West Ham 2-2 Crystal Palace 
by Paul Donovan
at London Stadium

DAVID MOYES admitted West Ham were in need of more attacking options as they appeared to throw two points away yesterday afternoon, having dominated for long periods.

The Hammers and Crystal Palace cancelled each other out for the first 25 minutes, though the home side had the majority of the possession.

Palace were lucky to escape when Joel Ward cleared off the line from a miscued header, following a free kick from Vladimir Coufal.

The breakthrough came in the 39th minute, when Said Benrahma sent Michail Antonio away with an inch-perfect through ball. Antonio exchanged passes with Pablo Fornals, who side footed home.

West Ham should have gone two up at the start of the second half when a cross-field ball from Declan Rice let Jarrod Bowen slip one through to Benrahma, who was foiled by Palace keeper Vicente Guaita. 

The Eagles equaliser came out of the blue, when a cross from the left was nodded on by Christian Benteke for Conor Gallagher to control and turn the ball across West Ham keeper Lukasz Fabianski. 

Ten minutes later an Aaron Cresswell long ball from the back fell for Antonio, who outpaced the defence and fired home with his left foot — the big striker’s fourth goal in three Premier League games.

But the lead lasted a mere couple of minutes as a ball from James McArthur fell for Gallagher, who caught the West Ham defenders napping again and was able to turn and fire home. 

And Palace could have nicked it in injury time when Marc Guehi headed over from a Gallagher cross.

The home side looked leg-weary after their exploits against Leicester City on Monday, but still dominated the game enough to rue spurning the two points.

Moyes felt his side had not come up to the high standards set in the first two games against Newcastle United and the Foxes, though he did credit Palace for their second half comeback.

 “We played really well in the first half. Things did not quite go for us when we needed it,” said Moyes, who was also frustrated by his lack of striking options. 
 
“If we had another centre forward we might have tried to change it,” he said. “But we didn’t. Could do with extra numbers, yes.”

The West Ham manager certainly needs to strengthen his squad before the transfer window closes, with a lack of pace at the back and cover for Antonio up front seeming the most urgent requirements. 

Palace manager Patrick Vieira was pleased with his side’s comeback, especially the running-in-behind of Gallagher.