GOALS FROM Alexis Mac Allister and Leandro Trossard condemned West Ham to a 2-0 defeat at home to bogey side Brighton.
Mac Allister’s first-half penalty and Trossard’s breakaway goal maintained Brighton’s unbeaten start to the season and made it three defeats from three matches for the Hammers.
West Ham have now played the Seagulls 11 times in the Premier League and not beaten them once.
Alarmingly, they have not yet scored a goal in the league this season, so it was surprising to see Gianluca Scamacca, the £30million summer signing who got off the mark against Viborg in Europe on Thursday, back among the substitutes.
New defender Thilo Kehrer was given a full debut, but his Premier League career started inauspiciously when he brought down Danny Welbeck to concede a penalty.
Kurt Zouma had given the ball away in the middle of the pitch and Trossard’s pass found Welbeck, who was tripped on the edge of the area by the £10million signing from Paris St. Germain.
After VAR confirmed the foul was inside the box, Mac Allister stepped up to fire the Seagulls into a 22nd-minute lead.
Kehrer was enduring a torrid debut and after another defensive mix-up found himself wiped out by his own goalkeeper, Lukasz Fabianksi, before the ball was cleared.
With Brighton looking comfortable, Trossard had a shot blocked at the far post and Joel Veltman missed a simple header from six yards.
It was an abject first-half display from West Ham, with Said Benrahma’s early curler which sailed wide their only genuine attempt on goal, and they were booed off at the interval.
Presumably, manager David Moyes did not mince his words at half-time as West Ham began the second half with far more purpose.
Declan Rice had a shot deflected wide, Aaron Cresswell’s volley was blocked and Robert Sanchez held a drive from Pablo Fornals.
Scamacca made his entrance on the hour mark, but five minutes later West Ham were hit with a sucker punch as Brighton doubled their lead.
Mac Allister’s pass forward found Pascal Gross, who beautifully held off Zouma while flicking the ball into the path of Trossard for a neat finish past Fabianski.
The visitors could have a had a deserved third but Solly March headed an inviting cross from substitute Pervis Estupinan narrowly over.
West Ham were denied a consolation goal late on when Sanchez palmed headers from Jarrod Bowen and then Tomas Soucek over the crossbar.
It needs to be banned immediately. Nash has opened up a can of worms here the GAA don’t seem prepared to deal with. TJ has already joined the party and the rumour is that Tony Kelly has been getting the ball almost into the 6 yard box at trainings down in Clare.
It’s extremely dangerous and anybody arguing otherwise almost certainly hasn’t played in goal or across the full back line. It had better not take sterilised full back or a collapsed throat to get this fixed.
Are u from Clare or something ?? Helmets are already there !! Does this mean u can’t shoot inside the box ?? Other players have been doing it for years and its just because Nash can hit them perfectly people are complaining.
I’m from Dublin, word has it Clare are going to be doing this even worse this year, and Kilkenny and Cork. I’m Sure the Dubs and Tipp and Galway are all lining up someone for it as well. I explained in another post how it’s distinctly different to open field play as the backs and goalkeepers movement and positioning is restricted.
Why don’t we just let them hoist the ball into the box and smack it 2 inches from peoples faces. There has to be a limit, the helmet wont stop broken rib and ruptured testicles. Players need to be given reasonable capacity to protect themselves. That can either take the form of a restricted carry distance or allowing them to rush the striker
It’s one of the most unique and exciting aspects of hurling.. if there are safety issues re players necks, there is nothing stopping neck guards being kept behind the goal, like face-masks are kept for short corners in field hockey.. clip them onto helmets like with ice hockey helmets.
So neck guards and cups for crotch protection. Should they just strap on full body armour to stand in goal? We got by fine for decades but one breach of the honour code has opened up the floodgates on this.
Honour code?.. it’s been done for decades.. DJ Carey was particularly adept at it.. plus penalty takers know there’s a risk of over carrying.. like Nash’s botched drop-shot effort in the final last year.. next up will be a ban on any form of point blank shooting.
It was never to this extent. The issue is that it forces the goal keeper and defenders into the most dangerous possible position on the hurling field, middle distance. In open play point blank shooting is grand because goal keepers and defenders have the opportunity to get into one of several safe positions, behind the man to hook, in close to block, out of the way altogether or far enough away that you can read the flight of the ball and block or dodge. It’s also not possible to get the same kind of power on a shot from open play as from a penalty.
But with these shots you’re too close to dodge or reasonably attempt to protect yourself but you’re not allowed move up to block. The rules force you to be in a position no player would get themselves in in open play because it’s dangerous. If they’re not going to stop the carry then they need to let the keeper and backs rush the striker
What nonsense, I’m surprised at Ger. Bearing in mind you can strike the ball even harder from the hand, does this mean you won’t be allow to shoot inside the box during open play either?
Declan Ryan tipperary and clonoulty-rossmore and former tipp manager was the man who invented the style, it’s a great skill and a penalty is a penalty, Ciaran there would want to cop himself on there and keep his bullshit to himself. That is all