West Ham 1-0 Southampton: Player ratings as Hammers ease relegation fears
By Sean Walsh
West Ham moved up to 14th place in the Premier League table on Sunday with a narrow 1-0 win against bottom club Southampton at the London Stadium.
David Moyes' side weren't at their best, but as it turned out they didn't need to be in order to claim the victory in a vital relegation six-pointer.
The Saints return to the south coast still rooted to the foot of the table and three points from safety.
The visitors dominated the opening stages with the hosts sleepwalking into danger. Theo Walcott launched a volley at the stanchion early on to wake up a rather apathetic home crowd.
But against the run of play, West Ham took the lead. A deep free-kick from Thilo Kehrer was headed home by Nayef Aguerd, and the Hammers were able to celebrate following a three-and-a-half minute check for offside by VAR.
Southampton nearly found an equaliser moments later. Sekou Mara's flick released Romain Perraud, and his shot needed a flying save from Lukasz Fabianski to deny a thumping goal.
Said Benrahma fired over from the edge of the penalty area soon after and Jarrod Bowen rattled the crossbar in stoppage time as West Ham found their footing and managed to reach the break with a one-goal advantage.
The Hammers returned to their usual passive state after the restart but were still managing to keep the Saints at arm's length.
Gavin Bazunu stood tall to deny Bowen from a tight angle and Southampton substitute Kamaldeen Sulemana lashed a strike just past the post as the game threatened to kick back into life just before the hour mark.
Southampton sought to ramp up the pressure and saw a speculative strike from Romeo Lavia nearly creep in at the near post, with Fabianski spotting it late and just about holding onto the trickling effort.
Carlos Alcaraz then forced the Pole into a save with a curling shot from the edge of the area as home fans started to grow a little restless.
At the other end, Bowen managed to weave his way past a couple of Southampton challenges but saw his goal-bound shot blocked by Jan Bednarek.
West Ham went close to doubling their lead in the final ten minutes when Aguerd flicked a Bowen corner into the path of Lucas Paqueta, but he was unable to keep his half-volley down on the stretch.
Home fans audibly groaned when 6ft7 target man Paul Onuachu cannoned a header off the crossbar for the Saints, with Kyle Walker-Peters' rebound sailing narrowly over.
But after three minutes of stoppage time, West Ham were able to celebrate a much-needed victory to settle some of their nerves in the relegation dogfight.
West Ham player ratings (4-2-3-1)
GK: Lukasz Fabianski - 7/10 - Made a few key saves on his return from injury.
RB: Thilo Kehrer - 8/10 - Who knew he had such a great delivery in his locker? Looked far more assured today than he has all season. Even made some great runs into the Southampton box.
CB: Kurt Zouma - 7/10 - Rarely troubled by any combination of Southampton's forwards.
CB: Nayef Aguerd - 8/10 - A winning goal and a clean sheet. Job done.
LB: Emerson - 7/10 - Found it quite easy to pick-pocket Armstrong.
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CM: Tomas Soucek - 4/10 - Offered absolutely nothing and it's a miracle he wasn't hooked before the 68th minute.
CM: Declan Rice - 6/10 - Had to do the running for two people with Soucek completely out of sorts.
RM: Jarrod Bowen - 6/10 - West Ham's most creative spark and should have seen more of the ball if anything.
AM: Lucas Paqueta - 7/10 - Like Rice had to do a lot of Soucek's heavy lifting for him, putting in a breathless display filled with the odd moment of flair.
LM: Said Benrahma - 6/10 - Started brightly but like Bowen didn't benefit from West Ham's desire to not have the ball for long stretches.
CF: Danny Ings - 5/10 - West Ham couldn't find him but Ings didn't exactly put himself about either.
Substitutes
Michail Antonio (65' for Ings) - 5/10
Flynn Downes (68' for Soucek) - 6/10
Pablo Fornals (88' for Paqueta) - N/A
Aaron Cresswell (88' for Emerson) - N/A
Manager
David Moyes - 6/10 - A gritty and ugly win. Moyes was in his element.
Southampton player ratings (4-4-2)
GK: Gavin Bazunu - 7/10 - Kept Southampton in the game with some crucial saves.
RB: Kyle Walker-Peters - 6/10 - Enjoyed a professional if cynical battle with Benrahma.
CB: Jan Bednarek - 4/10 - Reckless and fortunate West Ham were happy not to apply more pressure.
CB: Duje Caleta-Car - 4/10 - Likewise a chaotic presence at the back.
LB: Romain Perraud - 5/10 - Got forward to join in with attacks on a regular basis.
RM: Stuart Armstrong - 5/10 - Tried to dribble his way out of trouble but could never find the right solution.
CM: James Ward-Prowse - 6/10 - Progressed the ball but couldn't pick the lock.
CM: Romeo Lavia - 7/10 - An all-action display which should not have ended with Lavia leaving as a loser on the day.
LM: Mohamed Elyounoussi - 5/10 - His work rate was an asset but he didn't provide much more than that.
CF: Theo Walcott - 5/10 - After rolling back the years against Tottenham, Walcott looked like his veteran self again here. Snuffed out of the game and was substituted.
CF: Sekou Mara - 5/10 - Struggled to hold the ball up and was largely dealt with by Zouma and Aguerd before being hooked.
Substitutes
Kamaldeen Sulemana (54' for Elyounoussi) - 6/10
Carlos Alcaraz (54' for Mara) - 6/10
Ainsley Maitland-Niles (72' for Armstrong) - 5/10
Paul Onuachu (72' for Walcott) - 5/10
Manager
Ruben Selles - 5/10 - Southampton were comfortable in possession but lacked a killer touch.