John Hartson slams West Ham United ace Nayef Aguerd after what he did in Morocco v Spain
Nayef Aguerd had a golden chance to score for Morocco against Spain but the West Ham defender squandered it and enraged John Hartson.
A delightful cross from the left-hand side saw the 26-year-old jump for an unchallenged header at the back post but he failed to keep it down and it sailed over the bar when he should have hit the target.
Hartson, himself an expert header of the ball during his playing days as a striker, could not believe the Irons summer signing did not at least hit the target in Qatar.
“It’s Aguerd who’s got a chance on the back post [and] should be doing better,” Hartson said on ITV commentary [6 December, 03:42pm]. “He should be hitting the target. He’s not under pressure at all, it’s a free header. It’s a really good chance there.”
Aguerd was forced off through injury after 84 minutes as he pointed to his groin/hip area before Morocco held their nerve in a penalty shootout to advance to the quarter-finals.
Rare chance
To be fair to Aguerd, he doesn’t often find himself in the position to score being a central defender and he may not have expected this game to be the one where his golden chance would come.
But this proves that every player has to work on every aspect of the beautiful game because there is no way of knowing who might have the match-defining moment fall to their feet.
David Moyes may well want to get him practising his attacking headers when he returns to West Ham United following his nation’s exit from the tournament just in case a similar chance falls his way in claret and blue.
Given how much the Irons have struggled to find the net so far this season, they need every player to work on their finishing ability with both feet and their head to try and take each chance they get.
Not every shot will end up rippling the net but the higher the percentage is, the more chance the Hammers have of getting out of trouble.