West Ham’s survival bid rocked by Brentford to open door for Tottenham

Well, all of that would have been fine if they were coasting in mid-table, but given West Ham’s perilous position the overriding sense was this was a costly afternoon in their battle to stay up. The frustration lay in blowing an opportunity to make 18th-placed Tottenham squirm before facing Aston Villa on Sunday evening. The gap remains at two points when it could have been five. “I cannot do anything,” Nuno Espírito Santo said, knowing he will be powerless to do anything more than hope for a favour when he tunes into the action from Villa Park and watches Tottenham chase the win that would push West Ham back into the bottom three with three games left. Nuno is trying to transmit calm. He was happy with elements of West Ham’s performance against high-flying Brentford , but was worried about their reaction to Igor Thiago making it 2-0 with a penalty early in the second half. “The second goal hurt us,” Nuno said. “We lost composure.” Thiago was in position to grab his 22nd league goal of the season after El Hadji Malick Diouf fouled Dango Ouattara. “He should avoid it,” Nuno said of the left-back’s rash decision to go to ground after being turned by Ouattara, who was one of several excellent performers for Brentford as they moved up to sixth and boosted their hopes of qualifying for Europe. Brentford, who have an outside chance of sneaking into the Champions League, were good value for their first win in eight games.

They were stronger in both areas, going ahead when Michael Kayode forced Konstantinos Mavropanos to score an early own goal. They were more clinical than West Ham. The visitors created a lot during a breathless first half, but their finishing left much to be desired and the way they defended against Brentford’s aerial deliveries was not much better. The hosts were ahead when Keane Lewis-Potter crossed from the left and Crysencio Summerville switched off at the far post. Kayode charged in, Summerville reacted too late to the right-back’s run and West Ham were all at sea. Mads Hermansen was exposed of cover, the ball bounced off the post and Kayode’s determination to gobble up the rebound made the difference, forcing a lunging Mavropanos to direct his desperate clearance against the bar from a yard out and into the net. West Ham were too open during a breathless first half. They were bright going forward, but could have conceded a hatful. Mikkel Damsgaard missed an open goal after a howler from Hermansen. There were chances for Sepp van den Berg and Lewis-Potter.

“It was helter-skelter,” Keith Andrews said. Brentford’s manager was not entirely satisfied with his side’s level during the opening period. West Ham had an equaliser disallowed when an offside Mavropanos headed in from Diouf’s free-kick. Their football was brisk and creative, but it lacked a punch. Taty Castellanos sent two efforts against the woodwork, drew a fine from Caoimhín Kelleher and missed a header wide. Jarrod Bowen was wasteful. Pablo Felipe, yet to score since joining from Gil Vicente in January, was tentative with a shooting opportunity. That bluntness cost West Ham. The second half began with Castellanos crossing for Pablo to head wide. Brentford pushed and there was no way back once Igor Thiago had sent Hermansen the wrong from the spot.

West Ham grew ragged. Castellanos, lucky not to be sent off for a foul on Lewis-Potter, had to be taken off for his own good. Pablo got away with a poor tackle. “There was a little bit of aggro,” Andrews said. Mostly, though, it was comfortable for Brentford. Summerville hit the bar for West Ham, but the third goal arrived when Lewis-Potter found Damsgaard, who used Mateus Fernandes as a shield and threaded a low shot past the unsighted Hermansen. Perhaps West Ham should have known they were fighting a lost cause. Brentford have won three of their past 16 London derbies. The problem is that all those victories came against West Ham. Explore more on these topics