Fulham 1 West Ham 1: Super-sub Danny Ings scores dramatic 95th-minute equaliser to rescue point from nowhere for Hammers
DANNY INGS’ dramatic 95th minute strike rescued a point for West Ham with his first goal since March.
The striker, who has been a huge disappointment for the Hammers until now, rifled home to steal a draw which Julen Lopetegui’s side hardly deserved.
Fulham had been dominant and were cruising their way to three points thanks to Raul Jimenez’s first half strike until crumbling in the final seconds.
The Cottagers started fast, Emile Smith Rowe, Andreas Pereira and Alex Iwobi all causing West Ham trouble with smart and neat footwork around the box.
Adama Traore was a threat on the break too and the Hammers had a lucky escape when Max Kilman went unpunished for a last-ditch shove on the winger in the penalty area.
But referee Tim Robinson deemed the contact was minimal to the dismay of home fans.
Robinson headed for the touchline but not to consult VAR, only to book Fulham boss Silva for his protests.
The bulky winger then barged his way in at the back post to meet a dangerous Iwobi cross but headed wide.
West Ham were struggling to get out of their half as Fulham continued to turn up the heat, soon breaking their way through.
The Hammers had been powerless to stop Fulham creating chances but did not cover themselves in glory for the goal.
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Sasa Lukic was allowed plenty of time to pick out Smith Rowe’s fine run in behind from deep.
Smith Rowe did well to keep the ball in play and took his time before cutting back through the legs of Konstantinos Mavropanos and tee up Jiminez to tap home his first Premier League goal of the season at the near post.
Fulham were full of confidence, given a clear plan which was being executed superbly. West Ham looked somewhat of a rabble.
Lopetegui was given £127.5million of new signings in the summer to help transform West Ham into a free-flowing footballing side.
But they were shaky on the ball and often relied on an individual run or a long ball to relieve the pressure.
The Hammers boss turned to one of his new men – Crysencio Summerville – after half-time to try and get them going, with Lucas Paqueta also sent on after he had been rested following a return trip to South America during the international break.
While the changes helped stem the tide of Fulham chances, it took West Ham until the hour mark to start looking more dangerous on the ball.
Jarrod Bowen, moved up top after Michail Antonio was replaced at the break, collected a Mohammed Kudus cross ahead of Joachim Andersen but saw his close range effort stopped by Bernd Leno.
That one chance could have sparked some confidence within the visitors, but never amounted to anything more.
West Ham were without their new No9, Niclas Fullkrug, following an injury while away with Germany lacked a dominating presence through the middle.
Lopetegui, who had lost Emerson Palmieri to a knee injury, then threw on deadline day signing Carlos Soler for a debut to try and find a leveller.
His introduction changed little and Lopetegui called for Ings for the final ten minutes.
West Ham ramped up late pressure with a few corners before Bowen managed to pick out Ings between Andersen and Calvin Bassey, allowing the striker to fire home.
Silva saw Bassey miss a last gasp header to regain the lead in the final seconds and was furious that Kilman was not sent off for a first half shove on Traore in the penalty box.
Silva, who was booked for his protest, said: “If it is a penalty he should be sent off, the player didn’t try to play the ball.
“That moment, clear penalty and clear red card.”