No game in the Premier League is supposed to be easy. This one was. Without breaking sweat, two first half goals ensured West Ham United eased past Sheffield United, who looked desperately short of top-level quality and who, for all that West Ham sat back in a soporific second period, played against the backdrop of an almost silent crowd, posed only minimal threat. Still, at least it wasn’t another 8-0.
Manager Paul Heckingbottom kept his nerve after Sunday’s trouncing by Newcastle United, swapping Oliver Norwood for the formerly suspended Oli McBurnie, but otherwise keeping the same starting XI. There was no disgrace this time around, but neither was there much in the way of hope for what is already turning out to be a grim slog of a season.
From first to last, the lemon-shirted northerners hardly looked rejuvenated by their unlikely vote of confidence. With Michail Antonio in one of his more productive moods, West Ham – unchanged after a Premier League defeat of their own, albeit with a midweek Carabao interlude – swept forwards with the gayest of abandon, as if another eight was possible. Soon Wes Foderingham was saving Jarrod Bowen’s point blank header. Nayef Aguerd headed the loose ball towards goal and Luke Thomas headed off the line.
Nature finally took its course halfway through the first half when Tomas Soucek set Vladimir Coufal free on the right. The Czech crossed low and, untroubled by any defender, Bowen guided his fifth goal of the season past Foderingham.
Number two came soon enough. Gustavo Hamer’s woefully sloppy clearance fell to Emerson, who threaded the ball through. Antonio deftly helped it on and Soucek’s finish was straight-forwards. From there, West Ham clocked off.
Toothless and guile free, Sheffield United were incapable of landing a punch, so West Ham sashayed into cruise control and the game slumped into somnambulant torpor, although Alphonse Areola was momentarily called upon when he blocked Anel Ahmedhodzic’s header.
Unlike Newcastle when faced with the same opponents, West Ham picked and probed without any great impetus. Indeed, there was even restlessness in the crowd when Bowen set up Antonio, who shot straight at Foderingham. West Ham manager David Moyes introduced Said Benrahma and Mohammed Kudus with a view to regaining that lost impetus, but while Kudus did embark upon one electrifying run, the lethargy proved infectious and more and more territory was ceded to the visitors, who lacked the nous to utilise it.
