Despite going down 3-1 to rock bottom Huddersfield, West Ham came back to win 4-3 through a late surge of goals, courtesy of a late brace from Chicharito.
It was an unexpected thriller at the London Olympic Stadium on Saturday afternoon, as rock-bottom Huddersfield, who have all but accepted their fate of relegation, clashed with West Ham United, who are still battling for positions in the mid-table. The match went down to the wire, with both sides exchanging leads until Huddersfield pulled ahead. This inspired a late comeback from the Hammers, who have a late Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez brace to thank for their 3 points.
It was indeed West Ham who took the lead, as Lanzini was unintentionally hauled down by Rowe in the box. Mark Noble converted the penalty to grab his 3rd of the season. The lead did not last long however, as Juninho Bacuna scored a header just 2 minutes later from a corner, a theme that would recur in this match.
Set-pieces played a crucial part in this match for both sides, and so did leaping headers!
Huddersfield would pull away from West Ham on either side of the half, as Karlan Grant announced himself on the Premier League stage with 2 brilliant goals. The 2nd one, which came in the 65th minute, was an exceptional run & top corner finish which left West Ham’s defenders bamboozled. Grant was signed from Charlton just 2 months ago.
Towards the end of the match, West Ham crawled back brilliantly, utilizing their aerial prowess, first through Angelo Ogbonna off a corner-kick. The Italian international powered home a downward header that the Terriers simply couldn’t deal with.
MASSIVE COMEBACK!! CHICHA TO THE RESCUE!!#WHUHUD #COYI pic.twitter.com/MfZxkoSlNy
— West Ham United (@WestHam) March 16, 2019
Chicharito turned on the gears late in the match right when West Ham needed him most. His superb header in the 84th minute leveled the match, as Huddersfield will mightily regret leaving him completely unmarked on the far post. Then, in the 91st minute he rose up to head home once again, as a deft Anderson cross was not dealt with properly by Jonas Lossl, allowing Hernandez to head home the winner for his brace.
It was a crucial victory for West Ham, who rise up to 9th in the table ahead of Leicester, Everton, and Bournemouth. Despite this, conceding 3 goals to a Huddersfield team that had only scored 15 in total prior to this match is worrying for the Hammers, and Pellegrini will be far from impressed. West Ham will play Everton on Saturday, March 30th in a crucial fixture, while Huddersfield will take on Crystal Palace that same day.