West Ham beat Wolves 4-0 in boost for boss Moyes

(Reuters) – West Ham United secured their first points of the Premier League season with a 4-0 home win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday, a result that will have boosted the spirits of manager David Moyes who missed the game after contracting COVID-19.

Wolves dominated the opening exchanges but fell behind in the 17th minute when the visitors’ defender Willy Boly felled Michail Antonio in the centre of the pitch and referee Martin Atkinson allowed Pablo Fornals to take the free kick quickly.

He played a clever ball to Jarrod Bowen, who cut in onto his left foot and curled an exquisite shot in at the far post, despite being surrounded by three Wolves defenders.

Bowen was on hand again to rifle the ball home when Fornals hit the post in the 57th minute, and he could have had a hat-trick before being replaced by Mark Noble in the 88th minute.

After forcing some smart saves in the first half, midfielder Tomas Soucek looked to have got the goal his energetic performance deserved, but his glancing near-post header deflected off Raul Jimenez and was given as an own goal.

Wolves had plenty of possession but created little in the way of scoring chances, and West Ham substitute Sebastien Haller netted in stoppage time with a thumping header to complete the rout.

“Keeping a clean sheet was vital for us, and the fact that we scored four goals is big for us as well. It’s the perfect performance for us, something we needed after the first two games,” goalscorer Bowen told Sky Sports.

Linked with a big-money move to London rivals Chelsea, midfielder Declan Rice praised the West Ham coaches for stepping up following Moyes’ coronavirus diagnosis.

“I am buzzing with the performance. Our manager has tested positive for the COVID, so the backroom staff have taken over. I can’t be any happier for the staff tonight,” he said.

Reporting by Philip O’Connor; Editing by Toby Davis