Jarrod Bowen scored a hat-trick as West Ham belatedly picked up their first win of 2024 with a crushing 4-2 victory over Brentford at the London Stadium on Monday Night Football.
It is a result that emphatically ends a run of six games without a win for David Moyes’ side, with their last on December 28, and one that means the Bees remain at the heart of the relegation battle with 12 games to play.
Bowen scored his first of the night – and first in the league since December 23 – inside five minutes, and ghosted into the box to guide home a second less than two minutes later.
Jarrod Bowen’s hat-trick inspired West Ham to victory over Brentford
Neal Maupay halved the deficit shortly afterwards, but when Bowen completed his treble – his first in senior football – after the break and Emerson fired home a piledriver, the game was put beyond Brentford, who have now shipped nine goals in their last three games.
The Bees did manage to pull another one back through Yoane Wissa, but it did not spark the comeback of epic proportions they required.
West Ham move up to eighth as a result of their first Premier League win over Brentford, who stay down in 16th – five points above 18th-placed Luton – where they dropped to after Everton’s 10-point deduction was reduced to six on appeal earlier in the day.
How West Ham finally got up and running in 2024
The start was frantic in east London – and went just the way West Ham fans would have hoped following a run of eight games without a win in all competition.
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Jarrod Bowen slams West Ham ahead after great move
A matter of seconds after Tomas Soucek sent his connection on Vladimir Coufal’s deflected cross over the bar, the Hammers were in front. Neat interplay saw the ball moved on from Lucas Paqueta to Emerson, whose pull-back from the left was slammed home by Bowen.
Before Brentford had even thought about an attack of their own, it was 2-0. Bowen dropped the ball off to Mohammed Kudus and made a run, totally untracked, into the box, where he had the simple task of converting Coufal’s square ball.
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Jarrod Bowen doubles West Ham lead against Brentford almost immediately!
With their first and only shot on target in the first half, Brentford did manage to pull one back. Keane Lewis-Potter received the ball from Ivan Toney and slipped a lovely through ball in for Maupay, who stayed composed to fire high into the net beyond Alphonse Areola.
Brentford’s defence was by far the busier by the time of the break. West Ham had attempted 13 shots by that point, but a third goal was not forthcoming, leaving an air of anxiety inside the London Stadium.
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Jarrod Bowen heads home to complete hat-trick!
The third did come just after the hour, though, with Bowen capping a memorable night with the matchball. Sergio Reguilon backed off Kudus, allowing him to curl in a fine cross for the England forward to glance a header over the line.
And then came the fourth. Emerson bowed to fan pressure to shoot from distance after collecting Nathan Collins’ clearance and thumped a beauty into the top right corner that left Mark Flekken with absolutely no chance of making a save.
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Emerson Palmieri scores screamer for West Ham’s fourth!
Wissa came off the bench to limit the damage with his fifth goal of the season – and third in six appearances against West Ham – which was confirmed after a VAR review.
What’s next?
West Ham visit Everton in the Premier League next Saturday; kick off 3pm. Brentford host Chelsea at the same time.
