Swansea City vs West Ham United. Premier League.
Swansea.com StadiumAttendance20,829.
Saturday 3 March 2018 20:09, UK
Two goals in each half helped Swansea thrash West Ham 4-1 at the Liberty Stadium to climb out of the bottom three.
Andre Ayew - on his first start for Swansea since returning to the Liberty in January - laid the ball off for Sung-Yueng Ki to open the scoring eight minutes in, before Ki then supplied the cross for Mike van der Hoorn to make it 2-0 in the 32nd minute.
With no recognised central defenders on the pitch after Winston Reid had to be withdrawn through injury in the first half, West Ham continued to look vulnerable, and Swansea took full advantage.
The hosts scored two more in the second half through Andy King three minutes after the break - on his first start for Swansea - and Jordan Ayew from the penalty spot in the 63rd minute, while Michail Antonio came off the bench to net a consolation 11 minutes from time for the visitors.
The comfortable win sees Swansea continue their resurgence under Carlos Carvalhal, as a seventh successive home win in all competitions moves them out of the bottom three and up as high as 13th, climbing above West Ham on goal difference, who had the most miserable of afternoons in south Wales.
A makeshift West Ham backline had no time to settle as Swansea raced into an early lead. Adrian, in the away goal, will feel he might have done better, as he got down very slowly as Ki's strike dribbled into the bottom corner from 20 yards.
Swansea almost made it two moments later, but Federico Fernandez's prodded effort was blocked on the line by Declan Rice.
Winston Reid started in the middle of a back three as the only recognised central defender, but his game was ended prematurely after he landed awkwardly when trying to block Fernandez's effort, amplifying David Moyes' problems, with no recognised centre-half on the bench. Sam Byram came into an even more makeshift back four.
Things went from bad to worse for the visitors 32 minutes in as Swansea doubled their lead. Ki whipped a cross into the middle, Rice was caught flat-footed, leaving Van der Hoorn free to head home from close range.
After the break, West Ham continued to look disjointed, and Swansea were soon three goals to the good through King. Andre Ayew's header was initially kept out by Adrian, but King was on hand to prod home the rebound.
Poor defending continued to be commonplace as West Ham laboured, and after Cheikhou Kouyate had clumsily brought down Andre Ayew in the box, the former West Ham striker's brother stepped up to make it four from the spot.
Antonio again came off the bench to net a consolation - the second time in a week that he has scored in a 4-1 West Ham defeat - to salvage some pride, but another defeat leaves Moyes' men looking over their shoulders, just three points clear of the relegation zone.
Swansea have won four consecutive Premier League matches on home soil for this first time since May 2016.
This was West Ham's heaviest Premier League defeat against a side starting the day in the relegation zone since a 3-0 loss at Sheffield United in April 2007.
West Ham United have conceded 37 goals away from home in the Premier League so far this season, more than any other side in the competition.
Swansea have scored 14 league goals in nine matches under Carlos Carvalhal, having scored just 11 in their previous 20 Premier League matches this season before his appointment.
Carlos Carvalhal: "It was rock and roll in the stadium. Sometimes you dance to the music your opponents give out to you, such as when we played Liverpool and Arsenal. But we put out our own music and I am very happy with the win. We played with high intensity and that's why it took a while for King and (Andre) Ayew to get ready."
David Moyes: "I couldn't assess the performance because it was that bad. It is a big sorry to the supporters who travelled through the snow to get here today, and we let them down badly. The players were disappointed with their own performances. Since I have been at West Ham, it has certainly been our poorest performance"
After a 14-game spell without a goal or an assist for Swansea in the Premier League, Ki has now a hand in four goals in his last four league apps (two goals, two assists) after his goal and assist in the first half at the Liberty. His corner caused havoc for Swansea's third goal, too. The South Korea international won 100 per cent of his duels as didn't neglect his defensive duties. Ensuring Ki extends his current contract beyond the summer must be a top priority.
West Ham are back at home next week, with Burnley the visitors, while it is back to the north of England for Swansea, as they travel to Huddersfield next Saturday.
