West Ham and Hull City could have very well played to grind out a point at the KC on Monday, but instead decided to go all-out for goals. The neutrals were the beneficiaries in their 2-2 draw.
Hull City vs. West Ham United final score: 3 things we learned from their 2-2 draw
Hull were the stronger side to start the game, with their midfield overpowering West Ham's. Stephen Quinn looked dangerous, though his end product was lacking, and West Ham struggled to deal with fullbacks Andrew Robertson and Ahmed Elmohamady bombing up the wings early on.
However, it was the Hammers that had the big early chances. Michael Dawson nearly turned a cross into his own goal in the 33rd minute and Allan McGregor was forced into a couple early saves, but Hull turned the tables and deservedly got onto the socreboard in the 39th minute.
Jake Livermore and Elmohamady set up the goal with an exchange on the right flank, leading to a cross from deep by the Hull right back. Abel Hernandez made the perfect move to get free for a header, sliding between James Tomkins and Winston Reid, then nodded past Adrian to put his team in front.
Hernandez nearly scored again just before halftime with a brilliant shot that struck the bar. Nikica Jelavic bundled in the rebound, but the goal was disallowed for offside.
If Steve Bruce had a chance to hold onto the lead coming out of halftime, his team didn't get any chance to execute it. It only took five minutes of play in the second half for West Ham to score, and they did it in truly spectacular fashion. New signing Enner Valencia, who starred for Ecuador at the World Cup, unleashed an absolute thunderbolt at the top corner from 20 yards that McGregor had absolutely no chance to stop.
From there, the match became a wild back and forth affair with regular chances for both sides, and two more goals were on the board before the 70 minute mark. Hull went back in front in the 64th minute, and did it through a former West Ham man. Mohamed Diame scored a stunner, creating space for himself with a pretty dribbling move before curling a shot off the inside of the far post from 15 yards. Predictably, he declined to celebrate.
The first three goals were of the highest quality, but the fourth was anything but, and it's one McGregor would like to have back. He completely whiffed on a shot by Diafra Sakho, and it hit the feet of Curtis Davies, who knew nothing about it, before rolling over the line.
West Ham had a great chance the win the match at the very end, but got very unlucky, and fell victim to some improvised defending by Michael Dawson. Valencia just about turned in a cross by Stewart Downing, but Dawson was on the line to clear with his chest, off the crossbar, to preserve a point.
Hull: McGregor, Robertson, Davies, Dawson, Elmohamady, Huddlestone, Quinn (Brady 58’), Livermore, Diame (Ramirez 79’), Jelavic, Hernandez (Ben Arfa 79’)
Goals: Hernandez (39’), Diame (64’)
West Ham: Adrian, Cresswell, Reid, Tomkins, Demel (Jenkinson 76’), Noble, Downing, Kouyate, Zarate (Song 62’), Sahko (Amalfitano 87’), Valencia
Goals: Valencia (50’), Davies (OG 67’)
3 things
Mo Diame is amazing - It’s not clear why West Ham wanted to offload Mohamed Diame, or why he couldn’t find a bigger team than Hull City to buy him. He’s a brilliant box-to-box player, as capable of scoring great goals as he is of winning the ball back, as he showed today. He can play defensive midfield, central midfield, attacking midfield or right wing in any formation. He’s almost always the hardest working player on the pitch. Hull got an absolute steal.
Hitting the ball hard doesn’t vary from league to league - There were questions about whether or not Enner Valencia would be able to adjust to the Premier League from Liga MX, given how much trouble guys like Jared Borgetti and ‘Chucho’ Cristian Benitez have had in the past. Those questions still remain, but one thing that doesn’t require an adjustment is hitting the crap out of the ball. Apparently, Valencia can do that just fine.
Bad defense is fun - Hull and West Ham are known for keeping clean sheets and keeping their midfields compact. No one expected many goals in this game. Instead, we got four, and it was awesome.
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