One day into the Scott Parker era, West Ham found themselves 3-0 down at Cardiff after 39 minutes, with their own supporters booing them off. A new manager has not fixed the slow starts, and for the third week in a row, the Hammers conceded three goals. But as they have done several times this season, they came firing back, scoring three times in the second half through Divine Mukasa, Arne Engels and Max Kilman to rescue a point. They pushed for a winner late on and could not find it.
Parker was confirmed as head coach on Wednesday morning and had just six hours with the players before kick-off, so the opening 45 minutes cannot be laid entirely at his door. But it was familiar viewing. Jack Moylan put Cardiff ahead on 11 minutes with a fierce 20-yard strike into the top corner after Alex Robertson found him, and West Ham had no real answer. The Hammers were passive, slow with the ball and short of ideas, with Taty Castellanos looking isolated up front. Parker’s own description was blunt: “Our keeper was probably having more touches than a lot of the team.”
The second goal came at 37 minutes. A ball curled over a static defence put Moylan through, and Morato, out of position at left-back and beaten more than once down that side, bundled him over for a clear penalty. Moylan took it himself and sent Mads Hermansen the wrong way. Two minutes later, Joel Bagan’s corner found Moylan at the near post, and he headed in for his hat-trick. Some West Ham supporters began leaving even before half-time, and the ones who stayed let the players know exactly what they thought.
Parker resets at the half
The half-time talk may be the most important of Parker’s first day. He sent on Mohamadou Kanté, Joël Piroe and Ezra Mayers for Soungoutou Magassa, Castellanos and Morato, and told the players to be more aggressive out of possession and front-footed in attack. “I just helped them tactically and told them, ‘OK, this is the way it needs to be now,’” Parker said. “We needed to be more aggressive. We took a few more risks.” He also demanded deep runs and forceful play down the sides, not defenders passing back to the keeper.
The response was immediate. Jarrod Bowen, playing more centrally, started to pull the strings, and on 58 minutes his through ball sent Mukasa clear to lift the ball over former Hammer, Nathan Trott and in off the post. Seven minutes later, Bowen’s pass was flicked on by Piroe and Engels slid home his first goal for the club. Kanté nearly levelled, and then, nine minutes later, Kilman touched home Bowen’s brilliant cross to make it 3-3. Mayers and Souček both had chances to win it, and Trott pushed away Souček’s header.
Parker was full of praise for his players’ reaction. “These boys have come off two defeats, you come to Cardiff away and you’re 3-0 down at half-time,” he said. “I could only imagine what they were feeling, and they showed a lot of character. That pleased me the most.”
Parker’s team selection was just as revealing as his substitutions. He started Magassa, a player who had been in the doghouse under Nuno, and the message was hard to miss. The decision all but confirmed that keeping the midfielder on the outside was part of the reason Nuno lost the dressing room. It was a symbolic call as much as a tactical one, and it signalled that the freeze was over under the new regime.
The performance itself was more mixed. Magassa was booked early and looked short of match pace, and Cardiff’s opening goal came after a pass that cut between him and Engels. Parker took him off at half-time. But the point was made, and nobody can doubt what the new head coach thinks about excluding players for long stretches. The squad will have noticed.
Noble’s fingerprtins all over this
There was another influence on the match, and it was Mark Noble’s. The sporting director has been a central figure in the hire, and the introduction of Ezra Mayers at the break felt like a nod to that. Mayers replaced Morato, who struggled again at left-back, and the youngster made an excellent impact, creating chances and nearly winning it late on. He may have found himself a role in Parker’s side. It was the kind of call that reflected a manager and a sporting director on the same page about the players and the club’s values.
Pablo’s absence from the matchday squad says plenty too. The club has not explained why he was left out, but the striker has struggled for goals, and the decision to leave him out altogether was hard to ignore on a night when Parker was looking for answers.
West Ham sit eighth, in the final play-off place. Parker now has three days before a trip to Blackburn on Saturday, then the international break to get his ideas across, with Nuno’s team in the first half and Parker’s in the second. The question is how quickly the second version can start from the first whistle.
Parker was honest about the work still to do. “If you’re going to concede three goals and you have to score four, no matter what talent you’ve got in your team, it’s going to be one tough challenge. So we need to address that for sure.” He was also clear about the standard he wants. “We look to be a real threat, look dominant, and that’s the team I want us to be.”
He called the point “massive,” given where they were at the break, and added that it was “a little harsh” not to get the winner. The West Ham fans who travelled to Wales stayed to the end and gave him a warm reception. “Amazing reception,” Parker said. “It’s been a long time.”
PLAYER RATINGS
Mads Hermansen – 5
Had no chance with Moylan’s opener, and the penalty was not his fault, but he was beaten from the spot again. Made a good tip-over save from Scanlon’s cross, then nearly gave away a fourth by flying out and clattering Kilman.
Joël Veltman – 5.5
Started in place of Walker-Peters, as many wanted. Part of a back line that held a high line without enough cover, and was left exposed on the right at times.
Konstantinos Mavropanos – 5
Back in the side but looked caught out by Cardiff’s runs and the pass that sent Moylan through for the second goal.
Max Kilman – 6.5
Booked early and part of the shaky first half, but he did not let his head drop. Scored the equaliser with a clinical touch from Bowen’s cross.
Morato – 3.5
Left-back does not seem to be his position. Beaten repeatedly down the flank and gave away a clear penalty. Taken off at half-time.
Soungoutou Magassa – 5
Started, which mattered, but was booked early and looked short of match pace.
Arne Engels – 7
Solid in front of the defence and calm on the ball, then scored his first West Ham goal to make it 3-1. Better when the team pushed higher in the second half.
Divine Mukasa – 7
Lifted a composed finish over Trott to start the comeback. Quiet in the first half but a threat once the play opened up.
Jarrod Bowen – 8.5
Man of the match. Set up the Mukasa goal, supplied the pass for Engels and delivered the cross for Kilman, pulling the strings from a more central role.
Manor Solomon – 4.5
Neat enough but made little impact on a game that passed him by in the first half.
Taty Castellanos – 4.5
Forced Trott into an early save but looked isolated as the lone striker. Taken off at half-time.
Substitutes
Joël Piroe – 7.5 Flicked on the pass for Engels’ goal, went close himself and gave West Ham a focal point.
Mohamadou Kanté – 7 Instant improvement in energy, and nearly poked one past Trott.
Ezra Mayers – 7 Replaced Morato, brought pace and ideas and nearly won it late on. Impressive.
Tomáš Souček – 6.5. Forced a fine save from Trott with a late header.
Manager – Scott Parker – 6.5
Had little time to prepare, and his team conceded three in 39 minutes, but his half-time changes transformed the game and he was honest about the problems.
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