Andriy Yarmolenko had tears in his eyes. The stadium announcer exclaimed “for West Ham and Ukraine”, as he called out the goalscorer’s name. Aston Villa players applauded the striker. When this Premier League Sunday afternoon started, it looked like Roman Abramovich’s sanctioned Chelsea would be the focus of attention as they took on Newcastle United. As so often in the past couple of weeks, though, a Ukrainian hero took centre stage at the London Stadium.
Yarmolenko, who replaced Michail Antonio seven minutes after the break, had received a warm and emotional welcome from the fans. His arrival on the pitch enlivened a game that was drifting away from West Ham. The goal transformed the atmosphere in the stadium and brought a surge of belief for the home side. David Moyes’s team were suddenly back in the hunt for a Champions League place that seemed to be moving further away from them. It was no surprise when Pablo Fornals added a second 12 minutes later to give West Ham some breathing space.
The man from Ukraine will naturally receive the plaudits. His shot with the outside of his foot was a clever piece of finishing that left Emiliano Martinez with no chance. Said Benrahma’s role in the goal – and the match – should not be forgotten. He ran with the ball, drawing defenders and rolled a precise pass to Yarmolenko in the area. The Algerian also set up Fornals’s strike, rampaging into space on the left to provide a pinpoint pass for the Spaniard. Yarmolenko was named man of the match but Benrahma was Moyes’s man of the moment.
The game started well but lost momentum before Yarmolenko’s goal. Both teams were lively in the opening exchanges. Danny Ings had a half chance but the ball squirmed away from him. Benrahma wriggled past two defenders but his shot was tame. Fornals fired wide from range after being teed up by Antonio. All this happened in the first 10 minutes. Then things slowed down.
Jacob Ramsey’s direct running troubled the home side. He drove to the byline and flicked in a cross for Philippe Coutinho but the ball was under the Brazilian’s body and his attempted backheel did not come off.
It was almost at the half-hour mark before there was another serious threat on goal. Ings gave away possession with a sloppy pass from his own area, Aaron Cresswell had time to pick his cross and Tomas Soucek glanced a header just wide.
Ings is much more effective in the opposition’s penalty area. Early in the second half he latched on to a loose ball that was ping-ponging around the box. His shot looked goalbound but Lukasz Fabianski touched it on to the post and clutched the rebound to his chest.
Without Jarrod Bowen, West Ham lacked thrust. Antonio is powerful but presents a straightforward physical challenge for defenders. In the absence of Bowen there was no one to break the lines of the Villa rearguard and it took Benrahma running out wide to stretch the Villa defence and create openings.
Until Yarmolenko’s goal the home side’s best chances came in the air. Kurt Zouma looked like he had scored from a corner but Martinez pawed the ball out. Craig Dawson could only nod the rebound over the bar. That West Ham’s best opportunities came from headers was emblematic of their lack of craft around the box until Benrahma changed the game.
The result means Moyes can still dream of the Champions League. He also came out on top in his first managerial meeting with Steven Gerrard. This was a decade to the day since the Villa boss scored a hat-trick for Liverpool against Moyes’s Everton – an event that spoiled the 10th anniversary of the Scot’s arrival at Goodison.
In the end, though, the game will be remembered for Yarmolenko. At a grim time for Ukrainians, it was a small but uplifting footballing moment.
