WEST HAM 3 – 2 LIVERPOOL . Mickey Ambrose celebrates the Hammers’ move into third place in the Premier League as Moyes does it again
I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles is a popular American song written in 1918 and has been sung by West Ham supporters since the 1920s. And my god didn’t the fans sing their hearts out at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Stadium following this stunning victory against the mighty Reds of Liverpool FC.
The only bubble that burst was Liverpool’s 25-game unbeaten run and as the final whistle went you could hear the corks from the bottles of champagne popping and flying across pubs and living rooms along Stratford High Street for those fans who couldn’t get the golden ticket for the game.
David Moyes masterminded this victory in such a way the Hammers outfought and outthought Liverpool in every way by letting the visitors have most of the possession during this pulsating match which took your breath away every time the team went forward.
It was the archetypal West Ham performance, punctuated with potency on the counter-attack and physicality at set-pieces, in what is turning out to be another outstanding season for Moyes’s side. After only four minutes of play, West Ham took the lead with their first attack as Pablo Fornals’ corner skimmed off the glove of Alisson the Liverpool goalkeeper, and into the net classed as an own goal. Liverpool by nature love the passing game, pass and move and I remember watching the likes of Steve Heighway, Dalglish, Rush, and Keegan who could open up any defence back in the day with passes that could slice through butter.
Tactically, though the Hammers were spot on again because they knew Liverpool would play high up the pitch and leave space at the back which they exploited. The plan to hurt them on the counter-attack worked perfectly and you have to give credit to the players for following the manager’s instructions to a tee.
There were moments of quality, too, in particular the equaliser four minutes into the second half when Trent Alexander-Arnold curled home a stunning strike for the visitors. But West Ham regained the lead midway through the second half when Fornals was put through on goal and Alisson was unable to keep out his low shot.
That goal led to the London Stadium exploding into the deafening noise, which became even louder, – similar to when Mo Farrah did the double 5,000 and 10,000 in the same stadium in 2012 – as Kurt Zouma headed home in a corner minutes later. Divock Origi swept in a second on the turn to give Liverpool hope of rescuing something, but West Ham kept their nerve and focus to take the three points and go third.
On a more sombre note, the football family lost former Everton, Scotland, and Rangers manager Walter Smith at the age of 73, having lost Howard Kendall in 2015 the other side of Mersey are mourning another great football icon in Walter, with Howard being described as the most successful manager in Everton’s history. Rest In Peace.
Mickey Ambrose is a former Charlton and Chelsea player
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