Don Goodman blown away after Alphonse Areola denies Nottingham Forest ‘magnificently’ for West Ham United
Don Goodman was blown away after Alphonse Aerola denied Morgan Gibbs-White “magnificently” during West Ham United’s win over Nottingham Forest.
The Hammers ended their four-match run without a Premier League win on Sunday (12 November) with a thrilling 3-2 win draw at the London Stadium as Tomas Soucek’s late strike proved to be the difference between the two sides.
David Moyes’ side took an early lead through Lucas Paqueta but were nearly pegged back immediately when Gibbs-White directed his header towards the Hammers’ net, only for Areola to pull off a remarkable save that left Sky Sports pundit Goodman stunned live on air.
Speaking on Sky Sports (12 November, 14:12) he said: “It has taken over 10 minutes but Nottingham Forest have finally introduced themselves into the game.
“Enough pace on the header to test Alphonse Areola and he has done magnificently well to save it.”
Back to his best
Areola received plenty of plaudits earlier this season for his remarkable displays between the posts for West Ham, including match-defining performances against Manchester City and Chelsea in the opening weeks of the Premier League campaign.
Like many of the Hammers side, the last few weeks have proven a bit more difficult than expected for the Frenchman and while his individual performances have been by no means poor, Moyes’ side have struggled to hit their early season heights.
Areola’s save to deny the Forest man in the opening stages of the clash was superb and the sort of intervention the West Ham keeper had no right to make and ensured that he kept his team in the first half as they had a defensive lapse.
The 30-year-old produced an excellent stop to deny Gibbs-White again later in the half but was unable to force the Englishman’s effort wide of the post and was left helpless as he saw Taiwo Awoniyi follow up and smash into the empty net.
It’s hard to be too critical of the keeper for not managing to force the ball wider of the post as his initial save was excellent in the first phase of play.
In other West Ham news, Henry Winter and Shaun Custis have offered their sympathy to James Ward-Prowse after his international snub