Image for Manchester City loanees enjoy contrasting fortunes as ‘the wrong one’ shines | West Ham News
Image for Manchester City loanees enjoy contrasting fortunes as ‘the wrong one’ shines | West Ham News
The outcome of West Ham’s Friday night fixture against Queens Park Rangers was influenced by a Manchester City loanee – but not in the way Hammers fans would have hoped. Their own youngster Divine Mukasa, on loan at London Stadium from Man City this season, had a quiet game by his own high standards with very little being offered by the nineteen year old who was largely anonymous.
However he’s set the bar pretty high in his fledgling Championship career and the young man has already received one nomination for a ‘goal of the month’, so it’d be unrealistic to expect match winning performances every game.
Sadly Mukasa’s “off day” coincided with a quiet evening for Arne Engels and a (perhaps understandably) off-the pace performance by Tomas Soucek in West Ham’s midfield, as the trio saw themselves marginalised.
By comparison, Queens Park Rangers’ on-loan goal keeper Pierce Charles kept his own side in with a share of the points as his excellent double save kept out West Ham’s injury time winner. As per Thesun.co.uk:
“..Bowen was left red-faced in stoppage time when his penalty was stopped by Charles – the Manchester City loanee also heroically denying Arne Engels on the rebound.”
“Heroic”? D’oh.
Clearly City’s latest goal keeper acquisition – who was picked up from Sheffield United and then immediately loaned to QPR- is a talented young man.
Indeed in the battle of the Cityzen loanees there was only one winner as Mukasa found himself hooked on 68 minutes for Lewis Orford, who seemed to introduce more accurate passing to West Ham’s midfield.
Charles, by comparison, ensured Rangers left London Stadium with a point which was the very least they deserved after sticking to their plan and successfully stifling West Ham’s very modest attack.