Wednesday night was one of much anticipation for the fans of Lincoln City, and possibly a pinch-yourself moment for some. They had seen their team drop out of the Football League in 2011 and battle against relegation to the National League North for many seasons, later embracing F.A. Cup giant killings and promotion to the second tier. When the fans found out that West Ham would be in town, the word spread around quickly.
A night of excitement was, unfortunately, soiled thanks to Nuno Espírito Santo’s side. West Ham coasted to a 6-0 win at Sincil Bank, with two sending-offs aiding to a large extent. There were many good reasons for the travelling supporters to enjoy the emphatic scoreline: goals, intensity, clinical finishing, and making the trip worth the money. The only downside was that the game was only 90 minutes long and that it was only six goals. Well, beggars can’t be choosers, I guess.
The game had its positives, but there is always room to improve — and that is not a bad thing.
There Is Strength In Numbers
Nobody could have predicted the events of the first half, least of all the home supporters. Within the opening 25 minutes, Tom Hamer and Conor McGrandles had been sent off for the Imps. Hamer’s dismissal may have been the least of his worries; he was lucky not to have broken Joël Veltman’s leg in a challenge that almost went very wrong. McGrandles was sent off for fouling Jarrod Bowen when the latter was the last man.
This made things harder for the home side. Playing with nine men was never going to be easy, but they did what they could to limit West Ham’s chances to two shots on target in the opening 45. The second half was not so forgiving, as West Ham scored five of the six goals. This just rubbed more salt into the gaping wounds.
It may sound cliché, but West Ham really did benefit from having a full team on the pitch. The Hammers used the extra two players to exploit Lincoln and opened up the attack in the second half. Making use of space, shooting on sight and putting high amounts of pressure on the opponent gave West Ham the performance it needed to secure the win.
Keep It Simple
Winning 6-0 may look like an easy task on paper, but the first-half display did not support that belief. It seemed that West Ham lacked tempo for the most part, and the players showed no real intent to break the deadlock. The players certainly did not make things easier for themselves; they gave away many careless fouls in West Ham’s half and gave Lincoln too much possession. It was possibly mere luck that kept West Ham from conceding a goal at that stage.
Shooting on sight did not get West Ham any closer to breaking the deadlock. The chances often came from long-distance efforts which did not do enough to test Lincoln’s resolve. A simple header from Konstantinos Mavropanos gave the Hammers the much-needed lead, and that goal was exactly that: simple. The lesson to be learned from this is also very simple – do the fundamentals well enough, and goals will be rewarded in good time.
Goals, Goals, And More Goals
It has been quite a fun season to be a claret and blue fan. The goals keep coming, and long may they continue.
The statistics do not lie when it comes to the true threat the team has in front of goal. The Hammers have scored 29 goals in ten league games and have a +17 goal difference. Jarrod Bowen has six goals and five assists, Konstantinos Mavropanos has five goals already, and Tomáš Souček has scored two goals on his return to action. It is true when they say that goals win games, and West Ham knows how to put the ball in the net when it matters most.
There are even early calls to suggest that Mavropanos could score 20 goals this season. Honestly, it is not a bad shout right now.
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