West Ham give self-isolating David Moyes a lift with crushing win over Wolves
Jarrod Bowen scored twice as West Ham kick-started their Premier League season with a thumping 4-0 victory over Wolves.
Tomas Soucek and Sebastien Haller were also on target as the Hammers, beaten in their first two matches, finally got off the mark to give their self-isolating manager David Moyes a lift.
West Ham have begun the season in even more disarray than usual following positive coronavirus tests for Moyes and two of his players.
A lack of recruitment in the transfer market this summer is another sore point but it was Moyes’ two January signings, Bowen and Soucek, who did the damage before record-buy Haller supplied the late fourth.
Assistant Alan Irvine again took over on the touchline with Moyes relaying instructions by telephone to coach Stuart Pearce from in front of his television.
Moyes, who said in his programme notes that he has has no symptoms, will have been cheered by Bowen’s 17th-minute opener.
Pablo Fornals caught Wolves napping with a quickly-taken free-kick on the halfway line which sent Bowen scampering away down the right wing.
The former Hull winger still had plenty to do, but he cut inside Romain Saiss onto his left foot and curled a delightful shot past Rui Patricio and inside the far post.
With Wolves strangely subdued West Ham should have been at least three up by the interval with the chances they created.
Patricio got down well to prevent Michail Antonio doubling the lead, and then twice superbly denied Soucek from close range before Fornals missed a gift-wrapped chance.
Patricio pushed Antonio’s fierce low shot out to the feet of Fornals but the Spaniard crashed his shot high over an unguarded net.
They were almost made to pay a minute before half-time when Ruben Neves took aim but Lukasz Fabianski made a diving save.
Wolves began the second half with more attacking intent, with debutant Nelson Semedo a lively presence at wing-back.
But they were undone on the break again as Antonio raced down the left before squaring the ball to Fornals.
His low shot came back off the foot of the far post and Bowen was on hand to tap in the rebound.
West Ham had previously not scored a single goal against Wolves since Nuno Espirito Santo’s side returned to the Premier League.
By the 66th minute they had three, Soucek getting in on the act with a glancing header at the near post from Aaron Cresswell’s corner.
Substitute Haller completed the scoring in stoppage time when he headed in Arthur Masuaku’s cross.
