West Ham United 2-2 Norwich City
- Published
Cheikhou Kouyate struck a late equaliser for West Ham to earn a point against Norwich at Upton Park.
Substitute Nathan Redmond looked to have won it for the visitors with a low strike, before Kouyate pounced.
Robbie Brady had given Norwich the lead early on, seizing on Mark Noble's mistake before calmly slotting in.
Diafra Sakho levelled for the hosts by sliding in Dimitri Payet's cutback, as John Ruddy pulled off saves from both Sakho and Payet.
Relive the entertaining Premier League draw between West Ham and Norwich
Home woes
It was an entertaining encounter in east London, with both sides having opportunities to win the game.
The Hammers have had an impressive start to the season, winning three games on the road, but they seem to have problems in front of their own fans, collecting just four points from a possible 12.
If they have ambitions of finishing in the top six, they will need to improve their form at Upton Park, in their last season at the ground before moving to the Olympic Stadium.
And having gone behind, they were always playing catch-up in the match.
Payet patrolled
Norwich's goal came against the early run of play, gifted to them by Noble's misjudged pass across his defence, but they gained confidence from the strike.
Hammers dangerman Payet struggled to exert his influence on the game, losing the ball 19 times in the match - the most of any home player - as he tried to do too much on his own. He did, however, provide an assist for West Ham's first equaliser, cutting the ball back for Sakho to signal a home resurgence.
Visiting skipper Russell Martin, who earned the Canaries a point against Liverpool last week, led from the back, winning the ball back seven times as well as making seven clearances, but ultimately left disappointed.
Having looked like snatching all three points through with seven minutes remaining, Redmond rounding off a period of sustained pressure with his goal, Norwich conceded late in injury time; Ruddy tried to punch the ball away but it ricocheted off Andy Carroll allowing a grateful Kouyate to stab home.
Man of the match - Robbie Brady
What they said
Norwich midfielder Nathan Redmond: "I thought we had played well and gave ourselves a great opportunity to win the game. I thought we secured it with my goal but we are disappointed to concede late on."
Norwich boss Alex Neil: "When you concede with a minute to go, it is always disappointing but we will take encouragement from how well we played."
West Ham boss Slaven Bilic: "I am happy that we showed the character at the end and we deserved it. A draw is a fair result and they are probably gutted because of the timing of the last goal."
The stats you need to know
West Ham players have made four errors leading to goals in the Premier League this season; more than any other club.
Diafra Sakho has now scored in five of his six Premier League appearances in September.
Wes Hoolahan has assisted five and scored one of Norwich's 11 Premier League goals this season.
- Published22 September 2015
- Published28 September 2015