The two oldest managers in the division, though Roy Hodgson has 15 years on David Moyes. And a day to suggest futuristic is not always best. Even before the thrilling London derby – “absolute madness” as the match-winner Eberechi Eze described it – could even begin, thousands of fans were locked out of Selhurst until a glitch in the club’s computerised ticket system could be rectified.
Two greybeard pragmatists meeting for the last time? If so, they signed off in style, having begun the day sharing convivial, back-slapping pre-match duties. Hodgson, his team reaching 40 points in style, has all but completed his safety detail while West Ham, five points above the bottom three, face a daunting schedule ahead.
“Yes, I think we’re safe,” said Hodgson with his widest smile. “I couldn’t be more delighted.” Moyes was meanwhile angry with the decision that supplied Eze’s decisive penalty though admitted his team had struggled to stay in the game even when the likes of the outstanding Michael Olise were running through their portfolio of artistry.
“Their quality of play was better than we were today,” said Moyes. “Today will go down as a very soft penalty but I am more frustrated because of the way we played the whole game.”
Three goals from three corners defended poorly by Palace were West Ham’s route into the game. “It was a good lesson for everyone in football that set plays are a big part of the game,” said Hodgson. Before AZ Alkmaar in the Europa Conference League semi-final on 11 May, West Ham’s fixtures against two Manchester clubs are unforgiving.
Where in Hodgson’s previous tenure Wilfried Zaha was leading man, Olise and Eze now assume a large share of creative directorship. Though the wide expectation is he soon leaves south London, Zaha’s continuing dedication was explicit, tracking back deep, always busy off the left.
Olise began with an unfortunate contribution to Tomas Soucek’s opening goal, nodding Jarrod Bowen’s corner directly into the midfielder’s path. To his immense credit, within moments he was supplying Jordan Ayew with the equaliser. West Ham’s woes increased as Kurt Zouma left the field with an injured ankle. Next, making it three assists in 11 minutes, Olise slid the ball across the West Ham box, defenders again statuesque, for Zaha to score.
Make that threefold. For Jeffrey Schlupp’s goal, Soucek was again on the crime scene, sold short by Nayef Aguerd’s thoughtlessness before Schlupp stabbed the ball in. Three goals in 15 minutes had Moyes visibly groaning, only for Soucek to nod back Emerson’s corner to Michail Antonio.
Five goals by half-time suggested end-of-term high jinks rather than teams crawling for the line. Palace attacked with a freeform verve that nobody else in the Premier League, not even Pep Guardiola at his most experimental, emulates when it reaches full pitch.
“That’s what we’ve done since Roy came in and we’re thriving,” said Eze. “We’re playing good football, we’re being creative, we’re positive when we have the ball.”
Hodgson said: “If I had known the quality I had here, I wouldn’t be so surprised.” The 40-point threshold has been reached ahead of schedule.
In the opening 20 minutes of the second half West Ham defended desperately deep before Ayew and Eze’s interchange caught Aguerd out. A tug of Eze’s shirt, faint as it looked, was enough for VAR. Eze slotted with more of that freeform swagger. “It’s four goals that are avoidable,” lamented Declan Rice, the Hammers captain having spent 90 minutes chasing shadows. “It wasn’t good enough.”
His manager, for the second time in a week after Thiago’s unpunished handball for Liverpool, bemoaned officialdom. “I think its an incredibly soft penalty kick and it’s what they’ve said they weren’t going to do, give soft penalties. Once again VAR is not doing a good enough job from our point of view.”
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Having barely entered the Palace half for 25 minutes of the second period, West Ham got the corner they wanted. Soucek – yet again involved – flicked on. Aguerd claimed the goal from the resultant melee.
Then, as Palace continued to dominate, came the wait for the final, fateful Hammers corner. It arrived within injury time, but Palace found a way to bundle clear before Sam Johnstone, their goalkeeper, could lie on the ball. Safety is Palace’s. West Ham and Moyes must wait.
