Fulham 0-1 West Ham: Summerville boosts survival hopes after Leno error

  /  autty

West Ham boosted their chances of Premier League survival as they held on for a crucial 1-0 away win at Fulham.

The Hammers nearly went in front inside 30 seconds, as Jarrod Bowen set up Valentin Castellanos on the edge of the area, but his effort was kept out by Bernd Leno.

West Ham continued to threaten at times on the counter-attack, with Castellanos turning provider for Bowen on this occasion, but the England international was forced onto his weaker right foot and blazed over.

A much-changed Fulham created very little in the first half, though they did go close on the stroke of half-time as a brilliant first touch from Josh King created space for the shot inside the area, but he was kept out by Mads Hermansen.

The home side were awarded a penalty in the first few minutes of the second half after Tom Cairney went down in the area following a coming together with Castellanos, but the decision was overturned following a VAR review, citing that contact was first initiated by the Fulham midfielder.

West Ham looked the livelier of the two sides as the game stretched open, with Crysencio Summerville's whipped cross somehow evading both Callum Wilson and Tomas Soucek from just yards out.

However, a mix-up between Leno and Calvin Bassey resulted in Bowen nipping in and finding the Dutchman, who slotted home with ease.

Fulham continued to struggle in terms of creating opportunities after falling behind, though Hermansen was called into action to deny a fine effort from Timothy Castagne with little time remaining.

Data Debrief: Upturn in form for Hammers as relegation fears eased

Despite a difficult start as head coach of West Ham, Nuno Espirito Santo has now guided his side to four wins in their last eight games - that's one more victory than they managed across the first 21 matches of the league campaign.

A huge part of that revival has been the form of Summerville, and he has now scored seven goals in his last 10 appearances, having netted just once in his first 38 West Ham games in all competitions.

Marco Silva rotated his Fulham side and that may have contributed to a largely lifeless display, with his side failing to score at Craven Cottage for the first time since a 1-0 defeat to league leaders Arsenal in October, putting an end to their longest scoring run at home in the top-flight (10).

West Ham came away with the victory despite fewer shots on target (three) than Fulham (five), though the Hammers produced 1.09 xG to the Cottagers' 1.01.

Related: Fulham West Ham United
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