Micah Richards apologises to Danny Ings on Match of the Day after West Ham United win v Nottingham Forest
Match of the Day pundit Micah Richards has apologised to Danny Ings for naming Jarrod Bowen as his man of the match for West Ham United against Nottingham Forest, despite the ex-Aston Villa striker netting a crucial second-half brace.
The Hammers returned to winning ways in quite some style as they ran riot in the 4-0 win against Steve Cooper’s men on Saturday (25 February) – scoring four second-half goals and moving clear of the relegation zone.
With the pressure firmly on manager David Moyes to deliver an emphatic performance after a season of disappointment, January recruit Ings delivered the goods in his first Premier League start for the club.
Speaking on Match of the Day (Saturday, 25 February, 43:29), Richards apologised to Ings for not highlighting his performance and instead waxing lyrical about fellow attacker Bowen.
When asked by Gary Lineker who his stand-out player was, Richards replied: “Yeh, sorry Danny, it was Jarrod Bowen. I just thought his all-around game was brilliant. If you look here, six shots, four in the box, three interceptions, eight duels won, and seven crosses.
“And when you’re going through a tough time, the manager always picks players who he can rely on, and he has shown up today definitely.
“In terms of the right weight of pass when he was on the ball, he was comfortable he was always looking for the ball in difficult moments.
“And then it’s about the pressing because West Ham scored all their goals in the second half, and it was difficult for them. You know what it’s like when the crowd get on your back – who is going to stand up, who is going to be the man to make the difference?
“He hits the post here, he lays the ball up for the second one, and at this point, you’re thinking, is this going to be not their day today? Everything he did for excellent and I just thought out of all the players for West Ham today, he was the best. He got his assist and it was a proper, proper performance from him.”
Finally
Despite weeks of West Ham United fans pleading for Moyes to start Ings and Bowen in the same attack, he has remained reluctant to move away from his back-five formation.
However, as soon as the teamsheets broke an hour before kick-off at the London Stadium, supporters knew that this was a more promising attack that could finally click into top gear. And that is exactly what happened in the second half.
Although Ings got the plaudits for his clinical goals, Bowen was the architect of almost every Hammers attack. The combination of his pressing, dribbling and ability to find pockets of space in the final third simply proved too much for the Forest defence to deal with all day long.
If the Irons can continue in this vein over the coming weeks, thoughts of a relegation fight will quickly diminish. The quality has always been in the squad all year long, and finally, fans have been able to witness it on the pitch.