Three away games, three away wins, three of the best teams in the Premier League.
Is this the West Ham way? Of course it is!
I think many of us are still in shock about yesterday’s sensational win, but there are reasons as to why we won and I am here to break it all down.
We found ourselves 1-0 up at the Etihad within six minutes, after a string of 13 passes found Moses, who blasted home from 25 yards out to beat Joe Hart at his near post.
It was some strike, but we didn’t just sit back on that lead like the old West Ham would have, we pushed for a second, and we were rewarded.
We got a somewhat debatable corner kick, but Payet made no mistake with the delivery, finding Reid with an excellent cross, who headed towards Obiang and Diafra Sakho was there to poke it past Hart with an excellently composed finish.
West Ham were leading Manchester City at the Etihad by two goals and many fans, I’m sure, thought that it was a dream at this point.
However, we were soon brought back to reality as the new man Kevin De Bruyne fired a powerful show past Adrian on the brink of half time.
We knew the second half was always going to be a nervy one for every Hammer watching, and boy did they put us through the works!
In saying that, I thought everyone defended outstandingly throughout the entirety of the second half and we were able to withstand their constant pressure and hold on for what seemed a near impossible win.
The first team to beat City this season and the first team to even put a goal past them, so to do what we did is some achievement.
It was also a nice touch to see Jelavic and Antonio make their West Ham debuts, and they both put in a good shift for the team for the time they were on.
Now onto individual performances, and can we start anywhere other than the Man of the Match, Winston Reid? What an incredible performance by the man from New Zealand!
Reid made more blocks and interceptions than I have ever seen from one player, and although everyone was doing this, if we did not have Reid at the back, I don’t think we would’ve walked away with all three points.
A courageous performance from a courageous man, definitely showing everyone that he is one of the best defenders in the Premier League at the moment. Not many other teams realise his important to the team, he carries our football club at times, but our fans show their appreciation for him week in week out.
Payet was looking hot once again, adding another assist to his name, but I am very pleased to see Victor Moses score his first goal of the season and hopefully he can kick on from here.
‘Mr West Ham’ and skipper Mark Noble was a very influential player again, and he kept the team organised enough for it to be difficult for Man City to score.
It is very encouraging to see as a West Ham fan that Noble is not afraid to play the forward, more complex passes under Bilic and it is even better to see the praise he is getting from the manager.
Bilic was more than impressed with the team, and had a few words to say about our performance, especially at the back: “We deserved it, considering the way we played in the first half and fought in the second.”
We have won at Arsenal, Liverpool and Man City already this season and if someone had said to me we would get nine points from our first three away games, I would have thought they were crazy!
The win moved us up to second (though Man United leapfrogged us on Sunday with their win at Southampton) with 12 points from a possible 18, which is no more than we deserve. Slaven Bilic is definitely a manager that we are all taking to, and with performances like these, it is only going to help his cause.
The main difference this season is that we have started taking our chances, due to the quality we now have in the side. We only had three shots on target against Man City, but two of them went in and one was a 25 yard volley from Payet, which shows just how prolific we have been in front of goal, along with the fact that we have scored the most goals in the league this season, joint with Leicester City.
Every West Ham fan will remember this win for years to come, and things are looking very positive for us.
It is a privilege to be a Hammer right now, and I am only excited to see what happens next!
Visit Frank’s blog here, and be sure to follow him on Twitter at @FrankWHUFC.
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