Garth Crooks has heaped praise on Craig Dawson for being “the only sensible person” during the incident that saw West Ham United awarded a penalty against Fulham.
West Ham won 3-1 against their London rivals at the London Stadium on Sunday, despite falling behind after just five minutes though Andreas Pereira’s strike. But the Fulham goalscorer would make a costly mistake that led to Jarrod Bowen’s equaliser from the penalty spot just before the half-hour mark.
Pereira was repeatedly warned by referee Chris Kavanagh after the Brazil international continued to block Dawson's run inside the box for an incoming corner. Dawson was eventually bundled to the floor by the Fulham man and in the end Kavanagh decided to award a penalty, booking Pereira as a result.
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Bowen sent Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno the wrong way to make it 1-1 and West Ham would claim all three points after second-half goals from Gianluca Scamacca and Michail Antonio. For his team of the week for BBC Sport, former Tottenham Hotspur forward Crooks picked Dawson in his 11 for dealing with the Pereira incident “brilliantly”.
“How many times did Andreas Pereira think he could block Craig Dawson’s run into Fulham’s penalty area without the referee taking action?” Crooks said. “Three times is the answer, and on the fourth occasion referee Chris Kavanagh decided, with Pereira not heeding the warnings, to award West Ham a penalty which set them on the way to a 3-1 win.
“What was worse, not one of his Fulham team-mates told him to refrain from such activity, or even changed places with Pereira to make the situation less problematic. To then see the entire team surround Kavanagh in horror and disgust at awarding West Ham a penalty makes you wonder if the Cottagers had lost the plot. The only sensible person in that scenario was Dawson, who handled the situation brilliantly.”
Dawson was the only West Ham player to make it into Crooks’ XI and he was picked alongside Manchester City’s Joao Cancelo and Chelsea’s Kalidou Koulibaly, with Manchester United’s David de Gea in goal.
In midfield, Crooks selected Newcastle United duo Bruno Guimaraes and Miguel Almiron for their involvement in the Magpies’ 5-1 win against Brentford. They are joined by Man City’s Phil Foden and Nottingham Forest midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 700 th club career goal in Man United’s 2-1 win against Everton, so he gets a place in Crooks’ team of the week. As does Bukayo Saka for his role in Arsenal’s 3-2 win versus Liverpool and Chelsea’s Kai Havertz who scored in a 3-0 win against Wolves.
Garth Crooks’ Team of the Week: David de Gea (Man United); Joao Cancelo (Man City), Kalidou Koulibaly (Chelsea), Craig Dawson (West Ham); Bruno Guimaraes, Miguel Almiron (Newcastle), Phil Foden (Man City), Cheikhou Kouyate (Nottm Forest); Cristiano Ronaldo (Man United), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Kai Havertz (Chelsea)
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