With 93 minutes on the clock, Michail Antonio had the ball and a host of West Ham team-mates waiting in the box. He gave it to Crystal Palace goalkeeper Vicente Guaita instead. Big mistake.
Guaita didn’t dawdle. He threw the ball to Eberechi Eze, who passed to Wilfried Zaha, who fed Michael Olise. From there, Olise curled a shot into the top corner, a deflection off Aaron Cresswell helping it on its way.
Palace went from back to front in less than 20 seconds and with that, Patrick Vieira’s side had their first Premier League away win since April.
Michael Olise scored a dramatic 94th-minute winner for Crystal Palace as they beat West Ham
Olise’s shot in the 94th-minute took a deflection off Aaron Cresswell to beat the keeper
Olise and Wilfried Zaha celebrate in front of the travelling Palace fans after snatching the win
West Ham were searching for a seventh straight home win here. Not since 1999 had they achieved that. It looked like they were on their way, too, when Said Benrahma opened the scoring in super fashion.
The Dimitri Payet free-kick in April 2016. The Andy Carroll bicycle kick in January 2017. The Sebastien Haller overhead kick in December 2020. West Ham have a habit of scoring stupidly good goals against Palace and for the November 2022 edition, we were treated to the Benrahma belter.
Yet it was a West Ham mistake that allowed Palace back into this game. A poor pass by Craig Dawson and even poorer control by Thilo Kehrer gifted the visitors possession high up the pitch as Wilfried Zaha equalised.
Late on, West Ham thought they had won a penalty when Michail Antonio claimed Marc Guehi had dragged him down in the box. Referee Paul Tierney pointed to the spot. VAR Michael Salisbury disagreed, however, telling Tierney to visit his pitch-side monitor to take a closer look.
Referee Paul Tierney didn’t make himself popular when he overturned a West Ham penalty
Said Benrahma powers home the opening goal for West Ham 20 minutes into the first-half
Benrahma gave the Hammers the perfect start as they looked to pick up three points at home
There, Tierney cancelled the spot-kick. West Ham went in search of a late winner but it was Palace who got it, thanks to Olise’s strike.
Within two minutes of this match, Zaha burst behind Dawson, who fouled his opponent to concede a free-kick. From there, Eze struck a swerving shot that was spilled then collected by Lukasz Fabianski.
The opening 10 minutes had been all Palace. They’re a team of talented technicians and were passing the ball nicely. Vieira was pleased.
Moyes’ mood was the opposite. The West Ham manager’s rage was increasing in the technical area. First he shook his head. Then he removed his cap. Then he ripped off his coat and tossed it on the ground. His team had not gotten going.
Funny how football games can change so drastically with one swing of the boot. That is what happened here when West Ham managed their first shot on target in the 20th minute.
Zaha couldn’t hold up the ball and after winning back possession, West Ham played it forward with Lucas Paqueta finding Benrahma. With a shimmy of the hips to lose Jordan Ayew and Cheick Doucoure, he lashed a super strike into the top-left corner from 20 yards.
Despite their slow start, West Ham led 1-0. In the 28th minute, a sight that no England supporter wants to see. Doucoure lunged into Declan Rice, who stayed down. Thankfully for Gareth Southgate, Rice was soon back on his feet, running it off.
Wilfried Zaha soon had Crystal Palace back on level terms, however, with a 32nd-minute goal
Zaha finishes to draw Palace back level in a meeting of east and south London on Sunday
Just when West Ham looked they would be taking in a half-time lead, they gifted Palace a pathway back into the game. Fabianski rolled the ball to Dawson, who fizzed a fast pass to Kehrer on the right flank. His touch was poor and Eze pinched possession.
Eze passed to Zaha, who held off the threat of Dawson to score beyond Fabianski. It was now 1-1.
At half time, Moyes replaced Scamacca with Antonio. The £35million striker has not scored in his last seven games – a drought which largely coincides with Paqueta’s absence due to a shoulder injury.
Palace’s Eberechi Eze curls a shot towards goal as Palace looked to nudge ahead at West Ham
West Ham’s Thilo Kehrer pushes forward from the back to unleash a shot under pressure
This was Paqueta’s first start since October 16. Now that he’s back, West Ham hope the goals will follow for Scamacca. But it was over to Antonio for the rest of this afternoon.
In the 65th minute, Moyes made a double substitution which received mixed reviews. Benrahma’s removal led to boos from the West Ham supporters, while Tomas Soucek’s led to cheers.
In the 80th minute, Antonio shielded the ball from Joachim Andersen and started sprinting towards the box. He nutmegged Guehi but then dropped down, claiming he had been pulled back.
Declan Rice of West Ham manoeuvres the ball past the challenge of Cheick Doucoure
Tierney gave the penalty but Stockley Park intervened. They recommended an overturn and at his monitor, Tierney changed his mind. ‘VAR, no penalty,’ it was announced over the London Stadium tannoy.
In stoppage time, Antonio had a chance to get the ball into the box. He failed, gifting it to the goalkeeper instead. Guaita gave the ball to Eze, who passed to Zaha, who found Olise.
Olise’s shot deflected off Cresswell and beyond Fabianski. Vieira’s side had their first Premier League away win since April and boos rang round the London Stadium at full time for West Ham.