Graham Potter’s first home win as West Ham manager brings excitement and hope
London: If this is a glimpse of what’s to come for West Ham, then we’re in for a wild ride with Graham Potter at the helm.
They snagged their first Premier League win and their first home victory under Potter, thanks to a couple of lucky breaks from Fulham. The Hammers held on tight, moving up to 12th in the league, and you could feel the good vibes buzzing around the London Stadium.
Sure, Potter’s reign kicked off with a loss in the FA Cup against Aston Villa, but this match against Fulham felt like the real start, no matter the outcome.
With Lucas Paqueta stepping up amid a striker shortage, West Ham scored on all three of their shots on target. They capitalized on some major blunders from Fulham’s Andreas Pereira and Bernd Leno, with goals from Carlos Soler and Paqueta sandwiching a Tomas Soucek strike that looked like a classic Potter play.
While they came out strong in Potter’s first game at Villa Park, the start of this home game was a different story. Fulham quickly got under their skin, nearly scoring when Harry Wilson hit the bar early on.
The midfield was sluggish, and Potter had to deal with questions about his choice of players. But the team responded brilliantly, scoring three times in just six minutes during the first half.
One goal was disallowed for offside, but then they found the net twice, and you could see Potter’s excitement as he celebrated. Pereira’s careless pass was a gift for Soler, who scored his first goal for the club.
Then, just a minute later, they struck again with a well-executed play that had the crowd buzzing. Mohammed Kudus made a nice run, setting up Soucek for a tidy finish.
Games against Fulham are always tricky, especially since West Ham lost to them last season. Fulham started strong again in the second half, scoring two goals that exposed some defensive weaknesses.
But thanks to some poor play from Leno, West Ham managed to score again, and even when Fulham pulled one back, they held on for the win.
In the end, it was a massive three points for Potter, and the fans are feeling hopeful.
