Garth Crooks praises ‘world class’ Lukasz Fabianski save, names West Ham duo in BBC team of the week
West Ham duo Lukasz Fabianski and Andriy Yarmolenko have been named in Garth Crooks’ BBC Team of the Week after their performances against Aston Villa.
The Hammers claimed a first win in four games after three consecutive defeats thanks to goals from Yarmolenko and Pablo Fornals against Steven Gerrard’s in-form side.
Fabianski made a huge save with the game still at 0-0 and Crooks wants to ensure that both men get their deserved plaudits for their performances, giving them a place in goal and on the wing in his team of the week.
“It was a world class save,” he said.
“The shot came from Danny Ings on the turn and may have had a slight deflection on its way to goal but that didn’t seem to deter Fabianski, who pushed what seemed like an impossible stop onto the post before the ball rebounded into his arms.
“The save set up an extraordinary win for the Hammers on what turned out to be an emotional afternoon for everyone at the London Stadium. Little did we know then that Yarmolenko was destined to steal the show but it was Fabianski who set the whole thing up.
“The moment the substitution was made my immediate thought was: ‘Does he have the mental strength to cope with Premier League football with everything else that must be going on in his life?’
“Not only did the Ukraine international cope with the occasion but his goal was magical. Football has a habit of throwing up moments like this but to see an entire stadium rise to its feet in admiration of Yarmolenko’s goal and strength of purpose is about as good as football gets.
“This was an excellent win for the Hammers and keeps them in the hunt for a top-four finish.”
Brilliant
West Ham have been having an inconsistent time of it recently, so the win over Villa was absolutely massive for their season in terms of momentum.
Defeats in recent games have seen them lose ground in the race for the top four in the Premier League, while they also must overcome a 1-0 deficit against Sevilla to be able to progress to the Europa League quarter-finals.
The performances of Fabianski this season have largely gone under the radar, with the Polish international establishing himself as one of the best ‘keepers in the league, while Yarmolenko has had to endure crazy times off the pitch.
But he responded in the perfect way with a brilliantly taken goal and will now look to end the season in a strong way, especially with both Michail Antonio and Jarrod Bowen suffering from injuries.
Both are getting the credit they deserve for their performances and Hammers fans will be hopeful that they can carry that forward for the rest of the season.
In other West Ham news, West Ham ace gives glimmer of hope in latest injury scare ahead of clash v Sevilla – report