Wolves 1 West Ham 0 - Report

The hosts made a good start to the game, dominated possession and got into good attacking positions, but failed to truly test the West Ham defence.

But just three minutes into the second 45 Podence’s fine finish handed them the lead.

Wolves came close to adding a second but had to settle for resolute defending in the closing minutes, as they hung on for the result that takes them out of the relegation zone.

Analysis

Julen Lopetegui made five changes to the side that lost to Nottingham Forest in the Carabao Cup quarter-final in mid-week, and switched to the 4-2-3-1 formation.

Of those changes, recent signing Matheus Cunha made his first start for the club, while new addition Mario Lemina made the bench. Chem Campbell also returned from his back injury and was named among the substitutes.

Diego Costa missed out with injury, while Goncalo Guedes was not included in the squad, after Lopetegui was coy on the winger’s future at Wolves.

David Moyes made three changes from the West Ham side that beat Brentford in the FA Cup at the weekend, and also started in a 4-2-3-1 formation.

The biggest talking point was Craig Dawson’s omission. The defender was left out of the squad altogether, after Wolves made an offer to sign him.

The first chance came for Wolves when a mix up between Vladimir Coufal and Angelo Ogbonna handed Hwang Hee-chan the ball. He fed Cunha, who had a shot deflected wide from a tight angle.

Wolves had started the game fairly well and another chance came when Hugo Bueno crosses and Joao Moutinho headed wide.

West Ham still carried a threat, however, and a good Coufal cross found Jarrod Bowen in plenty of space, but the forward did not get enough on his shot and Jose Sa collected it.

A swift Wolves attacked started with a superb cross-field pass by Ruben Neves, before an excellent first touch saw Nelson Semedo race into the box. He cut it back for Podence, who mistakenly dummied it to a Hammers player, before Matheus Nunes picked it up and forced Lukasz Fabianski into a save.

The visitors almost found a way through when Michail Antonio tried to squeeze past defenders in the box, but Wolves’ defence stood firm. In the next phase of play, an eye-catching pass from Moutinho played in Semedo, and his strong cross was begging for a touch inside the box.

After Sa was almost closed down by Antonio is his own box, the ball was eventually played into midfield and a neat nutmeg from Podence sparked a bright counter-attack. Semedo charged forward and found Hwang, who cut back inside and found Neves, who had a shot blocked.

Another attack then saw Neves try an acrobatic effort from inside the box, which blazed over the bar.

Just after the half-hour mark, the biggest chance of the game fell to the Hammers. A cross eventually found Coufal free at the back post and his shot beat Sa, but Bueno made a wonderful block to keep the score level.

The half fizzled out in the final minutes, as the sides entered the break drawing 0-0.

Wolves made the perfect start to the second half, just three minutes after the restart, when they took the lead. A counter-attack from a West Ham corner began with Semedo who then found Nunes. His cross took a touch off Aaron Cresswell and met Podence on the edge of the box, who curled it home into the bottom corner.

The visitors probed for a way back into the game in the minutes that followed the goal, but Wolves stood firm without posing much attacking threat.

Raul Jimenez and Rayan Ait-Nouri were introduced after 63 minutes, replacing Cunha and Podence. The latter was one booking away from a one match ban, with this fixture the cut-off point, which will have likely played a part in him coming off.

After 72 minutes, Lemina was introduced for his debut, alongside Adama Traore, for Moutinho and Hwang.

Wolves were inches away from doubling their lead when Lemina snatched the ball in midfield and got Wolves moving forward. Nunes crossed for Neves, who took a touch inside and smashed his effort off the underside of the bar. Ait-Nouri hit the post with his follow-up, but he was flagged offside.

Nathan Collins was very fortunate when he lost the ball to Gianluca Scamacca, when an easy pass to Sa was on. The forward played it to Said Benrahma, but his shot was collected by Sa.

In the 83rd minute, Toti Gomes came on for Bueno, as Wolves switched to a 5-3-2 formation to try and keep hold of their lead.

That change seemed to invite pressure on Wolves, as they sat back in their shape and absorbed plenty of West Ham pressure. Several crosses and set pieces came into the box, as Wolves put their bodies on the line.

For all of that pressure, however, Jimenez put Wolves 2-0 up, only to have the offside flag go up and VAR stuck with the decision. Moments later, Adama had a good shot saved.

West Ham struggled to find a way through as Wolves defended with heart and conviction. In the end, they claimed all three points to take them out of the relegation zone.

Key Moments

GOAL 48 Podence gives Wolves the lead

Teams

Wolves: Sa, Semedo, Collins, Kilman, Bueno (Toti, 83), Neves, Nunes, Hwang (Adama, 72), Moutinho (Lemina, 72), Podence (Ait-Nouri, 63), Cunha (Jimenez, 63).

Subs not used: Sarkic, Jonny, Hodge, Campbell.

West Ham: Fabianski, Coufal, Aguerd, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Rice, Soucek (Benrahma, 59), Bowen, Paqueta, Fornals (Scamacca, 76), Antonio.

Subs not used: Randolph, Zouma, Kehrer, Johnson, Emerson, Downes, Lanzini.