After coming off the bench, Danny Ings scored a late equalizer to help West Ham and Fulham draw 1-1 in the Premier League at Craven Cottage.
Midway through the first half, Raul Jimenez gave the home team the lead with his first Premier League goal of the year, but the Hammers scored late in the game to split the points.
Marco Silva, the manager of Fulham, would have been disappointed with the draw because his team appeared to be more worthy of victory in west London.
After making two controversial calls in the opening fifteen minutes, referee Tim Robinson received criticism from both dugouts.
Moments before Adama Traore of the Cottagers, Fulham midfielder Sasa Lukic cynically knocked down Mohammed Kudus on the break, but he was not sent off.
Robinson insisted there was not enough contact for a penalty and after VAR failed to overturn the decision, Fulham boss Silva was booked for his reaction to the fourth official.However, the hosts’ decisions did not deter them for very long, as they managed to secure an early lead.
Emile Smith Rowe was released by Lukic into space. The offensive midfielder ducked inside from the byline and found Jimenez, who skillfully sidestepped Max Kilman before placing his shot in the left corner.
Smith Rowe and fellow former Arsenal youth alum Alex Iwobi were having fun down the left side, frequently combining with raiding full-back Antonee Robinson.
The three were the Cottagers’ primary sources of attack going forward, and they succeeded in cutting into the opposition in a way that West Ham was unable to match.
Crysencio Summerville and Lucas Paqueta came off the bench for Irons manager Julen Lopetegui as West Ham finally showed some fight after the break.
Kudus cut inside onto his creative left foot, punching a whipped low ball between white shirts towards Jarrod Bowen inside the area.
With his weaker right foot, the West Ham captain repositioned and managed to launch a fast shot, but Bernd Leno spread himself to stop the England international.
On deadline day, Reiss Nelson, who had come on loan from Arsenal, made his debut and had an instant effect. The wide player gave himself space to select teammates on the overlap by hugging the left touchline and enticing defenders to press.
Nelson nearly had a hand in a goal during his cameo. His ingenuity saw Smith Rowe nearly convert his floated cross; but, his smashing volley, which was headed for the net, was stopped, preventing the hosts from executing a well-planned play.
Just before the end, Bowen’s cross reached Ings, whose powerful blow had too much on it for Leno to deal with as the goalkeeper could only palm the shot into the side netting as Ings celebrated his first league goal since March to steal a point at the death.
(Livescore)
