’s biggest threat came down the left where Friend and
Stewart Downing combined effectively on numerous occasions.
Slaven Bilic had made four alterations to the West Ham side
which lost 3-0 at home to Southampton last time out. With Andy Carroll and Diafra
Sakho still out injured and Simone Zaza low on confidence, Michail Antonio led
the line.
The host’s closest effort came on the stoke of half time when
captain Mark Noble curled an effort from the edge of the area onto the
underside of Victor Valdes’ crossbar.
Stuani’s opener from a Fischer corner after the break appeared
to swing the momentum in Boro’s favour, however Payet brilliance brought parity
just five minutes later.
In the end it was another admirable point for Karanka’s side
but it could so easily have been three.
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