West Ham United 1-2 AFC Bournemouth
There weren’t a lot of fans that saw this game as an outstanding exhibition of football between two competitive sides, but those who did tune in to the Premier League clash between West Ham United and AFC Bournemouth were definitely taken for a spin!
West Ham vs Bournemouth predictions saw the Hammers narrowly winning the contest against the Cherries, and it seemed that it was meant to happen at the end of the first half.
However, Eddie Howe’s abilities and Callum Wilson’s knack for goals validated the SBOBET tips given in favour of the Cherries. London witnessed yet another upset starring the South Coast club.
Highlights of the game
West Ham, the slight pre-match favourites, started the game with the ball in possession for the first half. Bournemouth did a brilliant job in keeping the pressure on the Hammers for the game’s first couple of minutes. The early minutes of the game saw tense midfield battles and hard fouls being done by both sides.
West Ham have tried to overwhelm the South Coast club by dinking long balls past the backline. However, the Nathan Ake-Steve Cook partnership in the middle of the defence has been so far effective in stopping Javier Hernandez and Marko Arnautovic from doing whatever they want in front of goal.
West Ham’s attacks were starting to connect past the 20-minute mark, and fans were starving for a goal. Chicharito almost turned those hopes to reality: a great cross found him all alone in the box to duel Begovic, but the former Chelsea keeper coolly saved the ball for a corner that did not result into anything positive for the London Stadium faithful.
Bournemouth then made a quick counter that almost turned the game around on its head. Callum Wilson started a great run to catch the defenders off-guard. David Brooks made a nice pass to get him through. The former Coventry City player fired towards goal, but Fabianski managed to save the ball.
The game then headed to controversial territory on the 31st minute when Chicharito got through the defence and Ake apparently clipped him, but many a Bournemouth fan can argue that the Mexico international dived.
After much protest from the Hammers, Attwell gave the spot kick to the team. Marko Arnautovic sent the ball to the bottom-left corner. Begovic made the right guess, but the ball just whizzed past his hands and crashed to the net.
The Hammers then made use of the penalty to full swing the momentum in their favour. Brooks almost had a chance to equalise after a long pass from Andrew Surman, but the 20-year-old missed the ball. Arnautovic almost doubled West Ham’s lead with some brilliant individual skill, but Begovic denied him of a brace to end the first half.
The Cherries came with a purpose in the second half, pestering the Hammers’ backline for the start of the second half. West Ham then replied with another almost-goal with Arnautovic firing another on-target shot from a corner.
The Cherries then pounded a strong attack from the left, with Ryan Fraser running with the ball inside the box. Noble made a hard foul on the Scot, but Attwell didn’t call a foul in favour of Bournemouth.
Bournemouth eventually equalised the score thanks to the individual brilliance of Wilson. The frontman, who was also impressive against Cardiff, received a bullet of a pass from Steve Cook in the middle of the park in the 60th minute. He then dribbled amongst a sea of West Ham shirts to run all the way to the danger area and slot the ball past Fabianski.
The Cherries quickly pounced on the chaos and put one ahead of the Hammers with another goal six minutes after Wilson’s strike. A corner from Ryan Fraser saw the ball drift to the middle and into the head of Steve Cook. The centre-back managed to put the ball on target despite having a defender stuck on him.
Bournemouth then started to dominate the ball and the flow of the game. They started connecting good passes, blocking off passing routes at the final third, and mounting fast runs that catch the defence with their pants down.
The Hammers still threatened with their attacks, but the Cherries somehow got away with those chances. Begovic also made a couple of superb saves, with former Cherry Jack Wilshere‘s attempt in the 86th minute being one of the more dangerous shots. They weathered the storm until the referee blew the final whistle. The Cherries fans celebrated while the West Ham faithful have long fled their seats.
Key statistics
This victory now puts Bournemouth on equal footing with West Ham when it comes to their head-to-head battles. The Hammers and the Cherries have won three games each and split the honours on two more.
West Ham had more time with the ball, but Bournemouth were just as clinical as their hosts when it came to scoring shots on goal. Wilshere, one of the summer’s best free transfers, led the midfield to complete 200 passes.
However, the Hammers had five bookings, with four of them being slapped in the second half. The Cherries also had more free-kick attempts than their opponents, proving the effectiveness of Howe’s adjustments in the second half.
What’s next?
Bournemouth will be hoping to keep producing these Premier League 2018 highlights when they welcome Everton to the Vitality Stadium. With the way the season has started for the Cherries so far, it wouldn’t be bad to think that these Cherries can manage.
Meanwhile, the pressure’s on for Pellegrini as they cross Kingsland to battle Arsenal at the Emirates. Unai Emery is also under pressure to get some results for the Gunners, turning this London Derby into another must-watch game.
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