West Ham United registered a vital win in the hunt for a European place as they came from behind to beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 at Molineux on Saturday thanks to James Ward-Prowse scoring directly from a corner in the 84th minute.
Ward-Prowse's wonder goal completed the turnaround after Lucas Paqueta had pulled West Ham level from the spot following Max Kilman's handball.
Gary O'Neil's side had taken a deserved lead just after the half-hour mark through Pablo Sarabia's own spot-kick, after Rayan Ait-Nouri had been tripped by Emerson.
It's a vital three points that keeps the Hammers in seventh place, with David Moyes' side now six clear of 11th-placed Wolves after ending their four-match winless run in the Premier League.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
35 | +21 | 67 |
| 5 |
Spurs
TOT
|
33 | +15 | 60 |
| 6 |
Man Utd
MUN
|
34 | +1 | 54 |
| 7 |
Newcastle
NEW
|
34 | +19 | 53 |
| 8 |
West Ham
WHU
|
35 | -9 | 49 |
| 9 |
Chelsea
CHE
|
33 | +4 | 48 |
| 10 |
Bournemouth
BOU
|
35 | -8 | 48 |
| 11 |
Wolves
WOL
|
35 | -7 | 46 |
How the match unfolded
Wolves made a bright start and Lukasz Fabianski made smart saves to keep out Sarabia and Tommy Doyle before Emerson clumsily felled Ait-Nouri to give away a penalty in the 30th minute.
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The goalkeeper had no chance as the Spaniard fired his spot-kick against the inside of the right post and in to give Wolves a deserved lead.
The Hammers were far more of a threat after the break, and Emerson thought he had atoned for conceding the first-half penalty when he headed home at the far post, but he was penalised for a foul on Nelson Semedo in the build-up.
The left-back had a hand in getting his team level soon afterwards, though, as his cross was blocked by Kilman's arm. Paqueta made no mistake from the spot, stuttering in his run-up before finding the bottom-right corner.
The visitors then inched ahead in bizarre circumstances with six minutes of the 90 remaining, as Ward-Prowse's left-sided corner caught Jose Sa out and sailed straight into the far corner.
There was then more late drama as Kilman thought he had headed Wolves level in the ninth minute of stoppage time, but the goal was overturned following a VAR review as Tawanda Chirewa was judged to be impeding Fabianski from an offside position.
Fortress Molineux breached
Wolves seemed to have found their feet at home at the ideal time, but a passive second-half performance saw them miss the chance to make it three straight wins at Molineux.
While a victory here would have taken them above West Ham, they now sit seven points adrift of the top seven with difficult fixtures against Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool to come.
Bowen blow for Hammers
While West Ham have struggled on the road at times in the Premier League this season, one highlight for them has been the form of Jarrod Bowen, who had been involved in 12 goals in his 14 Premier League away appearances this season ahead of Saturday's game, scoring eight goals and assisting four.
In a sluggish first half for the Hammers, he teed up their best chance, but Tomas Soucek was not able to get a shot away, and in the opening minutes of the second half, he continued to show the biggest threat for the visitors.
His game was cut short, though, after he landed awkwardly on his back following a challenge with Joao Gomes, and despite Saturday's victory, Moyes now has a major question mark over the fitness of one of his key players heading into the run-in.
Club reports
Wolves report | West Ham report
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Key facts
West Ham have won six of their last eight Premier League matches against Wolves, losing two, with today’s victory being just their third at Molineux in the competition (D1 L4).
Ward-Prowse has registered 100 direct goal involvements in the Premier League (55 goals, 45 assists). His goal was his 13th goal involvement of this season (six goals, seven assists), bringing him level with his tally from 2022/23 (nine goals, four assists).
Only Southampton between November 1997 and April 2014, with 29 penalties, have had a longer run of successfully taken penalties in Premier League history than Wolves' ongoing run of 23.
Sarabia has been successful from each of his two Premier League penalty attempts this season (also converting v Manchester United). The Spaniard has scored four goals in the league this season, with all four having come at Molineux.