West Ham 4-0 Wolves (Mavropanos 42’, 83′, Castellanos 66’, 68’)
LONDON STADIUM – In a hushed moment after Konstantinos Mavropanos’ header hit the net, there was an unusual sight. In unison, thousands of West Ham supporters took phones out of pockets to look at the Premier League table. Not so much at the prospect of their own great escape, but to check they really had just plunged Tottenham Hotspur into the relegation zone. You could see one man even taking a picture of it.
Yet there was another reason that first goal felt so decisive. Until that point, Wolves had been holding up an unflattering mirror. Headed for the Championship, too many stars sold, too little ambition, a civil war between owners and fans. If that all sounds painfully familiar in these parts, it is supposed to. West Ham had been staring grimly into their own future as they repeatedly ceded possession.
They refused to cede hope. With that Jarrod Bowen cross, two Taty Castellanos goals within 99 seconds of each other and another Mavropanos clincher, those reasons for optimism exploded into view. There is cause to dream again in east London.
Nuno Espirito Santo will not care that the first goal came against the run of play, or whether the initial corner was wrongly given. Nor that Castellanos had seized on some abject defending, showing exactly why hapless Wolves are where they are despite the improvement under Rob Edwards.
Nuno has become an enigmatic figure at the heart of the battle for survival, the ghosts of his past dissipating at every turn. In Wolves, he gave one former club an unsympathetic shove towards the drop – in Spurs, he nudged another into mortal peril.
It is not only that he has organised a defence which looked unsalvageable under Graham Potter. The whole attitude has changed. At one point Bowen sparked a brilliant break by retrieving the ball close to his own box to recover a botched pass.
The Hammers are ultimately showing enough signs of why they are still in with a fighting chance. It does not matter whether they actually recruited well in January, only that they recruited well enough. Castellanos made the difference here, but even when not firing he and Pablo have created a better-oiled front line for Bowen and Crycencio Summerville. The latter clearly needs time to get back to full sharpness.
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Should they survive, it will do little to stem fan ire directed at the board – and nor should it, given the series of events which got West Ham into this position in the first place. But there is increasingly an argument to be had that they deserve to stay up.
While Spurs dithered over Thomas Frank, they acted swiftly to replace Potter with Nuno. They went for an old school, 4-4-2 loving, oft-critiqued coach, but one with Premier League experience who could reshape them in his own image. Tottenham went for the stopgap option in Igor Tudor, who lasted five league games. If it is to be Spurs who go, their supporters – like West Ham – will point the finger firmly at boardroom level.
The north Londoners have been horribly unlucky with injuries but their reserved approach in January has left them in serious trouble. Again, the question is whether West Ham have done just enough.
The additions of the two forwards could swing it. Callum Wilson was also given a new deal, when he might have been sold amid interest from Everton. Now, West Ham are grinding out results in high-pressure matches.
Still, there is a long way to go between now and 25 May. The last time West Ham and Wolves faced one another, Nuno called his side’s 3-0 loss his most “embarrassing” day in football. Travelling fans berated their own players with “you’re not fit to wear the shirt”. This time, there was only the appetite to taunt their opponents: “Going down with the Tottenham.” They might just be right.