West Ham plays a goalless draw with Fulham. The Hammers ended the game with 10 men as Soucek was shown a straight red card for elbowing Alexsandar Mitrovic in injury time. Tomas Soucek was sent off as West Ham missed a chance to move into the top four of the Premier League with a goalless draw against struggling Fulham.
As the pair jostled for position as a free-kick was about to be taken, Soucek raised his elbow and caught the Fulham striker in an incident that looked accidental.
However, following a lengthy video assistant referee check, referee Mike Dean was advised to check the incident himself, with VAR official Lee Mason telling Dean to look at Soucek’s “clenched fist”.
Dean, taking a few minutes to make his decision, repeatedly watched the incident on the pitchside monitor and eventually sent him off for violent conduct.
“I’m embarrassed for whoever has done VAR tonight,” said Hammers boss David Moyes. “It was obvious to everyone it was accidental. I’m really embarrassed they chose to send him off. We want them to get the decisions right. It comes down to a poor decision and we can’t do much about it.
“It’s unfair to the boy. I’m sure they will come up with enough excuses to justify the reason for sending him off.” Fulham boss Scott Parker agreed that Soucek, who will miss an FA Cup game against Manchester United and Premier League matches against Sheffield United and Tottenham, did not deserve to be dismissed.
“It probably was a bit harsh and the game is becoming very sterile,” said Parker. “I don’t think it was a sending off but that’s the way the game is going.”
In a quiet first half, both sides only managed one shot on target each – the visitors’ Declan Rice having an effort saved by Alphonse Areola and Ivan Cavaleiro heading tamely at Lukasz Fabianski for the hosts.
West Ham’s Vladimir Coufal then headed against the crossbar from Rice’s cross from the left. Tosin Adarabioyo could have given Fulham all three points but narrowly headed over from eight yards out as neither side could make the breakthrough.
West Ham would have gone above Liverpool with a victory, but stay fifth, one point behind last season’s champions, who host league leaders Manchester City on Sunday.
Fulham have now not won in 14 matches in all competitions, since a 2-1 victory at Leicester City on 30 November, and remain 18th – in the relegation zone. West Ham came into this match in a great run of form with seven wins in their past eight – and that one defeat was against Liverpool.
Although Fulham had the greater share of possession, the best chance fell to Coufal, but the woodwork denied the Czech defender his first goal for the club.
His countryman Soucek, looking for his ninth Hammers goal of the season, should have done better when he met Jesse Lingard’s cross but could not keep his header down.
However, it has still been a great campaign for West Ham, who finished 16th in 2020-21, but are hoping to qualify for European competition for the first time since they finished seventh in 2015-16 under Slaven Bilic.
In the end, West Ham were hanging on and may regard this a decent point.
Fulham substitute Mitrovic shot wide late on, with Ruben Loftus-Cheek also missing two chances in the last five minutes for the hosts. Fulham began the day eight points adrift of Burnley and Newcastle, although Burnley drew 1-1 against Brighton and nine-man Newcastle beat Southampton 3-2 to increase the pressure on Scott Parker’s side.
But this latest draw keeps the Cottagers eight points from 17th and in grave danger of making an instant return to the Championship after winning the play-offs to get promoted last season.
When these sides met in November, West Ham won 1-0, but Fulham missed a glorious chance to equalise in injury time as Ademola Lookman’s weak chipped ‘Panenka’ penalty was easily saved by Fabianski. Lookman was one of Fulham’s positives in a quiet first half at Craven Cottage as he twice created space for chances but could not hit the target.
Fulham started the second half brightly as Bobby Decordova-Reid volleyed over and Loftus-Cheek, when played in by Lookman, shot into the side netting.
But once again Fulham’s lack of ruthlessness in front of goal cost them as Adarabioyo headed just over and Cavaleiro missed the target when unmarked.
Manager Parker handed a late debut to striker Josh Maja, signed on loan from Bordeaux on transfer deadline day, and also brought on Mitrovic in an attempt to get what would have been only their third league win of the season.
They had chances too, but Mitrovic and Loftus-Cheek failed to take the opportunities on another frustrating day for the Cottagers.
Another London derby without a win for Fulham – the stats
- Fulham have failed to win any of their past four league games against West Ham (D1 L3), failing to score in three of those matches.
- Fulham are winless in their past 20 Premier League London derbies (D3 L17), with only Crystal Palace having a longer such run in English top-flight history (31 between August 1969 and March 1973). However, this was the first time the Cottagers have kept a clean sheet in a Premier League London derby since March 2013 (1-0 vs Tottenham), having conceded in each of their previous 28 such matches.
- No side has played out more goalless draws in the Premier League this season than Fulham (four – level with Manchester United).
- West Ham have won as many points this season in 23 games as they did in the entirety of 2019-20 (39).
- Only Burnley (12) have failed to score in more Premier League games than Fulham (11) this season.
- There were just three shots on target in this game, two for Fulham and one for West Ham, the joint-lowest tally in a Premier League game this season (level with three other games).
- Fulham (D8 L4) have gone 12 league games without a victory for the first time since April-September 2014, while it is their longest such run solely in the top flight since November 2007-January 2008 (a run of 12).
- West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen (19) has been substituted on more occasions than any other player in the Premier League this season, whilst team-mate Andriy Yarmolenko (13) has made the most appearances from the bench in the competition this campaign.
Source – BBC News
