Ally McCoist makes ‘unbelievably fortunate’ West Ham United admission after Wolves win
Ally McCoist has admitted that Vladimir Coufal was “unbelievably fortunate” to avoid at least a booking during the West Ham United win against Wolves.
David Moyes’ side climbed to eighth in the Premier League with a 3-0 win over Gary O’Neil’s Wolves on Sunday 17 December, thanks to an impressive brace from Mohammed Kudus and Jarrod Bowen’s 10th league goal of the season.
However, some pundits have suggested that the Irons were fortunate to still have 11 men on the field after Coufal bundled into Jean-Ricner Bellegarde in the first half and McCoist has admitted that the Czech international at least deserved a yellow card.
Speaking on talkSPORT (18 December, 9:55) he said: “Bellegarde he felt like that guy in Airplane, where they’re all queuing up to punch him, that’s what he felt like. I must admit, I’ve only seen the first one and it’s at minimum a yellow card.
“He comes in, he kind of catches him behind but he also kind of straight arms him with his elbow so he can consider himself unbelievably fortunate. I thought at the very least it was a yellow card.”
Unbelievably fortunate
As McCoist suggested it was a tough afternoon for Bellegarde who was fouled five times in the clash, more than any other player on either side and it is ridiculous that the Czech international didn’t pick up a yellow card until the 87th minute.
He was incredibly fortunate to avoid a caution for the foul in the opening exchanges as he almost fouled Bellegarde twice, firstly kicking out at the Wolves winger’s feet before leading into him with an elbow in an incredibly poor challenge.
So far this season, Coufal’s form has been incredibly up and down and he has not possessed the consistency that has made him so impressive during his time at the London Stadium. On another day, he could have cost his side three points against Wolves.
Luckily, the Hammers’ attacking talent once again shone and tore apart the away side’s defence. Things seem to be starting to click going forward for the Irons and whether they deserved it or not, the backline picked up an important clean sheet.
Hopefully, Coufal can be a bit better in the tackle next time out and not toe the line quite as close against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup.
In other West Ham news, a move for Kyle Walker-Peters could cost the Irons somewhere around £30 million in January