West Ham United end up well beaten by bogey team Brighton

With FIFA 2022 World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister giving Roberto De Zerbi’s side an interval lead with a 18th-minute penalty, the Hammers then dismally disintegrated after the break as early replacement Joel Veltman, Kaoru Mitoma and late substitute Danny Welbeck netted the goals that also leave the Hammers without a clean sheet against the Seagulls in those dismal dozen encounters.

And with just one solitary league away-day win all season, the Hammers – having not now triumphed on their travels since their late August victory at Aston Villa 11 matches ago – precariously find themselves just two points outside the relegation places after this confidence-sapping defeat that David Moyes described as one of the worst results and performances since he returned to the club, three years ago.

Last Saturday’s fantastic 4-0 win over Nottingham Forest may have lifted Moyes’ men out of the dreaded drop zone but the Scot had then endured a frustrating FA Cup fifth-round exit upon his Old Trafford return in midweek.

And following Wednesday’s 3-1 defeat at the hands of Manchester United, the Hammers boss made two changes to his side kicking off in 16th-spot, eight places and a dozen points below the Seagulls.

In came last weekend’s two-goal hero Danny Ings in place of the misfiring Michail Antonio, while Jarrod Bowen – having shaken off an ankle knock – replaced Pablo Fornals, who took his place on a depleted eight-man bench, containing two rookie goalkeepers.

The Seagulls had enjoyed better FA Cup fortunes on Tuesday evening when they despatched Stoke City to reach the last eight and, with his team now returning to Premier League action, De Zerbi made a triple switch with Adam Webster, Solly March and Pervis Estupinan coming in for substitutes Facundo Buonanotte, Jeremy Sarmiento and Jan Paul van Hecke.

After Tuesday’s match-winner Evan Ferguson had sent a tame, early shot into Alphonse Areola’s grasp, the fit-again March then meandered through the Hammers defence before forcing the French keeper to beat away his angled eight-yarder.

With only a quarter-hour on the clock, Tariq Lamptey hobbled away to be replaced by Veltman and, with the Dutch substitute still adjusting his shinpads, Brighton forced their way towards the West Ham area, where Mitoma took advantage of Ben Johnson’s momentary hesitation before tumbling to the turf under minimal contact with the back-tracking Bowen.

It was a soft spot-kick to concede but nonetheless with match official Stuart Attwell instantly awarding the penalty, the infuriated, exasperated Hammers were never going to survive a Video Assistant Referee review.

Mac Allister had also netted from 12 yards during Brighton’s 2-0 victory at London Stadium in August and, once again, the 14-times capped Argentina international duly dispatched an unstoppable penalty under Areola’s right-hand angle to claim his eighth goal of the campaign and maintain West Ham’s sorry record of never having maintained a clean sheet in those dozen Premier League meetings.

Midway through the half, Bowen had a golden opportunity to atone for his earlier misdemeanour, when he burst clear of his markers but Jason Steele repelled his low shot and, a just minute later, Tomáš Souček’s angled effort was then blocked by the keeper’s outstretched legs.

Despite Ings’ intelligent hold-up play and the forcing of three late corners, the Hammers really struggled to put the Seagulls’ defence under any sustained pressure during the opening 45 minutes and, indeed, but for Johnson’s far-post clearance, Mitoma might even have doubled the hosts’ lead before the break.

Fornals replaced the hitherto anonymous Saïd Benrahma for the restart but with Brighton then putting more Sussex daylight between themselves and West Ham within just a half-dozen minutes of the Spanish substitute’s arrival, that proved an unpopular switch for the 3,000 travelling fans.

Indeed, only the alert Nayef Aguerd had prevented Mac Allister from sending an audacious back-heel into the visitors’ net but unfortunately for West Ham, Johnson was not as wide awake when a corner from Pascal Gross arrived at the back post where the lone, unmarked Veltman would have had time to head to the beach for a swim before chesting the ball into the net for his first goal of the season.

On and off the pitch, claret and blue frustration was there for all to see following the concession of another soft goal and now Mr Attwell became the busiest man in Brighton, booking Souček and skipper Declan Rice in quick succession for robust slides into Moises Caicedo and Mac Allister, while Bowen also saw yellow for a desperate dive.

Kurt Zouma replaced Angelo Ogbonna who had earlier received treatment but the Frenchman’s first task was to line up for another restart after Brighton trebled their advantage within seconds of the Frenchman entering the proceedings.

Once again, Johnson was culpable for more calamitous marking, this time allowing Mitoma to slide in at the far post after March invited the overlapping Gross to drill the ball across the face of the Hammers goal to take this campaign’s tally to eight.

Moyes brought on Flynn Downes and Manuel Lanzini purely in a damage limitation exercise as Souček and Lucas Paquetá departed and, by now the majority of the travelling fans in the crowd of 31,523 were heading for either London or Brighton pier, too.

De Zerbi also made a host of changes and indeed only Areola’s acrobatic tip onto the post denied substitute Julio Enciso, but still Brighton would compound the Hammers misery with just two minutes remaining.

This time, substitute Buonanotte found recently-arrived counterpart Welbeck on the edge of the area and the former England striker threaded a low 18-yarder beyond the outstretched right glove of Areola and inside the base of the left upright to claim his eighth goal of the season and cement Brighton’s long-standing hold over well-beaten West Ham.

Brighton: Steele, Gross, Lamptey (Veltman 15), Webster, Dunk, March (Buonanotte 75), Caicedo, Mac Allister, Estupinan (Welbeck 75), Mitoma (Enciso 82), Ferguson (Sarmiento 82). Unused subs: Sanchez, Undav, Gilmour, van Hecke.

West Ham: Areola, Johnson, Emerson, Aguerd, Ogbonna (Zouma 68), Rice, Souček (Downes 74) Paquetá (Lanzini 74), Bowen, Benrahma (Fornals 46), Ings. Unused subs: Hegyi, Anang, Cresswell, Scamacca.

Booked: Souček (54), Bowen (58), Rice (59).