Report and free match highlights as Brentford win five-goal thriller against West Ham; Nathan Collins headed winner extends Bees' perfect Premier League record over Hammers; Mohammed Kudus scored spectacular goal in West Ham defeat that sees Brentford climb above London rivals into ninth
Saturday 4 November 2023 19:13, UK
Nathan Collins' first goal for Brentford extended their perfect Premier League record against West Ham in a topsy-turvy 3-2 home win that left Hammers boss David Moyes "disgusted" and "annoyed" with his side's mistakes.
Collins' second-half header (69) means Brentford have won all five of their Premier League games against the Hammers, who have taken just four points from their last seven games.
But Brentford had to come from behind to maintain the record after Mohammed Kudus' spectacular acrobatic finish (19) and Jarrod Bowen's historic goal (26) cancelled out Neal Maupay's opener (11) that ended his 35-match scoring drought.
Bowen, who became the first player in Premier League history to score in his side's first six away games in a single campaign, had given the visitors a 2-1 lead at the break but just 10 minutes into the second half the game was level as Konstantinos Mavropanos headed into his own net (55).
Brentford then completed the turnaround in the 69th minute when Collins powered home to give the Bees a third consecutive win to lift them above West Ham into ninth.
The Irons, meanwhile, suffered a third consecutive league defeat to see them drop to 11th in the table in a loss that angered Moyes.
"We weren't talking about anything weird and wonderful," said the 60-year-old in his post-match press conference.
"We've found that we've not dealt with things which as a player I would have been disgusted with myself for not being able to deal with them much better.
"I don't think my teams do that. That is why I am annoyed that I've come here and not been able to defend when put under pressure."
A game of firsts at the Gtech Community Stadium began when Maupay scored his first goal since September 2022, which was for Everton against West Ham.
The Frenchman was alert in the 10th minute to turn home Frank Onyeka's mis-hit shot with his head.
But West Ham responded in style nine minutes later through Kudus, who produced a stunning acrobatic equaliser as he scissor-kicked in from Michail Antonio's cross to grab his first away goal for the club.
The impressive Ghanaian nearly had his second only for his close-range effort to hit the post from Said Benrahma's cross, but fortunately for the summer signing Bowen was on hand to rebound home for a landmark goal in the 26th minute.
The England international survived a lengthy VAR check for handball to become the first West Ham player in Premier League history to score six in a row on the road.
The visitors should have gone 3-1 ahead in the 41st minute but Antonio slid wide at the back post from Bowen's cross when Benrahma was in a better position to finish, much to the frustration of the former Bees attacker.
West Ham were then punished for that miss just 10 minutes into the second half when Mavropanos headed into his own net from Bryan Mbeumo's cross.
The Greece international was under pressure from Collins and the Bees defender eventually got a header of his own on target in the 69th minute to grab his first goal for the west London club and clinch a thrilling win for Thomas Frank's side.
Brentford head coach Thomas Frank said in his post-match press conference:
"If feels of course very good. Every win in the Premier League feels fantastic and coming back from 2-1 down, against a good team, and also a good performance makes me a happy man.
"I'm smiling, I'm so pleased for Neal. The last three weeks he was showing more and more in training with the sharp touches, the good finishes, more and more confident, getting up to his best level.
"The players were really celebrating Neal's goal, and that tells you a lot about the group. A goalscoring run? That would be nice."
West Ham boss David Moyes said in his post-match press conference:
"The first goal was 'Keystone Cops'. If you see that today, how can you win if you don't deal with those moments?
"The second cross comes from Mbuemo and we should have dealt with that, then a cross to the back post and Collins gets it.
"We're talking about small things, but small things lead to bigger things. We didn't deal well enough with the small things."
Brentford face the tricky trip to Anfield to face Liverpool on November 12, kick-off 2pm. After the international break they host Arsenal at the Gtech on November 25, kick-off 5.30pm.
West Ham will be out for revenge when Olympiakos visit the London Stadium on Thursday, kick-off 8pm. The Hammers are then live on Sky Sports on Super Sunday on November 12, kick-off 2pm.
