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- The Hammers staged an astonishing comeback, scoring three goals in the final half-hour after surrendering the first.
- In the first half, the English team enjoyed 78% possession and shot 15 times, but no goals were scored.
- Backa Topola scored first, then one of their players, Petar Stanic, scored to tie the game at one.
West Ham player ratings: Avoided an embarrassing outcome at home
Contents
Fabianski 7/10 – kept the away team from scoring again.
Kehrer 7/10 – offered excellent security on the right flank while also assisting with attacking transitions.
Mavropanos 8/10 – winning practically every battle and making numerous interceptions and clearances.
Ogbonna – his strange blunder aided Backa Topola’s goal.
Cresswell 7/10 – did very well in most actions
Ward-Prowse 8/10 – for his efforts, as he assisted on two occasions and produced seven vital passes.
Paqueta 7/10 – a critical piece to the team’s flow.
Kudus 8/10 – very aggressive in the opposition box and scored the game-winning goal.
Fornals 7/10 – for his performance as a pivot.
Benrahma 7/10 – made their opponents on the right flank uncomfortable.
Danny Ings 7/10 – only produced one scoring chance in 77 minutes.
Substitute
Palmieri 6/10 – a couple duels won
Antonio 6/10 – his participation was critical for us as we attacked in the second half.
Tomas Sousek 7/10 – with only a few minutes on the field, he scored the game-winning goal.
Cornet N/A – played for less than 10 minutes.
Backa Topola player ratings: their strategy worked for only 60 minutes
Simic 7/10 – maintained a clean sheet and made 5 saves in the first half.
Cvetkovic 6/10 – did a decent job defensively but passed inaccurately.
Dordevic 6/10 – for his poor marking.
Stojic 6/10 – a lot of balls cleared, a lot of possession lost.
Antonic 6/10 – because he stopped a lot of balls but was careless at opposition corners.
Stanic 7/10 – forced the opposing defense to make a mistake and capitalized on it to score the game’s first goal.
Radin 7/10 – was essential in his team’s important chances.
Kuveljic 7/10 – his only shot nearly resulted in a goal.
Jovanovic 6/10 – performed an excellent job pressuring and pivoting.
Dakovac 7/10 – used turnovers to create some big chances
Substitute
Krstic 6/10 – very helpful in defence and recovered some balls.
Vulic N/A – came on in the 80th minute and barely touched the ball.
Cirkovic N/A – in the only chance he had, he either shot or targeted.
Rakonjac N/A – had very little time to develop his game.
Mircevski N/A – came on in injury time
West Ham vs Backa Topola match summary and highlights
In this encounter, the Serbian team was extremely clear about their intentions. The defensive system outlined by their coach was obviously apparent from the first minutes. West Ham took the game’s initiative and produced numerous scoring chances, but their shots were met by the defense and a brilliant performance by Backa Topola’s goalie.
Backa Topola’s hopes were raised in the opening minutes of the second half when Petar Stanic capitalized on an error by Antonio Ogbonna to score the game’s first goal. West Ham’s siege escalated from then on, as they scored three goals to turn the game around.
Player of the match: Mohammed Kudus
Mohammed Kudus, a new acquisition for the Hammers, was one of the most visible players on the field. The Ghanaian player was very busy in the offensive zone and scored West Ham’s second goal in addition to delivering important passes.
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