West Ham United might have recovered from a disastrous Premier League start but are fighting hard to earn a respectable finish in the league under David Moyes who has done a decent job this far shaking off early shambles. The Hammers edged past their Round three opponents Shrewsbury Town via an extra-time goal in the rematch at London Stadium and were drawn against Wigan Athletic, the leaders of Ligue One, to contest this afternoon at DW Stadium. The game, however, turned out to be a nightmare as the visitors eventually went down to ten men and suffered a 2-0 defeat following a Will Grigg brace as he was truly ‘on fire’ this afternoon.
Below are the West Ham United players rated from their 2-0 defeat against the Latics.
Joe Hart: 5.5
The veteran Englishman has lost his first-team status to Adrian in the league but has been preferred in cup games for the Hammers. Made a couple of decent stops but could not pull off saves to deny Will Grigg’s brace.
Pablo Zabaleta: 6.5
Zabaleta was not having a bad game but was replaced at half-time being a goal down which, however, seemed to be a tactical switch by David Moyes.
Reece Burke: 5.5
The youngster guided his side to progress through to the 4th Round of the competition but had a disappointing afternoon as he conceded a spot-kick in the second-half and struggled defensively to contain Will Grigg inside the box.
Angelo Ogbonna: 6
Looked a little nervy aerially, but made some crucial blocks, tackles and interceptions as well as plenty of clearances to avoid further trouble in such a difficult outing.
Aaron Cresswell: 5
Won some duels, showed aerial presence but struggled against Nathan Byrne down the left-hand flank as his cross was converted by Will Grigg to earn an early lead for the Latics.
Sam Byram: 5.5
Was dispossessed a couple of times, didn’t offer much in attack and mostly restricted his game to perform defensive responsibilities. Stride forward occasionally which, however, lacked end product.
Josh Cullen: 6.5
Was impressive from set-pieces but had a tough game in the middle of the park. Struggled to offer much in attack and could not create enough opportunities up front.
Pedro Obiang: 6
Started the game in a box-t0-box role, was trying hard to combat in midfield but his game came to an abrupt ending following a first-half injury that saw him being stretchered off the field and replaced by young Reece Oxford.
Arthur Masuaku: 5
Masuaku was having a good time on the pitch in recent weeks but this has been an afternoon to forget for the Frenchman who received a marching order following an altercation with Nick Powell minutes into the second half.
Antonio Martinez:Â 4.5
Poor with his passes, crosses and didn’t create anything noteworthy in Hammers attacking third before being subbed off with a head injury and replaced by Sead Haksabanovic.
Javier Hernandez: 5
Didn’t hit the target, lacked the support of midfield and could not create chances of his own to bring the Hammers back in contention. Another disappointing outing for Chicharito.
Substitutes
Reece Oxford: 6.5
Introduced in the first-half in place of injured Obiang. Did well defensively to keep things calm deep down the midfield.
Joao Mario: 6.5
The high-profile signing from Inter Milan was introduced at half-time. He made a few good runs, impressed with his work rate but needs to settle in quickly for the remainder of the campaign.
Sead Haksabanovic: NA
Played too little to warrant a rating.
