A Jack Harrison hat-trick saw visitors Leeds United win a deserved 3-2 victory over a 'game weary' Hammers side, despite needing to replace to replace TWO of their players in the first 24 minutes. To the neutral the game had everything and would have been a thoroughly enjoyable watch.
It was an extremely enjoyable watch for the travelling Leeds fans, unfortunately their were some serious crowd issues before, during and after the game involving the away support AND unfortunately quite a few home fans. It is the 2nd time in a week that there have been disturbances involving Leeds and West Ham, today's was worse by far.
We had hoped such behaviour had become a thing of the past, but there is still an 'under element' of people who are just itching for a ruck which makes them difficult to Police if they are hell bent on trouble.
On the pitch Biesla's team out hammered West Ham by playing them at their own fast counter attacking game, but with more purpose.
Harrison opened the scoring with a powerful strike in the 10th minute, but Hammers recovered from yet another lacklustre start to equalise through a Jarrod Bowen header. Moyes' team have made a habit of slow starts before getting a grip on the game, but Leeds United are the LAST team in the Premier League you want to atart slowly against, and so it proved.
Leeds took the lead again before the interval as Harrison ghosted in at the back post to convert a Luke Ayling's downward header following a corner. Hammers did their best to pressurise the visitors but to little avail. An invigorated home side took to the pitch and were rewarded by Pablo Fornals scoring his first goal for the club since November to draw level for a second time in the 52nd minute, but then Harrison sealed victory eight minutes later.
Both teams had goals ruled out by VAR and Jarrod Bowen, who had earlier scored his fourth goal in three games, missed a golden chance in the final seconds to level the score but could only chest the ball over the bar from a few yards when he was completely unmarked.
It can be argued that playing three games in a week had its toll on the Irons, some players looked dead on their feet at the end, but it wasn't as if they didn't try. Sometimes you just have to hold your hands up and admit the better team won on the day, painful as it is to acknowledge.
The game did also further illustrate the urgent need for a couple of fresh faces to be brought in, although by next week the defensive rock that is Kurt Zouma will be available and a rested Tomas Soucek will also be in the squad that visits Old Trafford, but IF the club is really intent on gatecrashing the Premier League elite, it HAS to strengthen, NOW! - ED
