David Moyes says he understands West Ham fans’ frustrations after his decision to withdraw top scorer Gianluca Scamacca in yesterday’s 1-1 draw with Southampton was jeered by the away end.
Summer signing Scamacca has been in fine form over recent weeks, scoring in back-to-back Premier League games heading into Sunday’s contest at St Mary’s and with six goals in all competitions so far this term.
The Italian was the Hammers’ biggest threat throughout much of the game against Southampton, managing seven shots in all and teeing up perhaps the best chance with a fine delivery for Lucas Paqueta, who could only head wide.
West Ham were on top late on and chasing a winner after Declan Rice had cancelled out Romain Perraud’s deflected opener. However, when Moyes turned to his bench to send on forward Michail Antonio three minutes from time, it was as a like-for-like replacement for Scamacca rather than an extra attacking lifeline.
“I can understand it,” Moyes said of his fans’ response. “We were gung-ho, we were just looking at somebody who we thought had run out of steam. We got him further than we’ve got him in any other game, so no problem.”
Moyes added: “I thought we played well enough, just couldn’t turn our opportunities into goals. We had moments where we weren’t good enough defensively but you’d have to say the bigger part was that our attacking play was very good and it just missed the finishing. Our build-up play and our opportunities are getting better and it’s good to see.”
