West Ham 2 Bournemouth 2
At Stratford station the God Squad are out in the sun, handing out leaflets asking, "Why do people go to Hell?" — which is no way to talk about a trip to the London Stadium. Inside the Best Meze Cafe our crew have adopted a close formation of 3-2 by the counter, as the chips and accompaniments arrive unexpectedly promptly.
Nigel's been to Florida with CQ discussing with Donald Trump whether tariffs might protect West Ham's goal. Matt and Lisa have been to see Longplayer at the Roundhouse, a thousand-year long piece of music, by the end of which we might finally have scored. Though Matt, in his Thames Ironworks black shirt, prefers Longplayer's earlier work, possibly called Shortplayer.
Michael the Thespian is following the game with a trip to Stratford East to watch The Women of Llanrumney, a play about Welsh women and slavery which may not enhance his mood after a West Ham match. The fact that no-one has bothered to check if their tickets have uploaded until the day of the game shows how disappointing the season has been.
The game begins with Bournemouth getting in a dangerous cross and Evanilson heading a good chance wide after 70 seconds. Areola has to make a smart save from a deflected Quattarra cross and then an even better reaction stop to save an effort deflected off Soucek. The Irons look disjointed in the sun and WHU's best effort is an Ollie Scarles cross that goes across goal. Several corners come to nothing. Bowen is not getting any service as a striker and Kudus looks bereft of confidence, while the midfield of Soucek, Ward-Prowse and Alvarez lacks creativity.
Bournemouth take the lead when the excellent Semenyo fires in a shot that Areola parries into an inviting zone for Evanilson to poke home. There's a VAR check but he's just onside. It's almost two when Zabarnyi heads on to the bar from a corner.
We retreat to the concourse where Nigel decides this is a game definitely in need of his lucky banana. Matt bemoans the fact that Potter seems to have picked the wrong team again. Subs are definitely needed after that first half display,
Potter brings on Emerson for Scarles and then waits ten minutes before sending on Fullkrug and Soler. The big German makes an immediate difference, holding the ball up well, challenging for everything and allowing Bowen to return to the right wing, while Soler also improves the midfield balance.
The best move of the game sees the Hammers win a corner. Ward-Prowse delivers a typically accurate dead ball and Fullkrug loses his man to power home a thumping header. At last something to raise the crowd. That's Fullkrug's third goal of an injury-ravaged season in which he's only completed 90 minutes once.
Seven minutes later Kudus gets the better of James Hill, though we're not sure why the late Jimmy Hill is on the pitch. Mo's cross is a good one and Jarrod Bowen, who has looked frustrated and like he is carrying an injury, does really well to beat Huijsen in the air and direct his header into the corner. Suddenly West Ham are massive again.
The Irons are now playing with much greater verve, There's a good chance for a third when the Hammers win a free kick just outside the box. But rather than let James Ward-Prowse take it, Bowen fires narrowly wide.
The referee incurs the wrath of the Vicar's Son as Winterburn slips and gets a free kick. It shouldn't have been given, but we still should be able to defend it. A big punt forwards is headed by Huijsen into the path of Evanilson who scores from close range. There's another long VAR pause but it's given.
Potter brings on Guilherme who causes some problems on the left with his speed, but wastes a great chance to cross by greedily shooting into the side netting. Areola has to save a low shot from Semenyo and that's it. It's a point at least and some hope that a fit Fullkrug might be the striker we need, though squad surgery is definitely required over the summer.
We head to the Eagle for London Pride from the fridge, as Michael does an admirable marketing job for Caffreys. Nigel has to leave early to watch Sweet in Shepherd's Bush hoping for a better Blockbuster than the one he's just seen. It's a nice easy game at Liverpool next. Seven games left and really we just need to get through the season now before Potter sorts out the squad.
PLAYER RATINGS: Areola 6; Wan-Bissaka 6, Kilman 5, Todibo 6 (Mavropanos 6). Scarles 5 (Emerson 6); Alvarez 4 (Soler 6), Soucek 4 (Fullkrug 8), Ward-Prowse 6, Paqueta 6; Bowen 6, Kudus 6 (Guilherme 5).