Premier League relegation fighters West Ham United put dead-last Wolverhampton Wanderers to the sword on Friday night, cruising to a landslide 3-0 victory at London Stadium.
West Ham’s hopes of avoiding a first relegation since 2010/11 took a hit on the stroke of the international break, as they suffered a 2-0 defeat at fourth-placed Aston Villa.
Leeds United inflicted further damage on the Irons’ morale last weekend, eliminating Nuno Espirito Santo’s side from the FA Cup quarter-finals on penalties.
If it’s any consolation, West Ham showed there’s still plenty of fighting spirit left in them, scoring twice in the second-half stoppage time to haul back a two-goal deficit and take the tie into extra time.
Despite their dire league form at London Stadium since the end of November (W1, D4, L4), the home side knew a win against relegation-bound Wolverhampton would lift them out of the bottom three.
With just a point separating them from 17th-placed Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham entered the field seeking a fifth consecutive Premier League home win over this opposition.
Captain Jarrod Bowen, who missed the first penalty in the shootout against Leeds, urged his side to ‘[keep going and going](https://www.whufc.com/en/news/bowen-or-we-need-to-keep-going-and-going-and-going)’ ahead of tonight’s kick-off, with the Irons aiming to extend a four-game unbeaten home league run (W1, D3).
Back from injury, Crysencio Summerville had a glorious chance to put West Ham in front after just 14 minutes, but he sent the ball well over the top from a few yards out.
The visitors replied only two minutes later through Yerson Mosquera, but his towering header flew a whisker wide of the far post, though there was a feeling that Mads Hermansen would’ve thwarted his attempt.
When it looked like the teams would enter the half-time break on level terms, Konstantinos Mavropanos opened the scoring with a glancing header, pouncing on Bowen’s delightful in-swinging cross.
It wasn’t the end of a late first-half drama, as West Ham came agonisingly close to doubling their lead. Pablo failed to atone for the missed penalty last Sunday, as Jose Sa pulled off a stunning save to deny his low shot.
However, the hosts headed into half-time with a narrow lead, which guaranteed a provisional climb out of the relegation zone, putting the Irons on course to avenge a dreadful 3-0 defeat in January’s reverse fixture.
While the first half didn’t produce many clear-cut opportunities, the second half started with a flurry of chances on both ends, with Wolverhampton firing the first warning shot.
Angel Gomes dispatched a thunderous attempt from a free kick on the edge of the box, but the woodwork saved Espirito Santo’s side. Only a minute later, Bowen rattled the post with a signature shot on the opposite side of the pitch.
Pablo may have failed to find the back of the net in the first half, but he set up Taty Castellanos for West Ham’s second with a cheeky backheel pass just after the hour mark.
Two minutes after ending his three-game Premier League drought, the former Lazio striker completed a quick-fire double, sending a perfectly placed low shot into the bottom corner to put the Irons 3-0 up with just 20 minutes left to go.
Mavrponaos had scored just one league goal all season before tonight. However, he tripled his tally with a well-taken volley in the 83rd minute to pour more misery on Rob Edwards’ side.
Adama Traore squandered a golden chance to make it five, fluffing his lines in a one-on-one situation against Sa.
West Ham’s first league win since the start of March helped Espirito Santo temporarily steer the Hammers away from the bottom three and put former sides Nottingham Forest and Tottenham under pressure (via [Daily Mail](https://www.msn.com/en-au/sport/football/nuno-seeking-relegation-revenge-with-west-ham-after-being-spurned-by-forest-and-spurs-ian-herbert/ar-AA20zc0A?ocid=BingNewsVerp)).