West Ham beat Wolves after a thrilling Premier League game, increasing the pressure on O’Neil

LONDON (AP) — West Ham beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 in the Premier League, increasing the pressure on embattled coach Gary O’Neil on Monday.

Both teams started the game poorly and the game was widely seen as a deciding game for O’Neill and West Ham colleague Julen Lopetegui.

Wolves started the evening second from last while the London side were in 14th place, and the pressure and nerves were evident in a nervous first half that lacked class or composure.

Mohammed Kudus and Konstantinos Mavropanos had half-chances for West Ham, while at the other end João Gomes shot over from a good position.

Things improved after the break and West Ham took the lead from a corner in the 53rd minute. Wolves left Tomas Soucek unmolested at the back post and his header ended up in the far corner.

Matt Doherty equalized for Wolves in the 69th minute. But just three minutes later, legendary West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen found time and space in the penalty area to fire a left-footed shot into the goal.

West Ham were without Michail Antonio, their ever-present striker who broke his leg in a car accident on Saturday, and Bowen held up Antonio’s number 9 shirt to celebrate his goal.

West Ham players took to the pitch wearing training tops with Antonio’s name and number on them and the home fans gave him a warm round of applause in the ninth minute.

“The goal and the win were for Michail,” said Soucek. “I told myself before the game that I wanted to score more goals because he has been here since I arrived and is my favorite. “It’s hard for me to play without him,” but I’m glad he’s doing well.

“We had a video call with him before the game. He smiled at us and gave us all the best.”

The result left the Hammers in 14th place, one point behind Manchester United. It was the third defeat in a row for Wolves, who remain on nine points, level with third-from-bottom Ipswich Town.

“We were OK and solid and probably had the better chances,” O’Neil said. “The boys gave everything, but we came up short again, that’s the story of the last few weeks.”

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AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer