Martin Keown in awe of ‘wonderful’ West Ham moment vs Nottingham Forest
West Ham have gone in 1-0 up at the interval against Nottingham Forest.
Nuno Espirito Santo is on the brink of the sack at West Ham and needs results to turn around if he is to keep his job at the London Stadium.
The first step to doing exactly that comes as West Ham play host to Nottingham Forest in a hugely important battle at the bottom of the Premier League.
Taty Castellanos came in for his West Ham debut, but it was an own goal from Murillo that has made the difference in the opening 45 minutes.
The Hammers may have taken the lead early on in East London, but it is a moment of defensive magic that left Martin Keown blown away.
Alphonse Areola leaves Martin Keown stunned vs Nottingham Forest
Alphonse Areola has been the starting keeper at West Ham under Nuno and has had some up-and-down moments for the Hammers.
The Frenchman is certainly capable of the sublime and the ridiculous, but he certainly showed his best against the Reds on Tuesday.
Neco Williams took aim from range with a stunning effort that looked destined for the back of the net with the scoreline at 0-0.
Areola just about reached the ball and was able to tip it away from goal and out for a corner in front of the travelling Forest fans.
The stop was met with a standing ovation inside the London Stadium while former Arsenal star Martin Keown piled praise on the keeper live on talkSPORT.
He said: “The wingspan of this goalkeeper, not many could have kept that out. That was going in the top corner. Wonderful save.“
Lee Hendrie echoes Areola praise at West Ham
The Hammers have the lead and can feel thankful for to their keeper for keeping his side in the game when it was level terms in E20.
Areola left Williams and the whole stadium shocked that he managed to keep out the long ranger, with Lee Hendrie adding his thoughts live on Sky Sports Main Event.
Like Keown, the former midfielder couldn’t be more complimentary of Areola’s sensational stop.
He said: “This is an outstanding save. That might be his fingernails. Neco Williams must have thought he’d scored. Alphonse Areola to the rescue.
“It’s an unbelievable save, and it might have turned this game into a completely different complex.”
It will be interesting to see what sort of impact the French keeper will have as the game goes on, but he can be proud of his first-half efforts, that is for sure.
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