Jarrod Bowen gets Hammers out of jail and dedicates winner to Michail Antonio
FOR YOU MICHAIL: West Ham United's Jarrod Bowen celebrates after scoring his team's second goal as he holds up the shirt of his teammate Michail Antonio. Picture: ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images
Has Jarrod Bowen handed a Get Out Of Jail card for J-Lo? Is Gary O'Neil finally a goner? In the fickle world of football every struggling manager sees the odds on his sacking fluctuate by the minute.
Julen Lopetegui remains unloved at West Ham despite Bowen adding to Tomas Soucek's opener to seal victory. Probably this win has only delayed the inevitable.
For O'Neil however, losing the clash dubbed El Sackico by those who like to jest about the prospect of managers being fired (ie most of us) his job security has tumbled further towards untenability and we await the inevitable club statement.
West Ham were nowhere near the drop zone before this one but Lopetegui had been tried and found guilty by the Hammers fanbase almost as soon as he arrived in the summer. His crime? Failing to produce an upgrade on the pragmatic football served up David Moyes who is being suggested as a possible replacement for both bosses. The spectre of Graham Potter also looms.
West Ham are back in front again!
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 9, 2024
Jarrod Bowen with a touch of class 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/mr7ZAYmGiV
O'Neil's problems can be summed up by a glance at the league table - Wolves are second bottom and still four points from safety.
The former West Ham midfielder took over from Lopetegui at Molineux in the summer of 2023 when, three days before the new season, Lopetegui decided he didn't fancy life on a reduced budget.
That policy didn't change and a number of established stars were sold on this summer, including Max Kilman, who wore the number 26 shirt for the Hammers in this one.
Talking of shirts, West Ham are auctioning off that one and those worn by the other players in this game to raise funds for the NHS and Air Ambulances UK charity in recognition of their part in helping Michail Antonio on the long road to recovery. They all warned up in Antonio 9 shirts as well and these are also up for grabs.
Antonio, the Hammers' all-time top scorer in the Premier League, smashed his Ferrari in to a tree on Saturday and, at 34 and a leg badly broken, may never play again at a professional level.
Life-threatening injuries were initially feared; his misfortune did much to drape a sense of perspective over a fanbase that too often gets over-excited. The fans sang his name as the teams prepared to kick-off - and applauded in the ninth minute too.
Wolves fans amused themselves by insulting Lopetegui before Bowen forced goalkeeper Sam Johnstone into the game's first save.
It was Wolves who almost broke the deadlock however. Matt Doherty's cross from the right found Joao Gomes ahead of his marker at the back post but somehow he fired wide.
The half ended with West Ham squandering two decent chances. Johnstone's uncertain batting away of Mohammed Kudus' shot only just eluded Soucek for a tap-in and when Wolves failed to deal with the corner Konstantinos Mavropanos, falling backwards, spooned over from six yards. A few home fans booed when John Brooks blew for the break.
The mood lifted eight minutes into the second half however when Soucek headed home from Bowen's corner. The Czech wandered into space at the back post to nod a looping header over an utterly static Johnstone with Gomes not exactly busting a gut to stop it on the line either.
It was the sort of sloppy defending that gets managers sacked.
Wolves were fortunate when Kudus saw a goal ruled out by VAR on the hour for offside after he had nipped in behind Toti to convert another Bowen cross.
Matt Doherty puts Wolves BACK into the mix! 🐺🔥 pic.twitter.com/Pe58XxTWhE
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 9, 2024
O'Neil made two changes straight after to faint cries of 'you don't know what you're doing' from an away end that was enraged when one of the newcomers, Goncalo Guedes, was barged over by Emerson and neither Brooks nor VAR saw a need for a penalty.
Within seconds however they were celebrating Doherty's leveller as the Dubliner came storming in to convert Ryan Ait-Nouri's tempting cross - a fine first-time finish.
Within seconds of that though they were dejected again as Bowen slipped in between two gold shirts just inside the right of the box and beat Johnstone with a precision finish into the bottom corner. He dedicated the goal to his stricken teammate, holding aloft an Antonio 9 jersey.
Wolves had another penalty shout rejected by VAR - and Kudus was again offside when he netted at the other end once more.
The final whistle saw players from both sides confront each other angrily, with skipper Mario Lemina particularly aggrieved about something. Lopetegui was happy though and gave at least one of his former charges a hug.
Fabianski 7; Wan-Bissaka 6, Mavropanos 7, Kilman 6, Emerson 6 (Cresswell 88, 2); Alvarez 6 (Todibo 88. 2), Soler 6 (Paqueta 64. 5); Kudus 7 (Rodriguez 87, 2), Soucek 7, Summerville 6 (Ings 73, 4); Bowen 7.
Areola, Coufal, Fullkrug, Guilherme.
Johnstone 5; Doherty 6, S Bueno 6, Toti 6; Ait Nouri 7 (R Gomes 86, 2); Andre 6 (Bellegarde 62, 4), Lemina 6, Semedo 6; J Gomes 5 (Doyle 78, 3), Strand Larsen 5 (Guedes 62, 4), Cunha 6.
Bentley, Hwang, Dawson, Forbs, Lima.
John Brooks 6
