#PLStories- David Moyes on West Ham’s Nottingham Forest defeat, Said Benrahma and handball #WHUFC
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David Moyes
How frustrating is the result considering how many chances you had?
Really frustrating. We haven’t scored many in pre-season and I think you saw a bit of that today.
Did the first half frustrate you most?
The first 20 minutes I thought were really poor. I thought we grew into the game. We didn’t deserve the result we got, that is for sure, but we did in the end.
Why do you think you were so poor in the first 20 minutes?
I thought Notts Forest started well. They were powerful, strong, wanted to pick up the first ball and the second ball and put us under pressure, we didn’t cope particularly well in the opening 20 minutes with that, I thought.
With Mark Noble gone, is Declan Rice the designated penalty taker this season?
Manuel Lanzini took the penalty kicks last year and scored them, it wasn’t Declan. We had Declan in mind today.
Were you surprised that Scott McKenna was only booked for his handball to deny Tomas Soucek’s shot?
The ball should have gone in, so it goes back to the earlier question. No, we made enough chances to score the goals and we didn’t take them. Look, I’m not going to get involved with it. The referees have made their call, not just them, they’ve had a chance to see it back at Stockley Park as well. They chose that it wasn’t a red card. But I’ve had a chance to see it back and the boy obviously moves his arm to stop the shot.
Is there something fundamentally that you need to change after back-to-back defeats?
I’ve hinted at it, we’re a bit slow, we’re a wee bit behind it, we might take a little bit of time to get up and running. We got a bit better as we went on today but we are still finding our way at the moment.
In that sense, is the European game against Viborg a good game?
It is an absolutely fantastic thing. We finished seventh in the league last year and you’re talking about is Europe good? My goodness, I don’t know how many teams in the leagues would shake your hand and say ‘please give us European football.’ We’ve got a play-off and we want to try to get in. It is a great thing and it is great for West Ham as well.
Because of the results, do you feel you may have to start Maxwel Cornet and Gianluca Scamacca sooner than you would have liked?
They could have started today, they could have. They’re getting closer, I think. For both, it’s their lack of minutes in pre-season. We’re not too worried about them now, we’ve watched them train, we’ve had them a couple of weeks, we’re not overly concerned about what they do. They may be not ready to play 90 in all of the games, but they are getting closer, that is for sure.
Is Craig Dawson closer to being back for the Viborg game or to face Brighton next Sunday?
I couldn’t answer that, yet.
What did you make of Said Benrahma’s disallowed goal?
You’re better listening to the referees that do the punditry, they will tell you if they think it should have been a goal or not. It doesn’t really matter what I think does it? The referee has given it. Maybe on another day. Today, we hit the underside of the bar twice, we miss a penalty kick, we get a goal disallowed that was a bit contentious. Today, very little went for us, very little went our way in what was a big game for Nottingham Forest and a big first [home] game for them. They carried quite a bit of luck and we didn’t have much today.
Do you think the atmosphere had a lot to do with that first 20 minutes?
Undoubtedly. If you are a player and playing in that atmosphere, it is great. It’s great for the players here, the supporters have got behind them. It shows you how much they’ve been waiting to get top-flight football here. Congratulations to them, they got their result, but I don’t know if it was the right one.
How pleased were you with Said Benrahma’s performance?
He did much better today, we just can’t get an end product on the end. We can’t get a cross, we can’t get a final pass, we can’t get a final finish, which would give us the difference. The other part of it was much better today, we’re trying to get the next bit. Today, that was just lacking at the end of not just his game, but quite a few of them.
Is Declan Rice your penalty taker for the season and Manuel Lanzini second?
No. That was one question, it doesn’t mean it will be the same all season. We will see, but Declan was the guy that was on the penalties today.
West Ham United boss David Moyes has described the goal Said Benrahma had disallowed during their 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest as “contentious.” The Hammers suffered a second straight defeat in as many Premier League games to newly-promoted Forest during a busy affair that saw the Irons have a Benrahma goal disallowed in the first half, with a foul from Michail Antonio in the build-up leading to VAR cancelling out the goal. Taiwo Awoniyi bundled in the only goal of the game in first half stoppage time and asked about Benrahma’s disallowed finish, Moyes said that refereeing pundits are the best people to ask on the decision.
David Moyes said: “You’re better listening to the referees that do the punditry, they will tell you if they think it should have been a goal or no. It doesn’t really matter what I think does it? The referee has given it. Maybe on another day. Today, we hit the underside of the bar twice, we miss a penalty kick, we get a goal disallowed that was a bit contentious. Today, very little went for us, very little went our way in what was a big game for Nottingham Forest and a big first [home] game for them. They carried quite a bit of luck and we didn’t have much today.”
In the second half, Declan Rice had a chance to level the game from the penalty spot when Tomas Soucek had a shot blocked by the hand of Scott McKenna. Rice took the penalty but his low effort was saved by Dean Henderson. Asked about the spot-kick, Moyes outlined that Rice was the designated penalty taker, with Manuel Lanzini on the bench at the time.
David Moyes added: “Manuel Lanzini took the penalty kicks last year and scored them, it wasn’t Declan. We had Declan in mind today.”
The Hammers’ Scottish boss was later asked if Rice was the club’s primary penalty taker with Lanzini as his understudy, something that Moyes denied.
David Moyes explained: “No. That was one question, it doesn’t mean it will be the same all season. We will see, but Declan was the guy that was on the penalties today.”
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