Danny Ings spares his blushes – Three things learned in West Ham United 1-1 draw v Gent
West Ham United claimed a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Gent in their Europa Conference League quarter-final clash on Thursday evening (13 April).
Danny Ings’ well-worked goal gave David Moyes’ side just before the break before Hugo Cuypers carved through West Ham’s defence to draw proceedings level after 56 minutes.
Despite Gent having their fair share of opportunities to nick a winner in the latter stages of the game, and Lucas Paqueta coming off the bench and looking bright on his injury return, both sides will travel to the London Stadium for the second leg with honours even.
Here are three things we learned from the gritty, if slightly underwhelming, performance at the Ghelamco Arena.
Coufal completes 360º turnaround
Coufal carried on his fine revival in a West Ham United top with another promising performance as a right wing-back.
The 30-year-old, who was heavily linked with a January transfer departure to Bayer Leverkusen, has hit form in quite some style over the past couple of months – a time when many of Moyes’ team have been in the headlines for their poor performances.
While others struggled around him against Gent, the right-back stuck to his task dutifully, completing both his two dribbles, playing six crosses and playing a decisive role in Ings’ goal. [Sofascore}
Although he was destined for the door in January, the Czech international may have completely reversed West Ham’s transfer decision on him this summer, especially considering the glaring lack of alternatives in this position.
Ings spares his blushes
Although Ings displayed his predatory instincts to finish off Coufal and Jarrod Bowen’s quick thinking with an easy tap-in, the Englishman was pretty much invisible before being subbed on the hour mark.
The £15million January signing struggled to link up with Bowen and Manuel Lanzini on the flanks on either side of him, completing a meagre five of his ten attempted passes.
Apart from his tap-in finish, Ings failed to have another shot on Gent’s goal and didn’t even manage a single dribble all game long.
Moyes simply cannot continue to deploy Ings in this manner and let him drift through games like he is currently.
There is a top-draw striker in there, but right now, West Ham fans are seeing striker feeding off scraps.
Bowen carries the attacking burden
Bowen was once again West Ham’s main attacking outlet in the Europa Conference League clash, as he continues to rediscover his vintage form from the 2021/22 campaign.
The English international, who has scored four goals and amassed four assists in the Premier League this term, was back to his devilish best down the right flank without getting the goal his performance deserved.
Whenever Declan Rice and Flynn Downes won the ball back in midfield, getting Bowen in behind the Gent defence was always the first thought.
During his 90-minute showing, the 26-year-old completed 100% of his dribbles, won three out of his four ground duels and provided the killer pass for Ings’ goal.
Moyes will hope that Bowen’s form can translate back to the Premier League and the attacker can fire the Hammers away from the relegation zone over the coming weeks.