By Tim Parsons
West Ham’s were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw in a poor performance against Stokes in the English Premier League on Saturday.
The hammers lost their lead after Stoke’s Bojan Krkic came off the bench to score a late equalizer that leveled Stoke with West Ham.
.
Extra security measures on Saturday fended off off all trouble off the field.West Ham had been locked in a tedious first half when Glen Wheelan conceded an own goal in the 65th minute, deflecting Michael Antonia’s header into Stoke’s own net, giving West Ham the lead. Victory seemed close until a goalkeeping error from Adrian allowed Stoke back into the game 10 minutes later.
Poor Performance
Victory seemed close until a goalkeeping error from Adrian allowed Stoke back into the game 10 minutes later. This was a poor performance by Bilvic’s side, who apart from Hull have had the fewest shots on target at home this season.
West Ham keeper appeared to have conceded a penalty for a foul on Jonathan Walters but the referee played on and Bojan volleyed in from his team-mate’s cross.
Stoke almost snatched a late winner but Adrian palmed a Charlie Adam free-kick wide.
Stoke manager, Mark Hughes, reacted to the hammer’s lead with a double substitution by fielding in Bojan and Peter Crouch. It was a move that produced similarly quick results as the West Ham defense was finally breached.
West Ham
This was the hammer’s first game since the crowd trouble that marred their EFL Cup win over Chelsea. It was a relatively poor showing by West Ham , who only managed two shots on target in comparison with Stoke’s four. Poor performances are nothing new to West Ham, and their fans deserve much better.
The fact the hammers failed to make the win will present with more pressure in upcoming games against Tottenham, Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool coming up next.
Ineffective
The hammer’s 3-4-3 formation proved ineffective, and their attacking competence was lacking. West Ham has struggled to score in their last six Premier league games; they have been limited to just one goal in any given game.
Stoke’s below par performance may be explained by the absence of both Marko Arnautovic and Xherdan Shaqiri, eliminated from this game through suspension and injury. Manager Mark Hughes put their performance down to a flop, despite feeling his team created the greater chances.