These are the nights Wanderers wanted. It was just a shame it had to end this way, writes Pete Oliver.
The reward of finally winning promotion to the Championship is taking on big clubs again in big games, with the visit of West Ham fitting the bill.
Relegated from the Premier League last season, the Londoners were in town for the first time since 2011. The Hammers had never won at the Toughsheet Community Stadium and Wanderers’ class of ’26 will believe that should still be the case.
Steven Schumacher’s men came from behind to lead before being pegged back again in a fantastic first half. They never stopped pushing and were never out-classed in again showing they could belong at this level.
But proving that beyond doubt will take points on the board and for the fourth game running they finished empty-handed, harshly undone by a second goal from England man Jarrod Bowen who wrapped up a third straight win to take his team top of the table.
It should have been avoided, the one area where the Whites came up short in conceding three more goals to deny themselves what the performance deserved, if not the belief that things will get better.
With injury issues, back-to-back mid-week games and a run of three successive defeats to try and halt, Schumacher made seven changes to the Whites’ starting line-up.
Goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu and winger Kyliane Dong both made their first starts for the club and the wideman was a key figure in a ding-dong first half which saw him involved in both of Wanderers’ goals.
The first, scored by Ethan Erhahon, was an equaliser after West Ham had gone ahead in an unlucky 13th-minute for the Whites.
Sliding in to try and intercept a low cross from Kyle Walker-Peters, Josh Sheehan – able to play after his red card from Saturday was rescinded on appeal – could only divert the ball to Mohamadou Kanté. Bazunu saved his effort but the ball bounced kindly for Hammers’ captain Bowen to nip in and put his side in front.
That might have tested Wanderers’ mettle and their confidence but the response was terrific to draw level just five minutes later. Erhahon triggered the move with a pass to Dong before following up to drive the ball home via a nick off defender Konstantino Mavropanos after Dong’s cross had been half-cleared.
Wanderers were certainly not cowed by the reputation of last season’s Premier League outfit and continued to take the game to the Championship’s title favourites in a spell that saw Rodrigues tee up Sam Iling-Junior for an effort he dragged wide before the Whites’ positivity paid off.
This time Dong was fouled by Walker-Peters as he reacted quickest to Sam Dalby’s lay-off in the penalty area and Ruben Rodrigues kept his cool to defeat Mads Hermansen’s time-wasting tactics and send the Hammers’ keeper the wrong way to cap a welcome comeback.
It was a gripping contest that then swung back the visitors’ way when the Whites again conceded from a set-piece as Mavropanos headed in a bouncing free-kick from Arne Engels at the far post.
But the big defender was denied another when Bazunun made an excellent save and Wanderers finished a pulsating half back on the front foot when the ever-willing Dalby tested Hermansen with a shot on the turn.
The intensity didn’t drop after the break and after Kanté had wasted a shooting chance, Wanderers again continued to go toe-to-toe with the Londoners, threatening on the break and threading dangerous balls into the Hammers’ penalty area.
The next big opportunity again came the Hammers’ way as substitute Joel Piroe fired wide but true to the word of the head coach, the Whites didn’t just sit back and Schumacher sent on fresh legs in the wide areas to try and maintain the tempo and find a winner in the final 20 minutes.
Again Wanderers had matched what the division can offer but they’re finding the hard way what an unforgiving arena it is and instead of pressing on to take maximum points, once more they found even one eluding them.
Bowen had flitted in and out of the contest but the Hammers’ talisman made the difference when he popped up 13 minutes from the end to score the winner, poking the ball too tamely beyond Bazunu's weak hand from Joel Veltman’s pass.
It was a soft way to decide a full-blooded encounter and Bowen might have had a hat-trick but for a superb intervention from the tireless Sheehan.
That allowed Wanderers to try and get some reward in the dying moments when they forced back-to-back corners to push the Hammers all the way. There was to be no late saver, though, and as tough as it is to take, the Whites must digest the fact that after four straight defeats, they need to find a way to get something more to show for their considerable efforts.
Wanderers: Bazunu; Larrazabal, Toal Forino, Conway; Iling-Junior (Gale 67), Sheehan, Erhahon (McAtee 84), Dong (Nelson 73); Rodrigues; Dalby (Hardie 84). Substitutes: Bonham, Simons, Davies, Bair, Ito.
Booked:
West Ham: West Ham: Hermansen; Walker-Peters (Veltman 58), Mavropanos, Kilman, Scarles; Bowen, Mukasa (Orford, 67), Engels, Austbø (Solomon 58); Kanté, Pablo (Piroe 66). Substitutes: Herrick, Boiro, Lamadrid, Ajala.
Booked: Scarles, Mavropanos.
Referee: David Webb
Attendance: 25,510 (4,599 away)