Sky Sports pundit stunned by West Ham United ace James Ward-Prowse amid ‘incredible’ sequence vs Nottingham Forest
Don Goodman was blown away by the “incredible” turnaround which saw West Ham equalise against Nottingham Forest to inflict a “body blow” on the visitors on their way to a comeback win.
The Sky Sports pundit reacted live on the broadcaster’s coverage of the match at the London Stadium to hail James Ward-Prowse’s delivery from a corner which was headed home by Jarrod Bowen to make it 2-2 in the 65th minute.
The goal came just 123 seconds after Anthony Elanga had put Forest ahead, with Goodman stunned that the Swede’s celebration had taken longer than the amount of game time it then required for West Ham to strike back.
Goodman said after the Hammers equaliser (3.25pm): “We spoke about James Ward-Prowse’s delivery, it’s always going to cause you problems because it comes in with pace and power and accuracy.
“If you’re a West Ham player and you can get anything on it you’ve got half a chance of finding the back of the net. Jarrod Bowen is not the biggest player in a West Ham shirt out there, but he’s the one that attacks it the best, the one who finds the space, and the one who finds the back of the net.
“It’s a real body-blow for Nottingham Forest. They’ve worked hard to get into the lead but they’ve just given it up extremely easily, that will really disappoint Steve Cooper.”
He then reacted after being told of the timings involved (3.27pm): “Incredible really. But what about the delivery from James Ward-Prowse? They needed it, they needed a quick response.”
Drama
Having taken the lead so early through Lucas Paqueta it was yet another concern that Forest had come back to take the lead at the Irons’ home.
With Premier League form so poor of late it was an opportunity missed to make the game comfortable after making such a strong start.
But the response to going behind was encouraging, and Ward-Prowse’s famous delivery was a threat from set pieces all afternoon.
It was also no surprise that it was Bowen, so often the West Ham saviour, who got the crucial touch on his compatriots corner to respond immediately to Elanga’s strike.
A late free kick into the box which was almost turned in by Tomas Soucek almost gave Ward-Prowse another assist, and yet there was still time for the Englishman to land another one on the Czech’s head for the late winner.
It was a hugely significant goal as West Ham finally arrested their four-game winless run in the Premier League to lift some of the pressure on David Moyes.
