Danny Ings must be hooked at half-time after anonymous first-half display for West Ham United v Olympiacos
Danny Ings must be substituted at half-time by David Moyes if West Ham United want to comeback to win against Olympiacos after an anonymous first half from the striker.
Moyes’ side headed into the break 2-0 down to the Greek side after Kostas Fortounis’ excellent long-range effort midway through the first half and an Angelo Ogbonna own goal in injury time, with work to be done to avoid their first Europa League defeat of the season.
Ings was afforded a rare start in front of an attacking midfield three of Said Benrahma, Pablo Fornals and Mohammed Kudus, but the 31-year-old was unable to spend much time on the ball as he was often bypassed in possession.
It was a slow start to the match for the former Aston Villa striker as he only registered two touches in the opening 18 minutes of the clash with Olympiacos as he remained isolated in the centre of the pitch as the Hammers repeatedly surrendered possession [Sofascore]. Ultimately he only registered 12 first touches.
On the limited occasions that Ings did manage to get on the ball, he attempted to link up play with his teammates, completing five of his nine attempted passes, as he gave away possession five times in the first half with misplaced efforts.
The striker received some sympathy from Carlton Cole before kick-off as the former West Ham strikers didn’t believe that Ings suited Moyes’ style of play but the Hammers continued to play once again as though Michail Antonio was leading the line.
Despite Ings’ smaller physical presence, the Irons tended to still play high balls into the 31-year-old and he was unable to consistently win his duels, coming out on top only once in the opening 45 minutes and with the one header he won he gave away possession.
Compared to the fast pace at which the players around him operate, the former Liverpool man looked a lot slower and slightly off of the pace as he was often left wandering around trying to catch up with the likes of Kudus and Benrahma as they broke.
Ings’ best characteristic is his finishing but he only managed to take aim on goal on one single occasion before his shot was blocked. If Moyes wants his attacking talent to start to click together he should withdraw Ings and get Antonio on for the start of the second half.
In other West Ham news, Moyes could revive Jadon Sancho’s career like Jesse Lingard’s if the Hammers move for the winger