Dawson slams Lukasz Fabianski after what he did for West Ham v Crystal Palace
Michael Dawson slammed West Ham United goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski for his part in Jean-Philippe Mateta’s goal for Crystal Palace.
The Sky Sports pundit also took aim at Graham Potter for opting to adopt a defensive approach in the 2-0 loss at the London Stadium on Saturday (18 January).
However, with the Hammers widely expected to walk away with a point from the encounter, the visitors took the lead three minutes into the second half with Dawson attributing the blame to Fabianski live on Sky Sports News (18 January 4:07pm).
He said: “The manager made a change, Carlos Soler came on for [Guido] Rodriguez, more attacking. But this is the reason he went defensive [to start].
“West Ham were on the attack down the left-hand side, they’ve turned the ball over [and] one pass into [Ismaila Sarr] he flicks it onto [Eberechi] Eze, he gets the ball in the middle of the centre circle, he plays a ball down the side into [Jean-Philippe] Mateta. Kilman’s way too far off Mateta; he gets turned, he drives and gets outside the 18-yard box and just pulls the trigger [to the] right-hand side of Fabianski.
“It’s a good strike [but] I think Fabianski should do better.”
West Ham United lose again under Graham Potter
The 49-year-old has encountered a baptism of fire in East London as he follows up a 2-1 loss against Aston Villa in the FA Cup with another defeat.
Although an “awful” officiating decision from referee Tony Robinson, wherein he wrongly awarded Villa a corner leading to the equaliser, cost Potter a debut victory, the performance on Saturday left more questions than answers.
West Ham lined up in a five-defender formation despite boasting home advantage, and in fact, the hosts had the right idea.
It was only until Potter decided to make an attacking substitution that Crystal Palace found the opener, but the Irons offered little attacking threat and failed to register a single shot on target.
Fabianski has kept his place between the sticks after the managerial change, but the shot-stopper’s afternoon went from bad to worse after he conceded a penalty in the dying embers of the match.
He nearly atoned for his error by guessing the right way, but he was unable to keep the ball out of the net, with Mateta doubling the advantage and his goal tally.
Potter was aware of the monumental job facing him in East London, but his start has been far from ideal.
In other West Ham news, Mike Dean reacts to the Hammers controversy against Crystal Palace.
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