West Ham 0-2 Brighton
by Paul Donovan
at London Satdium

WEST HAM were comprehensively outplayed and out-thought by an impressive Brighton side at the London Stadium.

West Ham simply lacked any imagination for most of the match, relying on hurried long balls from the back.

The result sees West Ham rock bottom of the Premier League, with three defeats and yet to score a goal this season.

This West Ham side are clearly a work in progress, with new signings landed late in the transfer window, struggling to adapt to manager David Moyes’s rigid style of play.

The latest recruit, German international Thilo Kehrer, was caught out for the first goal.

Central defensive partner Kurt Zouma lost the ball further up the field, enabling the impressive Leandro Trossard to put a through ball into the path of Danny Welbeck, who Kehrer brought down just inside the area. Alexis MacAllister duly converted the penalty.

West Ham rallied in the second half, with Tomas Soucek firing over from a well-placed Aaron Cresswell cross.

Michail Antonio then put Pablo Formals away, but he was thwarted by Brighton keeper Robert Sanchez.

The visitors wrapped up the victory, when Pascal Gross flicked the ball onto Trossard, who strode on to drive home.

Solly March should then have put the result beyond doubt, but he headed over, with the goal at his mercy.

A late rally from West Ham was denied by Sanchez, with two outstanding saves from Soucek headers.

West Ham manager David Moyes felt his side “played relatively well for the first 20 minutes.”

“The penalty kick was poor, but we didn’t play too badly up to that point,” said Moyes, who admitted that things are “not quite there” at the moment, with a lot depending on how quickly the new players settle in.

He pointed out that Gianluca Scamacca and Maxwell Cornet had no pre-season minutes on the pitch.

Moyes also highlighted that the finishes of 6th and 7th in the previous seasons had set the bar high in terms of what is expected now and in the future.

Brighton manager Graham Potter stressed the collective team ethic of his side, who stick together.

“We played a good game and proved that when we play well we can compete in this league,” he said.

Things now look bleak for West Ham, pointless and goalless, with a visit to Villa next week, then finishing the month at home to Spurs.

Moyes will be hoping old and new recruits start firing soon.