MX23RW : Thursday, May 2 17:36:46| >> :120:16333:16333:
[monks data]
West Ham logo
Premier League | Gameweek 27
Mar 8, 2021 at 8pm UK
London Stadium
Leeds logo

West Ham
2 - 0
Leeds

Lingard (21'), Dawson (28')
Lingard (79')
FT(HT: 2-0)

Phillips (49')

David Moyes: 'Craig Dawson is worthy of a permanent deal'

The 30-year-old centre-half joined West Ham on loan from Vicarage Road to little fanfare in October.

Craig Dawson could not get a game for Watford in the Championship but is now a key figure for David Moyes and “worthy” of a permanent deal as West Ham bid to reach the Champions League.

The 30-year-old centre-half, signed on loan from Vicarage Road to little fanfare in October, headed his fourth Hammers goal to wrap up a 2-0 Premier League win over Leeds.

Dawson, whose transfer is almost certain to be made permanent in the summer, also capped a man-of-the-match display by clearing a late goalbound deflection off Vladimir Coufal off the line.

His transformation has been almost as remarkable as West Ham’s, who were battling relegation a year ago and are now knocking on the door of the top four.

Delighted Hammers manager Moyes said: “We’re not there yet with a permanent deal but his performances and his attitude and determination are worthy of that anyway.

“We brought him in and it took him a while to get starts but now he’s come in, his experience has been really important to us and he has been adding goals as well.”

Jesse Lingard, Moyes’ January loan signing from Manchester United, opened the scoring when he snaffled the rebound after his own penalty had been saved by Illian Meslier.

Lingard, who won the spot-kick when he was brought down by Luke Ayling, took penalty-taking duties off skipper Declan Rice.

“Both of them have been practising penalties together all week and having competitions,” added Moyes.

“As far as I was concerned Declan was taking them but Jesse was brave enough to take it.

“I wasn’t impressed with the penalty but I was pleased with the speed he got the rebound.

“The players are actually disappointed with how they played, we didn’t feel we reached the standard we’ve set this season – but that’s a good sign.”

Wasteful Leeds had two goals disallowed in the opening moments and Patrick Bamford squandered two glorious second-half opportunities.

Boss Marcelo Bielsa said: “We had an initial 15 minutes in the first half which was the best we played in the game.

West Ham United v Leeds United – Premier League – London Stadium
Marcelo Bielsa wants his team to defend better (Andy Rain/PA)

“We defended well and attacked well. The final 30 minutes of the first half we stopped defending well, and it’s difficult to attack when you don’t defend well.

“In the second half we attacked and defended well. We had 60 minutes of good football and we conceded in 30 minutes.

“When they attacked they managed to score two goals. We are a team that needs to defend well. If we do not defend well we lose the equilibrium.”

ID:438411: cacheID:438411:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:7293:No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
CLeicester CityLeicester453141089395097
2Ipswich TownIpswich452712690573393
3Leeds UnitedLeeds45279980413990
4Southampton452591185622384
5Norwich CityNorwich4521101479631673
6West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom4520121367472072
7Hull City451913136859970
8Middlesbrough45199176861766
9Coventry CityCoventry4517131569571264
10Preston North EndPreston45189185664-863
11Bristol City451711175347662
12Cardiff CityCardiff45195215165-1462
13Swansea CitySwansea451512185964-557
14Watford451317156058256
15Sunderland45168215252056
16Millwall451511194455-1156
17Queens Park RangersQPR451411204557-1253
18Stoke CityStoke451411204560-1553
19Blackburn RoversBlackburn451311215874-1650
20Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds45148234268-2650
21Plymouth ArgylePlymouth451212215870-1248
22Birmingham CityBirmingham451211224965-1647
23Huddersfield TownHuddersfield45918184875-2745
RRotherham UnitedRotherham45412293287-5524


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!