West Ham eased the pressure on Julen Lopetegui with a 2-1 win over Wolves.
Scorers: Souček 53′, Bowen 72′; Doherty 69′
An emotional pre-match at the London Stadium saw the hosts produce several pre-match tributes to stricken teammate Michail Antonio following his road accident.
A cagey first half livened up on the half-hour mark when Rayan Aït-Nouri produced a sliding interception to deny Carlos Soler’s goal-bound effort.
At the other end, João Gomes spurned a gilt-edged opportunity to break the deadlock after Matt Doherty played an inch-perfect cross to the far post.
Tomáš Souček finally opened the scoring just minutes into the second half with a looping header from Jarrod Bowen’s corner to the far lefthand side of the box.
The Hammers appeared to have doubled their lead before the hour mark as Mohammed Kudus slotted in a Bowen cutback but was disallowed for offside.
Doherty produced a leveller by catching Aït-Nouri’s cross from the left with a volley but parity lasted all of three minutes as Bowen swept home from Kudus’ assist.
Kudus slotted home a potential third in the closing stages but was again denied by the offside flag after being played in by substitute Lucas Paquetá.
West Ham stay 14th in the Premier League table with 18 points from their opening 15 matches while Wolves are still in the relegation zone, four points from safety.
📸 Justin Setterfield – 2024 Getty Images
