West Ham United vs Leicester City. Premier League.
London StadiumAttendance56,897.
Saturday 25 November 2017 08:00, UK
West Ham extended their winless run to six games as they were held to a 1-1 draw with Leicester City on Friday Night Football.
In David Moyes first home game in charge, West Ham fell behind inside eight minutes when Marc Albrighton took advantage of some sloppy Hammers defending.
That early goal could have triggered a toxic atmosphere inside The London Stadium but - as Moyes had called for all week - the club and fans stuck together and got a deserved equaliser through Cheikhou Kouyate right on half-time.
A point was not enough to lift West Ham out of the drop zone, who have put together their worst start to a season since 2010 when they were relegated under Avram Grant.
Moyes would have been hoping to build on the positive signs on show in the defeat at Watford, but his team wilted inside eight minutes.
Jamie Vardy was allowed to run free down the left and his cross was missed completely by Angelo Ogbonna, which allowed Albrighton the opportunity to poke home from close range.
The Hammers was quite lucky to get away with a penalty appeal on 22 minutes when Albrighton was bundled into by Arthur Masuaku and Vardy curled inches wide seven minutes later.
However, West Ham always looked a threat from set-pieces and they forced home the equaliser just before the break when Kouyate bundled in a left-wing corner.
Despite the best efforts of the home fans, who tried to roar their team forward, West Ham failed to really lay siege to the Leicester goal in a disjointed second period that was lacking in quality.
The stop-start nature to proceedings resulted in six minutes of injury time and substitute Andre Ayew nearly nicked it with an acrobatic attempt following a goalmouth scramble but his effort flew inches over.
It looked at times as though West Ham had signed a new right winger. The home fans had yet to see their big money signing really produce a high level of work-rate but he produced the goods here in a solid all-round display. The pick of his key moments came midway through the first-half where he sprinted back 50 yards to make a vital last-ditch tackle on Jamie Vardy.
Moyes commented: "He was very good - people told me on Sunday that was one of his better games. He showed the other side to his game that he knows he has to do."
"The second half was much more like us, it was more like the crowd, it was more like Upton Park. There was 10 minutes when the crowd was right behind the team - they need it, we need it."
"We had to kill the game after the first half. With the goal before half-time West Ham took confidence."
West Ham face fellow strugglers Everton on Wednesday before facing Manchester City (a), Chelsea (h) and Arsenal (a). Meanwhile, Leicester have a home clash with Tottenham on Tuesday evening.
