West Ham United vs Middlesbrough. Premier League.
London StadiumAttendance56,945.
Saturday 1 October 2016 18:29, UK
A brilliant solo goal from Dimitri Payet salvaged a point for West Ham as they and Middlesbrough both ended losing runs with a 1-1 draw.
Cristhian Stuani's header early in the second half (51) put the visitors in front but a wonderful mazy run and finish from Frenchman Payet soon sftare (57) brought the sides level again.
From there, neither side looked like finding a winner and the ensuing stalemate did little to improve their recent records.
Both stay in the bottom five, with West Ham remaining in the relegation zone, and the two teams are still looking back to August 21 for their last league victories.
The first half had all the hallmarks of a fixture between two sides struggling for form, with each tentative initially and then lacking a cutting edge when they eventually caught sight of goal.
West Ham suffered an early setback when Sam Byram had to go off with an apparent hamstring injury and he was replaced by Alvaro Arbeloa.
They took time to settle after that, with Middlesbrough having the only chance of note in the first 20 minutes when Viktor Fischer drove across goal and just wide.
The hosts eventually responded, with Payet having one attempt blocked by Calum Chambers then curling another wide before Michail Antonio's header was also deflected away.
After James Collins headed off target on his 250th Premier League appearance, Middlesbrough finally began to settle into the contest.
While they came forward more, however, they were wasteful in possession and too many crosses were being cut out, with Stewart Downing's free-kick also going straight into the wall.
Mark Noble tried to drive West Ham in front, placing one 20-yard attempt just wide of Victor Valdes' goal before he hit the bar with another shot from just inside the area.
That was the best opening yet but the hosts could have been behind at the break through slack goalkeeping from Adrian.
He was hesitant coming for a long ball upfield and Jordan Rhodes improvised by lifting the ball over his own head and goalwards but it was cut out in plenty of time and it remained goalless.
Adrian was again slow coming off his line to block Rhodes after the restart and that was the precursor to Middlesbrough's opener.
From the resulting corner, Stuani got up highest to meet Fischer's cross and he headed over the line before Noble could clear, with goal line technology confirming he has scored.
West Ham needed a quick response and when they got it five minutes later, it was stunning as a wonderful solo effort from Payet made it 1-1.
He picked up the ball on the touchline and went past his marker into the box but had little else on with a number of defenders still ahead of him.
Undeterred, he kept going across the six-yard line past a second, third, fourth and fifth before sending an angled short back across goal from right to left under Valdes and in.
The relief around the London Stadium was tangible but rather than use a special moment as a springboard to victory, West Ham failed to build.
Indeed, Payet himself was lacklustre with a free-kick he lifted into the wall when you sensed many in the ground expected him to strike again.
Gaston Ramirez lacked bend on his curled effort as he tried to find a late winner for Middlesbrough while Antonio wasted a chance at the other end after doing well to hold off George Friend.
In the end, the draw was fair but it will do little to lift confidence in a pair of squads who look fragile at present and struggling for a spark.
West Ham: Adrian (5), Byram (1), Collins (7), Reid (6), Ogbonna (6), Obiang (6), Noble (7), Kouyate (7), Tore (5), Payet (8), Antonio (7)
Subs used: Arbeloa (6), Zaza (5), Lanzini (3)
Middlesbrough: Valdes (6), Barragan (6), Chambers (6), Gibson (6), Friend (7), De Roon (5), Forshaw (6), Stuani (7), Downing (6), Fischer (7), Rhodes (6)
Subs used: Ramirez (5), Negredo (4)
Man of the match: Dimitri Payet
