Off the mark: Gianluca Scamacca scored his first Premier League goal in the win over Wolves
(Picture: AFP via Getty Images)West Ham moved out of the relegation zone with a much-needed three points as they beat Wolves 2-0 at the London Stadium.
The international break brought suggestions that David Moyes was under pressure after a poor start to the season, with his side managing just three goals in their opening seven Premier League matches despite a summer of big-spending in the transfer window.
Less than an hour was needed to almost double that tally. One of those arrivals, Gianluca Scamacca, netted his first league goal for the club, before Jarrod Bowen got his account up and running for the season with a clinical finish to put the hosts in complete control.
Wolves threatened to get themselves back in it but were kept at bay, as West Ham lifted the mood at the club ahead of a busy run of fixtures. They play 12 more times between now and the domestic break for the World Cup in mid-November, a run they will hope puts their poor start to the season firmly in the rearview mirror.
Moyes made changes to what had become a settled side as he went in search of solutions, Scamacca and Maxwel Cornet coming into the side while Thilo Kehrer moved out to the right-back position he recently occupied for Germany against England at Wembley.
As was to be expected between the two lowest-scoring sides in the top-flight, chances were at a premium in the first-half, with Wolves looking at their most dangerous when the likes of Ruben Neves were letting fly from distance.
West Ham took the lead with just under half an hour played, as Bowen drove into the box and the ball rolled out to Scamacca on the edge of the area. The Italian took one touch to control it and a second to hammer a shot into the far corner, with the help of a slight deflection.
The Hammers were largely content to sit back and let Wolves have the ball from that point, but they doubled the lead after the break as Bowen provided the kind of ruthless finish that earned him an England call-up last season and has been sorely missing this campaign. He brought down a bouncing ball and rifled a low strike into the near post, Jose Sa barely reacting before it hit the back of his net.
Diego Costa was introduced off the bench for his Premier League return and very nearly marked it with a goal, but when unmarked in the box could only head wide when picked out perfectly by Adama Traore.
The former Chelsea man thought he had a debut assist as he rolled the ball across the face of goal to leave Daniel Podence with the simplest of finishes, but a glance over to the linesman and his raised flag quickly halted the charge back to the centre circle.
“You don’t know what you’re doing” was the chant from the away end as Bruno Lage made further, unsuccessful, changes to try and get Wolves back in it. While they drop into the relegation zone and the pressure mounts, David Moyes’ side appear to have used the international break to reset and get back to levels more reminiscent of recent years.
With Bowen back in form and new signings looking increasingly at home, the Hammers will hope their early woes prove to be little more than an extended pre-season before a more impressive main event.
