MX23RW : Saturday, November 23 20:51:34| >> :60:827:827:
[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
1Sunderland1695226121432
2Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd1610422191232
3Burnley168621961330
4Leeds UnitedLeeds158522491529
5Middlesbrough1683529191027
6West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom166821811726
7Watford168262524126
8Millwall166641914524
9Blackburn RoversBlackburn156451917222
10Bristol City165742020022
11Derby CountyDerby165562020020
12Stoke CityStoke165561920-120
13Norwich CityNorwich164752524119
14Swansea CitySwansea155461110119
15Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds165471826-819
16Luton TownLuton165381826-818
17Coventry CityCoventry164572223-117
18Oxford UnitedOxford Utd164571924-517
19Plymouth ArgylePlymouth164571728-1117
20Preston North EndPreston163761624-816
21Cardiff CityCardiff164481524-916
22Hull City163671621-515
23Portsmouth152671628-1212
24Queens Park RangersQPR161871326-1311


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!