2 years ago
23
ARTICLE AD BOX
By Steve SutcliffeBBC Sport
Last updated on 12 minutes ago.From the section Premier League
Tomas Soucek is just the second West Ham player to score a Premier League goal on his birthday, after Ricardo Vaz TeWest Ham claimed a valuable Premier League victory over Wolves to reignite their pursuit of a top-four finish.
Tomas Soucek celebrated his 27th birthday by scoring the only goal of the game for the Hammers, with the Czech Republic international poking home from Michail Antonio's pass.
The result moves West Ham up to fifth in the table, above Arsenal on goal difference and two points behind Manchester United in fourth - however the Gunners have three games in hand on both.
Consecutive draws had seen David Moyes' side lose ground near the top of the table but they created several excellent chances to score and deserved their win over opponents who also have European aspirations.
Aaron Cresswell and Declan Rice both went close to opening the scoring for the hosts, with England midfielder Rice curling a superb 20-yard effort against the right-hand post.
Jarrod Bowen, Soucek and Pablo Fornals all had opportunities to double their advantage and ensure a more comfortable conclusion for the hosts who were forced to withstand some late pressure from Wolves, who stay eighth.
Bruno Lage's team struggled for fluency after he made five changes to the side that started Thursday's defeat at Arsenal.
And while they improved after the break, the second-half introductions of Raul Jimenez, Daniel Podence and Pedro Neto were unable to make a difference to the outcome.
More to follow.
How to play
Rate players out of 10 throughout or after the game. The rater will close 30 minutes after the final whistle.
Rating range key1 = Give it up10 = Pure perfection
West Ham United
Squad number1Player nameFabianski
Squad number31Player nameJohnson
Squad number15Player nameDawson
Squad number4Player nameZouma
Squad number3Player nameCresswell
Squad number28Player nameSoucek
Squad number41Player nameRice
Squad number20Player nameBowen
Squad number10Player nameLanzini
Squad number8Player nameFornals
Squad number9Player nameAntonio
Squad number11Player nameVlasic
Squad number23Player nameDiop
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Squad number1Player nameJosé Sá
Squad number23Player nameKilman
Squad number16Player nameCoady
Squad number27Player nameSaïss
Squad number2Player nameHoever
Squad number8Player nameRúben Neves
Squad number32Player nameDendoncker
Squad number5Player nameMarçal
Squad number11Player nameTrincão
Squad number26Player nameHwang Hee-Chan
Squad number17Player nameFábio Silva
Squad number7Player namePedro Neto
Squad number9Player nameJiménez
Squad number10Player nameDaniel Podence
Line-ups
West Ham
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1Fabianski
- 31Johnson
- 15Dawson
- 4Zouma
- 3Cresswell
- 28Soucek
- 41Rice
- 20Bowen
- 10Lanzini
- 8FornalsSubstituted forDiopat 90+3'minutes
- 9AntonioBooked at 82minsSubstituted forVlasicat 90+1'minutes
Substitutes
- 11Vlasic
- 13Areola
- 16Noble
- 22Benrahma
- 23Diop
- 33Král
- 40Oko-Flex
- 42Alese
- 64Perkins
Wolves
Formation 3-4-2-1
- 1Malheiro de Sá
- 23Kilman
- 16Coady
- 27Saïss
- 2Hoever
- 8Neves
- 32Dendoncker
- 5MarçalSubstituted forNetoat 76'minutes
- 11Machado TrincãoSubstituted forPodenceat 60'minutes
- 26Hwang Hee-ChanSubstituted forJiménezat 81'minutes
- 17Fábio Silva
Substitutes
- 3Aït-Nouri
- 7Neto
- 9Jiménez
- 10Podence
- 15Boly
- 19Castro Otto
- 21Ruddy
- 28João Moutinho
- 39Cundle
Live Text
Match ends, West Ham United 1, Wolverhampton Wanderers 0.
Second Half ends, West Ham United 1, Wolverhampton Wanderers 0.
Substitution, West Ham United. Issa Diop replaces Pablo Fornals.
Substitution, West Ham United. Nikola Vlasic replaces Michail Antonio.
Attempt saved. Rúben Neves (Wolverhampton Wanderers) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Romain Saïss.
Attempt blocked. Conor Coady (Wolverhampton Wanderers) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Leander Dendoncker.
Attempt blocked. Raúl Jiménez (Wolverhampton Wanderers) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Pedro Neto.
Michail Antonio (West Ham United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Raúl Jiménez (Wolverhampton Wanderers) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Michail Antonio (West Ham United).
Substitution, Wolverhampton Wanderers. Raúl Jiménez replaces Hwang Hee-Chan.
Corner, Wolverhampton Wanderers. Conceded by Kurt Zouma.
Attempt blocked. Pedro Neto (Wolverhampton Wanderers) left footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Leander Dendoncker.
Corner, Wolverhampton Wanderers. Conceded by Kurt Zouma.
Attempt blocked. Daniel Podence (Wolverhampton Wanderers) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Hwang Hee-Chan.
Substitution, Wolverhampton Wanderers. Pedro Neto replaces Marçal.
Rúben Neves (Wolverhampton Wanderers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Tomas Soucek (West Ham United).
Corner, Wolverhampton Wanderers. Conceded by Kurt Zouma.
Attempt blocked. Fábio Silva (Wolverhampton Wanderers) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked.
- Our coverage of your Premier League club is bigger and better than ever before - here's everything you need to know to make sure you never miss a moment
English (US)