The Times - UK (2022-05-23)

the times | Monday May 23 2022 1GG 11

thegame

Brighton

Veltman 50, Gross 80, Welbeck 90+2^3

RATINGS

Brighton & Hove Albion (3-4-2-1) R Sánchez 6 —

J Veltman 7, L Dunk 7, A Webster 7 — S March 7

(T Lamptey 75min), Y Bissouma 7 (N Maupay 45,

6), M Caicedo 7 (E Mwepu 78), M Cucurella 8 —

P Gross 8, A Mac Allister 7 — D Welbeck 8.

Booked Maupay.

West Ham United (4-2-3-1) L Fabianski 5 —

V Coufal 6 (B Johnson 81), C Dawson 7, K Zouma

6, A Cresswell 7 — T Soucek 6, D Rice 7 —

J Bowen 6, M Lanzini 6 (A Yarmolenko 81),

P Fornals 6 (M Noble 81) — M Antonio 7.

Booked Soucek.

Referee K Friend.

Attendance 31,604.

West Ham United

Antonio 40^1

Moyes left fuming

after West Ham’s

tame surrender

For about 25 minutes at the Amex

Stadium, qualification for next

season’s Europa League was West

Ham United’s to lose. From the

moment Michail Antonio blasted

them into the lead with a stunning

drive late in the first half against

Brighton & Hove Albion, until Lukasz

Fabianski’s error just after half-time

allowed Joël Veltman to level, David

Moyes’s team had looked set to

unseat Manchester United from sixth

place and return to the competition

with which their fans had whipped up

a fervent romance this season. Then,

everything fell apart.

Veltman’s goal was followed ten

minutes from time by a brilliant top-

corner bullet from the boot of Pascal

Gross, by which time it was plain that

West Ham’s required outcome was

beyond them — despite United losing

at Crystal Palace. A meek second-half

collapse was not the way their season

— which included a run to the semi-

finals of the Europa League —

deserved to end. Danny Welbeck

headed in a third at the death as

Graham Potter’s team signed off their

own historic season with a record

Premier League points tally in the

dizzy heights of ninth.

In truth, both teams should end the

campaign bursting with pride. But it

won’t feel that way for West Ham.

“It’s a huge [missed opportunity],”

said Moyes, whose side must settle for

the third-tier Europa Conference

League next season. “We didn’t play

well; not like a West Ham team. No

resilience; no toughness. There was

nothing about us in the second half.

“I’m really disappointed with our

overall performance. Second half, you

could have driven a bus through us,

so many times. We didn’t show any

real desire to make it hard for them to

score against us. The players know

I’m not happy. I don’t care if it’s the

last game or the first game. If we’re

going to play like that then we’re

going to be challenging in a different

part of the league.”

Brighton made the more assured

start, looking every inch a side out to

secure their highest-ever league

finish. Moisés Caicedo had the first

opening when a loose ball fell his way

on the edge of the area, but his low

drive was saved well by Fabianski.

West Ham’s form had been patchy,

with only eight wins in 22 league

games since beating Chelsea in early

December. A sixth-place finish could

have rendered that an irrelevance,

and Antonio swung the Europa

League pendulum in their favour five

minutes before half-time. A throw-in

from the right was dealt with poorly

by Lewis Dunk, who allowed the

striker to beat him to the ball, and as

Brighton’s captain tumbled, Antonio

took a touch and drilled the ball into

Robert Sánchez’s top corner.

Brighton were concerned about

their own history-making climax, and

their substitute Neal Maupay looked

to bring them level in the first minute

of the second half, dancing through

West Ham’s penalty area and

swinging his left foot at a shot that

was well held by Fabianski.

But a goal wasn’t long in coming,

and West Ham’s goalkeeper was badly

at fault. Marc Cucurella fed Gross

inside the area, and his cross was

lofted on to the foot of Solly March

who, thinking quickly, laid it off for

Veltman, who crashed his shot past

Fabianski.

Brighton were suddenly swamping

the visiting side and would have gone

in front had Cucurella’s rolled cross

not been fractionally ahead of both

Maupay and Welbeck. Minutes later

Welbeck had a golden chance when

he was played through by a clever

pass tucked in behind by the excellent

Gross, but his effort arced across goal

before drifting wide of the post.

West Ham’s hopes of finishing sixth

were waning, and would have been

ended with 15 minutes to go if Adam

Webster had aimed a free header

from a corner a few yards lower.

The away team had been warned,

and then warned again. Still, they had

not learnt to take seriously Brighton’s

attacking threat. Ten minutes from

time, Welbeck took the ball to feet

and darted across the edge of the

area, playing a neat one-two with

Enock Mwepu before picking out

Gross, who found the top corner with

a fine 18-yard drive.

Mark Noble came off the bench for

his 550th and final career appearance,

but it was clear by then that his team’s

mission had failed. Welbeck should

have made it 3-1 when he headed

straight in to Fabianski’s gloves from

Tariq Lamptey’s neat cross.

But Welbeck then finally gave

Brighton the ending their season

deserved when he headed in from a

corner in stoppage time. The Amex

let out a grateful roar for their team’s

efforts this campaign.

Veltman scored Brighton’s equaliser

five minutes into the second half

doubt for Spurs

on a bittersweet day for Arteta’s men

light of having his jersey held and

glanced the ball past Begovic.

Nketiah finishes the season as

Arsenal’s joint third-highest scorer in

the league, despite having started

only eight games. He, Alexandre

Lacazette and Mohamed Elneny are

all out of contract this summer —

Arteta said their futures had been

decided. “We will do what we think is

the best thing for the club to move

forward, and do it with honesty and

integrity,” he said.

Arsenal could have added a third

shortly before half-time. Moments

after a well-timed tackle had foiled

Everton, Arsenal moved the ball

quickly to Bukayo Saka, who beat

Jarrad Branthwaite to the ball,

touched it to Nketiah, then sprinted

in behind for the return. Saka, holding

off Branthwaite, just missed the far

corner with his finish.

Instead, Everton changed the

emphasis of the match before half-

time, with a goal they had barely

threatened. Cédric Soares was caught

on his heels at the far post, slow to

react to Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s low

cross, and Donny van de Beek, who

had earlier replaced Abdoulaye

Doucouré, tapped in.

But the psychological shift of that

goal did not carry over into the

second half. Arsenal continued to

dominate possession and territory,

and soon restored their cushion with

a fine set-piece goal. Odegaard pulled

a corner kick back to Cédric, lurking

on the edge of the box, who clipped it

past Begovic with a fine first-time

finish.

With Arsenal now in effervescent

mood, a through-ball from deep

released Saka, who advanced on goal,

only for Branthwaite to make an

excellent last-ditch sliding tackle just

as he was about to shoot. It was only a

momentary reprieve however, as from

the ensuing corner, the ball

eventually broke to Gabriel, whose

shot burst through Begovic, giving the

centre back his fifth goal of the

season.

Arsenal completed the rout with a

terrific individual goal. Odegaard

showed lovely feet to slip away from a

challenge on the edge of the area,

then caressed the ball into the far

corner. It was a beautiful end to a

season of modest progress for

Arsenal, but it couldn’t quite take

away the sting of what might

have been.

Son is mobbed

after his second

goal and, inset,

receives the

Golden Boot

from Kane

PAUL TERRY/CREDIT/SPORTIMAGE/ALAMY

ROBERT O’CONNOR