Glenn Murray rages at ‘ridiculous’ West Ham United incident in PL clash v Southampton
Glenn Murray was left fuming at Duje Ćaleta-Car after the Southampton defender produced a rash tackle during the Saints’ Premier League fixture against West Ham.
The Croatian flew in on Jarrod Bowen towards the end of the first half to earn himself a yellow card from referee Paul Tierney.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, the former Brighton striker felt the 26-year-old defender was lucky to still remain on the pitch at the London Stadium.
“Ridiculous challenge. He was never getting to the ball,” said Murray (5 Live, 14:44, 2 April).
“He was so far out of position. He’s lucky to still be on the pitch.”
Fair challenge
Had the Southampton man been slightly later then he could have been in big trouble, but due to Bowen skipping away from him, a yellow card was probably the fair outcome.
Too often in the modern game, we see officials send players off for tackles that are not red card worthy. In this case, the 26-year-old would’ve been extremely disappointed if he had been given his marching orders.
However, from the Hammers’ perspective, the chance to play against ten men would’ve been welcomed. David Moyes’ men are desperate for points and they will need to take every single opportunity they get between now and the end of the 2022/23 season.
It’s time for West Ham to put a consistent run of wins together to pull themselves well clear of the relegation zone and finally start planning for next season without the prospect of Championship football looming large.
Let’s hope this season to forget has a relatively happy ending.