Graham Potter handed brutal reminder over West Ham challenge amid familiar failing

WEST HAM 0-1 BRENTFORD: Kevin Schade’s early goal was enough to earn Thomas Frank’s side another win on the road as Graham Potter’s Hammers tasted defeat again

Kevin Schade punished West Ham for yet another slow start to give Brentford a third away win on the spin.

And having taken just a point from their opening eight road trips of the campaign, Thomas Frank’s side have now earned 10 from their past four travels.

But the Bees’ early buzz – which should have yielded far more than a single goal – was more than helped by an insipid first half from West Ham.

More than a month into the job Graham Potter is beginning to learn how big a task he faces to restore the East Enders to a top half team and they were rightly booed off at the interval before a much-improved second period. The Hammers remain 10 points clear of relegation, meaning the season is fading into irrelevance.

Schade’s fourth-minute goal saw Brentford’s front three link up fluidly with Yoane Wissa’s through ball knocked on by Bryan Mbeumo. Alphonse Areola did get a foot to Schade’s initial attempt but Dinos Mavropanos, under pressure from Mbeumo, was unable to clear cleanly and Schade steered the rebound home despite Areola’s best efforts.

An early goal always seemed on the cards considering West Ham’s penchant for slack openings. This was the tenth time they have conceded in the first 10 minutes and the sixth occasion Brentford have found an early goal. But rather than wake the Hammers up, falling behind seemed to stun them into further inaction as their visitors dominated.

Only two marginal offside calls from VAR Graham Scott – denying Wissa in both instances – kept West Ham in the game at the break.

The first of those came when Lucas Paqueta sent a careless pass sideways for Mbeumo to accept. His through ball was gathered by Wissa, who finished low, but a lengthy revision showed that he had strayed a couple of millimetres off.

Mbeumo was central to Wissa’s second disallowed effort, too – feeding Vitaly Janelt who exchanged passes with offside Kristoffer Ajer before finding Wissa.

At the other end Potter’s team barely managed a sight of goal. Aside from a tame Emerson effort and a blocked Tomas Soucek half-chance, their attacking threat was minimal. Their defensive efforts, meanwhile, bordered on shambolic.

Brentford exploited West Ham’s lack of pace and an abundance of space with the front three thriving in every aspect apart from finishing.

Behind them Mikkel Damsgaard and Christian Norgaard offered a series of defence splitting passes and the only surprise was that they had not put the game to bed. Beyond Wissa’s double offside disappointment, Schade struck the upright and Mbeumo was twice stopped by Areola.

Jeered off at the break, Potter was prompted to make a triple substitution and within three minutes of entering Evan Ferguson teed up Mohammed Kudus but he skied over. James Ward-Prowse, recalled from his loan at Nottingham Forest on deadline day, offered an immediate threat from set pieces. And the third man introduced, Ollie Scarles, had a long-range effort that looked destined for the top corner blocked.

Kudus dragged wide on the turn shortly after the hour before Jarrod Bowen was incensed to have not earned a penalty when he tangled with Lewis-Potter. Spot kicks have been awarded for less in recent weeks but referee Darren England was not interested.

With Brentford in conservation mode, Mark Flekken got down well to stop a Ferguson attempt entering the final 10 minutes as West Ham’s fightback faded.

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