David Moyes would have been ‘spitting feathers’ at West Ham United news – Garth Crooks
Garth Crooks says West Ham manager David Moyes “must have been spitting feathers” after losing Michail Antonio and Jarrod Bowen to injury this week.
Antonio pulled up while on international duty with Jamaica and is facing a spell on the sidelines, while Bowen left the England camp early with a minor problem.
Both players were absent for Saturday’s (25 November) trip to Burnley, but United picked up a 2-1 comeback win thanks to Tomas Soucek’s late goal after Dara O’Shea had earlier put into his own net.
Kudus assisted Soucek’s winner and also played a key part in the own goal, earning him a place in Crooks’ Premier League Team of the Week for BBC Sport.
Explaining his decision, Crooks said [26 November]: “David Moyes must have been spitting feathers when he heard that Michail Antonio and Jarrod Bowen, two of his best players, had come back from international duty injured.
“Fortunately Mohammed Kudus returned from a trip to the Indian Ocean in order to play for Ghana against Comoros in a World Cup qualifier.
“I don’t know what happened in Comoros as Ghana lost 1-0 but it didn’t seem to affect Kudus who was outstanding on his return for West Ham against Burnley.
“On two separate occasions Kudus produced moments of magic that resulted in goals for the Hammers and he was their standout player on the day.”
Kudus masterclass
While Soucek came away from this game as the hero thanks to his bundled finish, there is no doubt that Kudus was the real match-winner for West Ham.
The Ghana international beat four players with some individual brilliance before teeing up Divin Mubama, whose shot went in off O’Shea for the equaliser.
Kudus then played in an inviting ball for Soucek to attack for the 91st-minute winner, which turned what had been shaping up to be a terrible day for United into a memorable one.
David Moyes would have been wary of throwing the versatile attacker into the starting line-up following his exploits with Ghana in the week, but the absences of Antonio and Bowen forced his hand somewhat.
With those two regulars missing, Kudus stepped up and showed he can now be West Ham’s man for the big occasions.
Kudus certainly was not cheap, but he is already well on course to justifying his hefty price tag.
