BRENTFORD 2-0 WEST HAM; AWFUL WEST HAM FALL TO STRUGLING BRENTFORD IN THE PREMIERSHIP.
Brentford recorded a first league double over West Ham since 1953/54, as Bryan Mbeumo and Ivan Toney both scored in their 2-0 win at the Brentford Community Stadium.
Hosting West Ham for the first time since 1992, Thomas Frank’s men dominated from start to finish, with ‘the Hammers’ Europa League adventure clearly taking its toll on a small squad. Where the visitors were sluggish, Brentford were energetic, out-sprinting their lethargic opponents, with in-form Christian Eriksen twice testing Łukasz Fabiański, who was later at full stretch to deny Bryan Mbeumo’s powerful strike from the edge of the area. Mbeumo also had another effort blocked by Aaron Cresswell, before Vladimír Coufal’s header looped narrowly over his own net in first-half stoppage time. In response, Tomáš Souček was unable to direct the visitors’ sole shot on target past David Raya, with Kurt Zouma also leaving the field because of an ankle injury midway through the first half.
Arriving in West London, David Moyes’ men had lost four consecutive away fixtures in all competitions, and the visitors’ hopes of ending that run were hampered when Brentford took the lead on 48 minutes. A quick throw-in saw West Ham half asleep, allowing Mbeumo to latch onto Toney’s pass, before firing a low drilled effort past a well-beaten Fabiański. Brentford then had a game-settling second goal on 64 minutes when Toney headed in his fifth goal in his past four Premier League home starts from Mbeumo’s cross. A third goal might have followed quickly, but Mbeumo was wasteful, volleying over from close range.
It mattered little, however, as Brentford held on to become the first side since Bournemouth in 2015/16 to win 10 matches in their first Premier League season, with top-flight status all but secured following back-to-back London derby victories. Meanwhile, West Ham head into their second-leg of their Europa League quarter-final at Lyon on Thursday, having lost five consecutive matches away from home.
