Edson Alvarez shines as James Ward-Prose goes missing – West Ham United first-half player ratings vs Brighton
Edson Alvarez was the stand-out for West Ham during a goalless first half against Brighton that was lacking in quality from either side.
A cagey opening 20 minutes saw little in terms of goal threat from either side as a congested midfield made for a scruffy start before the Irons started to put the visitors under pressure as the half wore on.
David Moyes’ side carried more threat without caring out many clear-cut chances, as Jason Steele tipped a Jarrod Bowen effort onto the post before he was flagged offside, and kept out a James Ward-Prowse volley, but couldn’t break the deadlock, and Alphonse Areola kept out a point-blank effort before the half from Pascal Gross. .
Here, West Ham Zone rates the Irons players out of 10 for their performances in the first 45 minutes at the London Stadium.
Alphonse Areola – 7
Very little to do in an opening devoid of many clear cut chances at either end until he kept out a Gross header from close range in the final minutes. Gathered one effort after a deflection threatened to wrong-foot him and did what was necessary to block a couple of later efforts.
Ben Johnson – 6
Looked like the Seagulls may have been targeting him in his first Premier League start of the campaign, but held his own relatively well against the hugely experienced James Milner, although he afforded the veteran a lot of space on occasion and was booked in giving away a foul in a dangerous area after half an hour, albeit slightly harshly.
Konstantinos Mavropanos – 7
Showed a nice range of passing as he pushed further forward under little defensive pressure and looked composed defensively.
Angelo Ogbonna – 7
Comfortable at the back as the West Ham back line was put under little pressure by the Brighton attack and was characteristically strong in the air and cleared some threatening balls in.
Emerson – 6
Dragged a shot badly wide after arriving in a threatening position in the Brighton box with his only real contribution .
Edson Alvarez – 9
By far the best West Ham player before the break. Found himself in a very advanced position for an early penalty appeal which was waved away as part of an energetic start that saw most of the best West Ham football go through the Mexican international. Covered well outside his own area and broke up a number of Brighton moves.
Tomas Soucek – 5
Chasing the play for most of the first half and didn’t show much of an attacking threat when he did venture into the opposing area.
Pablo Fornals – 7
Scrapped reasonably well in a defensive sense on the right hand side and grew into the game in possession but provided little in an attacking sense.
James Ward-Prowse – 4
Barely registered during the first half as the action almost entirely passed him by aside from one sharp volley that was deflected away for a corner. Little opportunity to show his ability with a dead ball.
Said Benrahma – 5
Wasteful in possession when supplied down the left flank but improved slightly as he drifted across the West Ham attack. Didn’t do anything to make the absence of Mohammed Kudus or Lucas Paqueta less obvious.
Jarrod Bowen – 7
Did well as the lone front man with his closing down. Starved of possession but forced Steele to clear straight out of play to avoid being caught in his own goalmouth. Had to drop deep to see more of the ball but delivered a reminder of this threat as he had a shot tipped onto the post before the offside flag went up.
In other West Ham news, an update has emerged on why one exit-bound player and another unhappy regular are missing against Brighton.