Ademola Lookman sees woeful injury-time Panenka penalty saved as West Ham clinch victory...

[ASFN Admin]

A first goalless draw of the season beckoned for both West Ham United and Fulham. Then, as the game went into added time, Fulham lost concentration and Tomas Soucek rifled home what was surely the winner. It was, but the drama was far from over. In the 96th minute, Fulham were awarded a penalty. Surely now they would avoid defeat. Instead, Ademola Lookman’s lamentable Panenka tricked into the arms of Lukasz Fabianski. Referee Robert Jones blew his whistle, the inconsolable Lookman fell to the ground and Fulham had lost again. But for both teams the curve is gently upwards. West Ham ought to have been out of sight in the first 10 minutes and until the denouement they were thwarted by a combination of profligate finishing, the excellence of Fulham’s Alphonse Areola and some old-fashioned bad luck. Times change and they change quickly. A week ago, Fulham were winless and a publicity-seeking bookmaker had paid up bets predicting an immediate return to the Championship. Monday’s victory over West Bromwich Albion and the continued failings of those around them meant Fulham kicked off in the sepulchral gloom of east London out of the relegation slots. They would finish out of them, too, and this particular international break will find them in far better heart and situation than September’s. They crated precious few chances, but Areola aside, they have a new-found defensive solidity, a midfield for whom the hard yards are a given and, penalty aside, a maverick will o the wisp in Lookman. In the wake of their plucky defeat at Liverpool, West Ham fielded an unchanged team, although not by choice since Michail Antonio’s hamstring had stubbornly refused to heal in time, so manager David Moyes persevered with Sebastien Haller, despite accusing the £45 million striker with three league goals to his name in 2020 of not smiling enough. Said Benrahma remained on the bench. Keen to expedite matters as soon as possible, West Ham began as if the game was a sprint rather than a marathon. Before 10 breathless minutes had passed, they had fashioned four clear-cut chances. Ola Aina flung himself in front of Arthur Masuku’s drive, the excellent Areola foiled Aaron Cresswell and then, with a marvellous mid-air adjustment, blocked Jarrod Bowen’s drive which clipped Aleksandar Mitrovic’s head on its way to goal. Finally, Haller did beat his fellow Frenchman, only for his header to cannon off the bar following Cresswell’s corner. All things must pass and so too did this, for West Ham could not maintain their all-out assault. Yet their transformation from speedboat to galleon was not without compensation. Declan Rice, so often left unchaperoned, began to dictate the game from midfield and Bowen was a one-man dynamo. Fulham, though, had ideas of their own. Their latest central defensive pairing, Joachim Andersen and Tosin Adarabioya, were untroubled by Haller and only mildly more disconcerted by the more mobile Pablo Fornals. With Andre-Frank Zamba Anguissa exuding ball-holding serenity and Antonee Robinson ensuring the hungry Lookman was regularly fed, they began to press back and the out-of-sorts but often marooned Mitrovic really ought to have done better than head Tom Cairney’s curling 25th-minute cross wide. A team who could have been four down were almost one up. History didn’t repeat itself at the beginning of the second half, but it did bend in a similar direction. Areola’s bar was rattling again after 49 minutes after a vicious Cresswell free-kick which the goalkeeper seemed to touch on the way, although referee Robert Jones gave a goal kick. Moments later, Areola dived one way but the ball went the other and sailed inches wide after Adarabioyo had deflected Bowen’s drive. After an hour, Moyes tinkered for victory, but not in the way he’d planned. With Benrahma and Manuel Lanzini stripped and ready, Angelo Ogbonna pulled up. Instead, Issa Diop was utilised and the injection of pace was delayed. As the pair loitered on the touchline, Fabianski was finally called into meaningful action, saving smartly from Bobby Decordova-Reid. West Ham pushed and probed until the final whistle, but Areola was still standing firm and a late, athletic double save from Benrahma encapsulated what had seemed to be splendid evening for him and a rewarding one for his now hard-to-beat team. Instead, West Ham had one last flourish. Vladimir Coufal crossed from the right, Andersen inadvertently headed on to Benrahma who crossed low for Soucek to gleefully sweep home. Had there been a home crowd, they would have gone wild. They would, though, have been rather subdued when Benrahma scythed down Cairney in the 96th minute. The wait was long, referee Jones consulted his monitor and pointed to the spot. Lookman took the kick. His attempted Panenka was a disaster and West Ham couldn’t quite believe their luck.

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