West Ham United entered the weekend with drama surrounding its manager Julen Lopetegui, and things got even harder when club hero Michail Antonio was in a horrible car accident over the weekend.
Antonio was hospitalized and required surgery for a broken leg over the weekend, and the affable forward’s absence threatened to loom large over what was already being viewed as a must-win game against relegation-threatened Wolves.
[ MORE: West Ham 2-1 Wolves recap, video highlights ]
West Ham showed up big time for their boss and their injured striker, as Jarrod Bowen scored and assisted a Tomas Soucek goal. Both players celebrated in honor of Antonio, as Soucek held nine fingers up into the touch line camera and Bowen held aloft Antonio’s No. 9 jersey.
Lopetegui also bested fellow under-fire boss Gary O’Neil, the man who replaced him at Wolves, and saw West Ham move nine points clear of the bottom three and close to the thick pack competing for a place in Europe.
Here’s what Bowen and Lopetegui said after the game on the USA Network.
Julen Lopetegui reaction
“We are happy for our fans and firstly, we dedicate the victory for Mike. It was a very tough days for the club, and then after the accident much more. We very much dedicate this victory to him.
“We deserve these three points. Today was not easy, this kind of match is sometimes much more than football. We were able to compete well and fight to the end. We had 14 corners and we took advantage of one.
On the pressure around his job status: “I don’t talk about the noise, I talk about football. Always to win is good for me, for all the coaches in the world.”
Jarrod Bowen reaction, postmatch interview video on USA Network
“It’s different in many ways with what happened to Mick and knowing that we needed a result after losing our last two,” Bowen said. “We knew we needed a reaction and what happened over the weekend correlated into one. It was a beautiful night for us, for Mick, and the fans to get all three points.”
On the pressure of being captain this weekend: “I enjoy that responsibility and being the one to give those moments to the team. It’s only right with what happened with Mick as a character. I know he would’ve wanted us to give it our all.”
