West Ham 4-2 Brentford: Jarrod Bowen hat-trick and Emerson screamer help ease pressure on David Moyes

Jarrod Bowen’s first career hat-trick helped West Ham end their nine-match winless run in all competitions as they secured a 4-2 victory over relegation-threatened Brentford at the London Stadium.

It took just five minutes for the forward to open his account for the evening, converting from inside the box less than 60 seconds after Tomas Soucek had missed a sitter from close range.

Bowen bagged his second shortly afterwards, sliding Vladimir Coufal’s low cross into the bottom corner, but the lead was halved when Neal Maupay scooped home, all within the opening 13 minutes.

The action settled down from there, as the Hammers, and in particular Mohammed Kudus, sent several efforts off target.

After the break, though, they put the game out of sight, with Bowen completing his treble with a header, before Emerson put the icing on the cake with a magnificent strike from distance.

Brentford pulled one back late on through substitute Yoane Wissa, but it was no more than a consolation for Thomas Frank’s side, who are five points above the relegation zone after a sixth defeat in their last seven away league games.

It is surely no coincidence that West Ham ended their eight-match winless streak in the same fixture in which Lucas Paqueta made his return from injury.

The Brazilian international had not played a Premier League game in 2024 before tonight, but lasted 77 minutes, putting in a huge shift in attack.

His radar was slightly off when it came to shooting, but he was involved in numerous dangerous attacking moves and clearly gave his team-mates a huge lift.

How could it be anybody else? The striker boosted his England ambitions with a clinical display in front of goal as he bagged a treble.

The wonderful thing about this particular hat-trick is that his goals came in a completely different fashion; one slammed home, another guided into the bottom corner, and the third a close-range header.

He more than proved his worth, with the two early strikes giving West Ham an electric start as they eased the pressure on David Moyes.

WEST HAM: Areola 6; Coufal 7, Zouma 6, Mavropanos 6, Emerson 7; Paqueta 7, Soucek 7, Ward-Prowse 7, Alvarez 6, Kudos 8; Bowen 9. Subs: Antonio n/a, Johnson n/a

BRENTFORD: Flekken 6; Zanka 5, Ajer 6, Mee 7; Lewis-Potter 7, Onyeka 6, Norgaard 6, Jensen 6, Reguilon 6; Toney 6, Maupay 7. Subs: Collins 6, Wissa 7, Janelt 6, Roerslev 6, Damsgaard 7

5’ GOAL! West Ham 1-0 Brentford (Bowen): What a start for the Hammers! They take the lead as Ward-Prowse picks out Emerson down the left, who in turn slides a low ball back to Bowen on the edge of the area, and he duly slams a fierce effort in off the near post!

7’ GOAL! West Ham 2-0 Brentford (Bowen): What a start this is for West Ham! Bowen has his second and Brentford are in disarray. They give the ball away in midfield, and after Kudos feeds Coufal, the full-back crosses into the middle for the striker to convert. They could not dream of a better first seven minutes!

13’ GOAL! West Ham 2-1 Brentford (Maupay): This is ridiculous! Brentford are back in it as Lewis-Potter picks out Maupay's clever run, and the striker lifts the ball into the top corner when sliding in. This is entertaining, to say the least.

63’ GOAL! West Ham 3-1 Brentford (Bowen): Bowen completes his hat-trick with a delightful goal! It's a lovely team move, with Zouma and Soufal involved before Kudus clips a delightful cross into the edge of the six-yard box, from where the striker heads home. Wonderful stuff.

69’ GOAL! West Ham 4-1 Brentford (Emerson): WOW! What a goal that is! Absolutely sensational from Emerson, who nets his first of the season by arrowing a thunderous effort into the far top corner from 22 yards. He was not closed down quickly enough, but picked his spot perfectly. Flekken had no chance.

82’ GOAL! West Ham 4-2 Brentford (Wissa): Brentford pull one back! A perfectly timed run by Wissa, who is picked out by Damsgaard, cuts the ball on to his right foot and bends around Coufal into the far corner.

90+4’ SUPERB AREOLA SAVE! What a stop that is! A deep cross to Toney at the back post, and he meets it with a towering header, nodding down towards the near bottom corner, but Areola somehow gets a palm on it. That's a top-drawer stop.

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