West Ham United faced off against Newport County at the Rodney Parade earlier tonight hoping to book a place in the third round of the Carabao Cup. The Hammers dominated most of the possession in the first half and managed to get themselves ahead in the 43rd minute via Jack Wilshere’s goal.
Manuel Pellegrini’s men kept the pressure on in the second half and scored a crucial second goal in the 65th minute which killed the contest. Pablo Fornals scored his first competitive goal for the Hammers as the match finished with a 2-0 scoreline in favour of the visiting side from East London.
Let’s take a look at how each West Ham player performed during the match against Newport County.
GK: Roberto Jiménez Gago – 6.5/10
The Hammers goalie made a couple of decent saves on his way to keeping a comfortable, clean sheet away from home.
RB: Pablo Zabaleta – 6/10
The veteran right-back was caught ball watching at times inside his own half. However, he showed enough experience to see out the win for his team.
CB: Fabián Balbuena – 6.5/10
He put in a dominant display at the heart of Pellegrini’s backline even though his centre-back partner didn’t do him any favours at the back.
CB: Issa Diop – 5/10
He made a poor mistake at the back in the first half, but fortunately, the home side failed to take advantage of the situation. Diop struggled to cope with the threat of Tristan Abrahams throughout the encounter.
LB: Aaron Cresswell – 6/10
The full-back was a decent outlet for the Hammers down the left flank. However, he failed to perform his defensive duties inside his own half, which would have been punished if he was up against any high calibre opposition.
CDM: Carlos Sánchez – 7.5/10
He had a good game while operating as a deep-lying holding midfielder. Sanchez managed to make a positive impact in the game and commanded the midfield with authority.
RM: Robert Snodgrass – 5/10
He had a poor night as he failed to threaten too much going forward. Snodgrass was guilty of losing possession way too many times in the first half. He came back strong to put in a slightly better display in the second.
CM: Jack Wilshere – 6.5/10
The English talent began the match a bit off the pace but showed great desire on his way to scoring the opener towards the latter stages of the first half. He did well to link up play with others during the second half.
CM: Pablo Fornals – 6/10
He netted one but should have scored at least twice more during the game. Fornals wasted a lot of good opportunities but still managed to register his first goal for West Ham.
LM: Michail Antonio – N/A
He had to go off with a hamstring injury early in the first half.
ST: Albian Ajeti – 6/10
The Hammers new signing showed a few signs of promise during the game but lacked the cutting edge in the final third tonight.
Substitutes:
LM: Felipe Anderson – 7/10
He played his role in the lead up to Fornals’ goal in the 65th minute. It was a promising performance off the bench from the West Ham playmaker.
CM: Conor Coventry – N/A
The youngster did not have enough time to make an impact.
