There was no claret and blue in sight however at the least Danny Ings obtained a run out because the Graham Potter period at West Ham kicked off with a 2-1 loss at Aston Villa within the FA Cup third spherical.
Potter unsurprisingly named a powerful beginning XI. The one notable change was 19-year-old Oliver Scarles at left-back, with Vladimir Coufal dropping to the bench and Aaron Wan-Bissaka shifting to his pure place on the proper.
Villa – carrying a black a hundred and fiftieth anniversary equipment in opposition to the Hammers’ white – matched Potter’s line-up by naming a number of common starters. Robin Olsen in aim and Tyrone Mings in centre-back had been the outsiders drafted in.
Potter ensured he was in cost and made his intentions abundantly clear together with his crew choice. The entrance 4 of Crysencio Summerville, Lucas Paqueta, Mohammed Kudus and Niclas Fullkrug is the very best assault with Jarrod Bowen absent and the Hammers obtained off to a flying begin.
Paqueta was on type within the opening exchanges and put his facet in entrance with a tidy end within the ninth minute.
There have been two accidents within the first half. Niclas Fullkrug was the primary to depart after showing to tug his hamstring earlier than Ross Barkley was changed by £50million signing Amadou Onana.
Onana truly damage himself with an ungainly fall, Summerville obtained therapy from the West Ham physios and Leon Bailey did the splits, which needed to damage. Regardless of the variety of accidents, it wasn’t something near being a feisty first half. But, Summerville was taken off at half-time for Coufal.
Villa didn’t check Lukasz Fabianski as soon as within the opening 45 minutes however dominated possession and had the guests sweating, solely to mess up the ultimate ball or take too lengthy to determine what to do. Their first shot heading in the right direction got here by way of Ian Maatsen within the 69th minute and that opened the floodgates.
Within the first 45 minutes of the Potter period, West Ham regarded harmful in transition, their extensive gamers pressed properly and contributed defensively, notably Summerville, and their defensive form was wonderful. Villa under-performing made them look good, thoughts.
Roy Keane didn’t maintain again at half-time. What a shock. “Villa have been surprising. Garbage!” he mentioned.
The change Potter made resulted in an attention-grabbing tactical change. Wan-Bissaka, who has actually confirmed to be an attacking risk at West Ham, moved as much as proper midfield forward of Coufal, with Scarles and Paqueta on the left, although the latter was given the liberty to come back inside in attacking conditions.
That left Kudus up prime with, if not simply off, Fulkrug’s substitute, Danny Ings.
It was a frantic second half at Villa Park as Potter took the shackles off of his attacking gamers and the ridiculous tempo of the encounter suited West Ham till Aston Villa began to kick the ball on the bloody aim gap.
In fact, for all of West Ham’s positivity, they bottled it. A scrappy Onana equaliser got here earlier than Rogers put Emery’s males in entrance. Onana’s aim got here from a nook that ought to not have been, which might be price a point out you’d say.
For the second, Ollie Watkins did beautifully on the left, sliding the ball into the six-yard field for the previous Middlesbrough teenager to transform previous Fabianski.
Falling on the first FA Cup hurdle is a kick within the tooth for West Ham, however at the least there have been positives in defeat, which very hardly ever occurred beneath Lopetegui.
There was clearly extra effort and cohesion within the West Ham crew, which is bloody spectacular contemplating how little time Potter has needed to work with these gamers. It was an enchancment and whereas advancing to the fourth spherical would have been beautiful, how they performed after one Potter coaching session is a cause for optimism.
The brand new supervisor bounce performed a giant half in making this an entertaining match. A distinct face and persona taking coaching has been sufficient to present this lot a kick up the bottom however not sufficient to carry on to a lead at a troublesome floor.
The bounce from Potter’s arrival has bred confidence all through all the squad and with Paqueta, Summerville, Kudus and *checks notes* Wan-Bissaka strutting their stuff, this crew can damage anybody.
This job truly has the potential to be extremely easy for Potter. That isn’t to say it will likely be simple or with out excessive expectations, however Potter has taken cost of a crew at their lowest ebb being watched by fed up followers.
Potter ought to have been the appointment West Ham made final summer season however for one cause or one other, it didn’t occur. As a substitute, they appointed the Spanish David Moyes, who was proper to not be supplied a contract extension and Lopetegui’s efficiency as supervisor was not a case of ‘watch out what you want for’, earlier than you begin.
West Ham and Potter are a superb match. Apart from the inflexible defensive midfielders and Fulkrug, it’s a squad stuffed with creativity and guys who value some huge cash. The previous Chelsea boss is the proper man to get the very best out of them; he’s an attack-minded supervisor and it is a crew with some thrilling attacking gamers.
It’s easy for Potter due to the expertise on this West Ham squad and the actual fact they are 14th in the Premier League table. The one manner is up for the Irons and if the brand new supervisor bounce fades after just a few weeks, Bowen’s return to the crew can be excellent timing.
A visit to Aston Villa was a really tough first recreation for Potter, but he was desirous to be within the dugout for it. Having orchestrated a wonderful efficiency beneath the circumstances, he has been vindicated and defeat mustn’t knock the re-emerging confidence in his squad.
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