David Moyes’ West Ham United facet crashed out of the FA Cup on Wednesday night, with Southampton operating out comfy 3-1 winners at St. Mary’s Stadium.
Nevertheless, with the Hammers nonetheless properly in competition for a top-four end within the Premier League this season, in addition to collaborating within the knockout levels of the Europa League, the 58-year-old supervisor could also be quietly happy that his facet now have one much less competitors to compete in over the rest of the present marketing campaign.
Having stated that, contemplating the beginning XI the Scot fielded, maybe this can be a barely naive take, as, apart from Issa Diop’s begin forward of Aaron Cresswell on the left of the Irons’ again three, the West Ham lineup was as sturdy because it might have probably been on Wednesday evening.
And, when bearing in mind the truth that Ralph Hasenhuttl made 9 adjustments from the facet that defeated Norwich Metropolis final Friday, the style of the loss is bound to have disillusioned Moyes – as will the performances of quite a lot of his gamers, with Jarrod Bowen, Stated Benrahma and Craig Dawson all having video games to overlook on the South Coast.
Nevertheless, it would undoubtedly be the latter of this trio most annoyed along with his show, because the 31-year-old centre-back had one thing of a nightmare on Wednesday night.
Misplaced 62% duels
Certainly, over the course of his 90 minutes on the pitch, Dawson endured an especially torrid time on the proper of West Ham’s again three, with Armando Broja, Moussa Djenepo and Romain Perraud operating riot down Southampton’s left flank.
When it comes to his private statistics from the sport, the £2.7m-rated defender was quite wasteful in possession, finishing simply 34 of his 44 tried passes, discovering his man with solely 4 of his 11 tried lengthy balls and ceding possession of the ball on 14 separate events.
In a defensive capability, the £52k-per-week centre-back additionally had one thing of a shocker, committing the foul on Broja which noticed James Ward-Prowse restore Southampton’s lead from the spot, in addition to being overwhelmed by an opponent as soon as and dropping eight of his 13 duels – a failure charge of 62%.
These returns noticed the participant who Roshane Thomas as soon as dubbed “shaky” earn an especially disappointing SofaScore match score of simply 5.9 – with no participant from both facet receiving a decrease score than the previous England U21 worldwide.
As such, whereas hindsight is an excellent factor, contemplating the below-par efficiency from quite a lot of his first-team regulars, along with the Hammers’ hectic fixture schedule, precisely why Moyes didn’t select at hand a invaluable senior begin to the likes of Aji Alese, Pierre Ekwah, Dan Chesters, Armstrong Oko-Flex and Sonny Perkins – all of whom had been on the bench – on Wednesday evening does seem a quite unusual transfer.
Certainly, the efficiency of Dawson – who it’s sure would have appreciated a relaxation in opposition to Southampton – solely additional proves that Moyes bought his staff choice incorrect for the cup conflict – one thing that would properly come again to hang-out the Irons each at Liverpool this weekend and Sevilla subsequent week.
In different information: GSB heading for West Ham disaster as deal agreed for “invaluable” £62k-p/w “chief”
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