Tony Cottee hails Jarrod Bowen and Issa Diop in instant reaction to West Ham start
Tony Cottee was delighted with the way West Ham started at Leicester on Sunday, singling out the pair that made the opening goal for praise.
Issa Diop, only in the side thanks to the late withdrawal of Kurt Zouma in the warm-up, played a wonderful long ball over the home side’s defence for in-form Jarrod Bowen to run onto and slot home.
The English winger had only recently recovered from a heavy collision with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall but showed no ill effects in giving the Hammers a lead inside 10 minutes.
Writing on his personal Twitter account the former Irons goal machine said: “Jarrod Bowen. Scoring goals for fun at the moment. What a ball from Diop aswell…”
Taking opportunities
Bowen’s form of late has been outstanding, with no other member of David Moyes’ squad more influential since the turn of the year in terms of goal involvements.
His finish, low and direct into the bottom corner past Kasper Schmeichel, after showing great speed to outpace the home side’s backline was what fans have come to expect.
The assist was more of a surprise considering the inconsistent form that French centre-back Diop has exhibited since he was pressed into use after injuries to Zouma and Angelo Ogbonna.
Only elevated to the starting XI less than half an hour before kick-off, the 25-year-old did not look under-prepared during the opening period.
He did what was needed in a defensive capacity, including showing good commitment to track the speedy Patson Daka, and provided a lovely assist.
The long-ball in wet conditions was perfectly weighted for his teammate to run onto and finish.
The overall performance of the visiting team was reasonably assured, and without the sudden aberration that lead to the equaliser would have pleased the manager.
Aaron Cresswell stuck his elbow out and blocked a corner to give the home side the chance to quieten their crowd and score a penalty just before the half.
In other West Ham news, the team is reportedly due to extend the contract of Ben Johnson.