Mavropanos own goal sets the tone as Brentford push West Ham closer to the bottom three
Brentford ended a seven-match wait for a win with a 3-0 victory over West Ham at the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday afternoon, a result that lifts Keith Andrews' side into the European places and leaves Nuno Espirito Santo's Hammers two points above the bottom three with the season running out.
The visitors went a goal down inside fifteen minutes through a misfortune of their own making. Konstantinos Mavropanos turned a low ball past his own goalkeeper, the kind of opener West Ham have conceded too often this season, and the home side never looked like surrendering the lead.
Thiago and Damsgaard finish the job
The penalty arrived in the 54th minute, after Dango Ouattara was hauled down inside the box, and Igor Thiago slotted it past Mads Hermansen without fuss. By that point West Ham had already rattled the woodwork twice through Taty Castellanos and seen Mavropanos head in a free-kick, only for VAR to flag him offside. None of it changed the scoreboard.
Mikkel Damsgaard added the third in the 82nd minute, curling a finish into the bottom corner after Keane Lewis-Potter slipped him in. By full time West Ham had hit the frame of the goal four times and managed thirteen shots without scoring. That sums up where each side stand right now.
Where it leaves the table
Brentford move up to sixth on 51 points, three clear of ninth-placed Chelsea and into the European conversation with three games left. They came in ninth on 48; this win is the kind of result that turns a quiet end to the season into a chase for continental football.
West Ham stay 17th on 36 points, still above Tottenham only on a margin Spurs can wipe out with a win at Aston Villa on Sunday. Four times the woodwork rattled at the Gtech and Nuno's side could not score. That has been the story of much of their season, and it is starting to look like a structural problem rather than a bad run.
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