Clash of the day | Hammers continue their run

The hosts came into this match on the back of another impressive Premier League performance and result as they defeated Rafa Benitez’s Everton at Goodison Park last weekend. Genk, on the other hand, continued their slow start to the Belgian domestic campaign with a defeat against Charleroi – their fourth defeat in their last five matches in all competitions.

The match

The first half-an-hour of the match was dominated by West Ham with some excellent interplay on the edge of the box between the likes of Bowen, Soucek and Vlasic causing Genk a lot of issues. 

Despite their dominance, though, they couldn’t find the breakthrough and Genk would occasionally venture into the Hammers’ half – with not much cutting edge.

And then, finally, on the stroke of half-time, Craig Dawson struck. A looping header that was pushed into the net by a flailing Genk defender’s head gave The Hammers a much deserved first-half lead.

They continued into the second-half completely on top and scored two goals in as many minutes in the opening quarter-of-an-hour in the second period. Issa Diop and Jarrod Bowen extending West Ham’s lead to an unassailable position.

The visitors would force themselves back into the game mid-way through the second-half with some enterprising counter-attacks leading to the odd promising set-piece but none of it troubled an energy conserving Hammers side as they looked to see out their third successive victory of the group stage campaign.

©Getty / Tottenham Hotspur FC

It is vital for West Ham to qualify from their UEFA Europa League group as quickly as possible so they can work on rotating their squad for the closing stages of this stage of the competition. Their thin squad, especially in midfield, means that the likes of Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek are getting through a lot of football early in the season.

The effects of this were seen against Brentford prior to the international break when their play wasn’t as crisp and as slick as it often has been in this second-spell of David Moyes’ management. 

For now, though, they will be ecstatic with their victory and their start to this European campaign. Who knows how far the Hammers can go but, one thing is for sure, they look like one of the strongest sides in the competition at this stage.