Wed, Dec 11, 2024 page6

• Irons pile pressure on O’Neil

  ‘EL SACKICO’: Wolves manager Gary O’Neil now will have to anxiously await the verdict from the club’s board on his future, which is looking bleak

  • AFP, LONDON
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  Jarrod Bowen on Monday eased the pressure on West Ham United boss Julen Lopetegui as his superb strike sealed a vital 2-1 win that pushed Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Gary O’Neil closer to the sack.

  In a showdown dubbed “El Sackico” due to the intense scrutiny surrounding the futures of Lopetegui and O’Neil, it was the Irons boss who earned some much-needed breathing space thanks to Bowen’s moment of magic.

  Bowen bagged a priceless winner in the second half at the London Stadium, just moments after Wolves defender Matt Doherty had canceled out Tomas Soucek’s opener.

  

  West Ham United’s Jarrod Bowen, second left, scores past Wolverhampton Wanderers goalkeeper Sam Johnstone, left, in their English Premier League at the London Stadium on Monday.

  Photo: Reuters

  West Ham’s first win in three games lifted them nine points clear of the relegation zone, while second-bottom Wolves remain four points adrift of safety after their 10th defeat in 15 league matches.

  In the aftermath of last week’s 3-1 loss at Leicester City, Lopetegui was reported to have survived a board meeting about his position, but the Spaniard, who replaced David Moyes in the summer, must build on this valuable victory over the team he managed in the 2022-2023 season before he can fully relax.

  “I don’t talk about noise, I talk about football. If you ask me about football, I will. A win is always good for me,” Lopetegui said. “The fans have supported us a lot through the bad times. I’m happy for them.”

  O’Neil, who played for West Ham from 2011 to 2013, heard Wolves fans call for his dismissal during their 4-0 thrashing at Everton on Wednesday last week.

  Now he will have to anxiously await the verdict from the Wolves board on his future, which looks bleak after the latest blow to his side’s survival hopes.

  “An awful lot of decisions went against us in a big game, big moments. You need some of them to go your way, but they didn’t,” O’Neil said. “I’m not concerned. People above me are supportive, but the supporters want to be successful. I understand I have to take responsibility.”

  West Ham were rocked at the weekend by the news that their striker Michail Antonio had been in a serious car crash that left him needing surgery on a lower-limb fracture.

  The 34-year-old had to be cut out of his Ferrari following the accident, with Lopetegui admitting it was a “miracle” he survived.

  “It wasn’t an easy week. We dedicate the victory to Michail,” Lopetegui said.

  Hammers fans held a minute’s applause for Antonio in the ninth minute to match his shirt number.

  That emotional moment was in stark contrast to the turgid first-half fare produced by two teams wracked with nerves and undermined by a chronic lack of quality in possession.

  Wolves should have broken the deadlock when Matheus Cunha’s pin-point pass sent Doherty racing away for a teasing cross that Joao Gomes slashed over from close range.

  It was a costly miss as Soucek put West Ham in front from a 54th-minute corner, the unmarked Czech midfielder rising to loop his header over Sam Johnstone.

  O’Neil was fuming again after Wolves were controversially denied a penalty for Emerson’s push on Goncalo Guedes.

  Doherty gave O’Neil hope in the 69th minute when the defender met Rayan Ait-Nouri’s cross with a half-volley that flashed past Lukasz Fabianski, but Bowen restored West Ham’s lead three minutes later as the England forward danced into the Wolves penalty area before guiding a fine finish into the far corner.

  On a night when Antonio was never far from West Ham’s thoughts, Bowen celebrated his crucial winner by holding aloft his teammate’s shirt.

  In a dramatic finale, Wolves had another penalty claim rejected when Konstantinos Mavropanos tripped Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, before Fabianski denied Mario Lemina to leave O’Neil facing the axe.
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