Life really can be cruel at times. Sometimes, no matter what you try and do, things just don’t come off – nothing works, and all you are left with is frustration and confusion. Depending on which side of the London Stadium you were sitting in on Saturday, that could be either the exact opposite of what happened, or the embodiment of your weekend. For the neutral of course, while West Ham taking on Huddersfield may not necessarily seem like the most must-watch game of the weekend, this was an absolute cracker. It could be argued that, like West Ham fans, the neutrals felt the opposite of the aforementioned frustration. Huddersfield, however, really look in danger – they somehow managed to claw defeat from the grasp of victory, and hopes of a miracle continue to fade with each passing match.The Terriers find themselves rooted to the bottom of the Premier League, with their points total being less than half of that of Burnley in 17th place – Huddersfield’s 14 make Burnley’s 30 look pleasingly healthy. Things had, for much of Saturday afternoon, looked as though they could be improving – perhaps the storm has passed and now some sunlight would cast itself onto their survival hopes. Cruising at 3-1 up with less than 20 minutes to go, their world came crashing right back down with three West Ham strikes – including one in injury time – to send them back up north with little to show for their valiant efforts. Had they won, Huddersfield would have moved off the bottom of the Premier League table for the first time since December.
Things looked to be off to a good start for the hosts when Mark Noble finished off a penalty, but Juninho Bacuna levelled things up almost immediately, his free header nestling in the net to spark some optimism. Karlan Grant then instepped the guests into the lead, and West Ham’s hopes of an easy day at the office against a side with just six points away from home this season looked premature. Grant then fired a 25-yard effort straight into the top corner of Lukasz Fabianski‘s net to put Huddersfield 3-1 up, sparking an exodus as West Ham fans made for the exits. However, the arrival onto the field of former Man City star Samir Nasri, as well as ex-Man Utd player Javier Hernandez, sparked one of the more memorable comebacks of this season so far.
The former’s cross was nodded in by Hernandez to bring West Ham level after Angelo Ogbonna had previously pulled one back, and another header in injury time from the Mexican gave West Ham what seemed at times a somewhat implausible win. That means Hernandez became the first West Ham player since Michail Antonio in 2016 to score two headers in one match, and the result leaves Huddersfield 16 points adrift of 17th place with just seven games – 21 points – left to play for.
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