Premier League
West Ham United 1-1 Bournemouth 

Saturday, 20th January 2018
by David Fletcher

It finishes a goal apiece at the London Stadium as West Ham and Bournemouth fight it out for a point which means both sides keep their position in mid table.

It was West Ham who started quickly and piled the pressure on Bournemouth. The away side were struggling to keep up as West Ham continued to push men forward.

They were very nearly broken down in the thirteenth minute when Cheikhou Kouyate, after making a steaming run down the right, cut back and gave the ball to Pablo Zabaleta who put in a brilliant cross for Arnautovic whose effort was pushed over the bar by Bournemouth 'keeper Asmir Begovic.

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The game's high level of intensity continued throughout the first half. Though the visitors were managing to enjoy longer spells on the ball as the game progressed, they were constantly being harrassed by an energetic West Ham team anxious to get back into possession, resulting in numerous West Ham counter attacks.

Most notably just shy of the half-an-hour mark, when Pedro Obiang broke away finding Manuel Lanzini, he then found Marko Arnautovic in space, but he scampered his shot wide.

As opposed to their south coast rivals, West Ham were managing to intelligently play the ball out of trouble preventing the Cherries from pouncing on their mistakes.

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However, deep into the second half, the tide seemed to have turned and Bournemouth were the ones with the better chances as the Hammers lacked intensity to keep on with their efficient pressing.

Lewis Cook got the away fans on the edge of their seats when a well worked corner made its way to the youngster on the edge of the area, though his curling effort went just wide of West Ham 'keeper Adrian's far post.

As had happened in the first period, West Ham were fast out of the blocks but failed to maintain their vigour as the match wore on. A spell of dangerous balls into the six-yard area was not enough to break down the Bournemouth defence as they stood firm.

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It would be a barren fifteen minutes with neither side looking like scoring before the deadlock was finally broken in the 71st minute.

Steve Cook pressurised by Arnautovic and Javier Hernandez fresh off the bench having replaced the injured Lanzini, found Junior Stanislas in space who threaded the ball through to Ryan Fraser who curled it past Adrian at the near post to put Bournemouth ahead.

However, the away side barely got to appreciate what they had just done when less than a minute fron the restart, West Ham hit back with a goal of their own.


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A simple long ball from Angelo Ogbonna, nodded on by Kouyate and then Chicharito made its way to Arnautovic. The Austrian international's shot was blocked, yet Chicharito was first to the rebound and poked the ball into the corner past Begovic.

Although the game did open up after the two quick goals, neither side managed to grab that all-important second goal resulting in a well earned point for both teams.

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Player Ratings

Adrian San Miguel Del Castillo
Though he made a couple of decent saves and his distribution was fine, he was beaten a bit too easily at the near post by Bournemouth's Ryan Fraser.


Pablo Zabaleta
Decent going forward. Kept Ryan Fraser relatively quiet, something that he failed to do back in December.


Arthur Masuaku
Was full of energy in the first half attacking with purpose and beating players with ease. Was relatively weak in defence in the closing stages of the match allowing crosses to be put into the box from his side.


Angelo Ogbonna
Another decent shift from the Italian, keeping Bournemouth's biggest attacking threat Callum Wilson quiet during the entirety of the ninety minutes.


James Collins
Martialled the defence tremendously well preveting Bournemouth's attacking players from finding any gaps in the final third.


Aaron Cresswell
Covered a lot of ground, playing a part in attack whilst also retreating to his centre-half position.


Pedro Obiang
Very good eye for a pass.


Cheikhou Kouyate
What he lacked in pace going forward he made up for in strength, shrugging off multiple Bournemouth defences and holding the ball well in complicated situations.


Mark Noble
Calm and collected on the ball. Aggressive and responsable with his tackling.


Manuel Lanzini
Manouvers so well in tight pockets of space. Was so influential to West Ham's attacking play that they lost their flair when he was replaced due to injury.


Marko Arnautovic
Linked up well with Manuel Lanzini on numerous occasions, but wasn't clinical enough on one-on-one situations.



Substitutes

Javier Hernandez
(Replaced Lanzini) Amazing movement in and around the box, but didn't do enough in defence, granting Bournemouth with a lot of time on the ball in midfield in the late stages of the game slowing the game down considerably.


Declan Rice
(Replaced Kouyate) Filled in for Cresswell nicely in the last few minutes making a couple of good tackles and clearances.


Sam Byram
(Replaced Cresswell) Made a slight impact going forward managing to work Asmir Begovic in the Bournemouth goal despite only being on for a few minutes.


Joe Hart
Did not play.


Reece Burke
Did not play.


Josh Cullen
Did not play.


Antonio Martinez
Did not play.



Match Facts

West Ham United: Adrian San Miguel Del Castillo, Pablo Zabaleta, Arthur Masuaku, Angelo Ogbonna, James Collins, Aaron Cresswell, Pedro Obiang, Cheikhou Kouyate, Mark Noble, Manuel Lanzini, Marko Arnautovic.

Goals: Javier Hernandez 73                  .

Booked: James Collins 31 Arthur Masuaku 49 Angelo Ogbonna 58      .

Sent off: None.

Bournemouth: Begovic, Francis, S Cook, Ake, Daniels, Fraser (King 85), Gosling, Smith, L Cook, Ibe (Stanislas 62), Wilson.

Subs not used: Boruc, Surman, Mousset, Simpson, Frazer Taylor.

Goals: Fraser (72).

Booked: Gosling (52).

Sent off: None.

Referee: Martin Atkinson.

Attendance: 0.

Man of the Match: Manuel Lanzini.