Alan Shearer blasts what happened in West Ham United first half v Tottenham, ‘David Moyes will be really angry’
Alan Shearer spotted a moment that will have left David Moyes in a rage during the first half of the clash between West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur.
The Hammers headed into the break 1-0 down to Ange Postecoglou’s side on Thursday (7 December), with Cristian Romero’s early header the difference between the two sides at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
While the Argentine international received plenty of praise for his excellent goal, Shearer was left frustrated by West Ham’s defending and admitted that he believed Moyes would have been furious that his side fell behind from a set-piece.
Commentating on Amazon Prime (7 December, 20:27) he said: “David Moyes will be really angry because as we said the concentration, you’ve got it tight, get men behind the ball, but when you fall asleep from a corner, it isn’t good.
“He’ll be so angry with that and everyone picking up their men, I know it’s a great header and a great ball in but still if you’re alive and you’re awake and you’re picking your man up
“That’s what I’m saying about all the nice and neat and tidy one-touch football but you’ve still got to concentrate, you’ve still got to understand that set-pieces are really, really important, particularly at this level where you work so hard on them, both for and against.”
Have to be better
If there is one area of the game in which the Hammers should be bettering Tottenham it should be from set-pieces given their greater physical presence. Normally Moyes’ side set up incredibly well from corners both when attacking or defending.
But for Tottenham’s opener, West Ham looked as though they’d been caught napping as Romero drifted between two defenders to rise highest and head into the far corner to leave Lukasz Fabianski scrambling into his own net.
It is such a simple part of the game and one that the Irons normally manage so well and therefore Shearer is correct to assume that Moyes would have been left in a rage as he watched the Argentine defender head home the opening goal almost unchallenged.
If West Ham want to get back into this game in the second half they’re going to have to switch on from set pieces and attempt to use them to their advantage. The Hammers have worked so hard to nullify Spurs’ attack when they’ve dominated possession and it will be incredibly irritating if an early corner is their undoing in North London.