Moyes off the mark with Leicester draw
West Ham and Leicester played out a 1-1 draw at the London Stadium on Friday evening as David Moyes picked up his first point as Hammers boss.
Leicester took the lead early in the first half through Marc Albrighton and Cheikhou Kouyate equalised for the home side just before the break.
Following the loss to Watford in his first game at the helm for West Ham, David Moyes was looking to get things off to a good start in his first home game, but the game started in the worst way possible for the Scottish coach.
Just eight minutes in, Jamie Vardy was afforded far too much space on the left as he sent a low ball into the box which Angelo Ogbonna failed to clear and Albrighton slid in and poked the ball into the bottom corner to give Leicester an early lead.
In the opening stages there was a severe lack of urgency from the West Ham players and the fans were making their discontent clear.
Things could have gotten even worse for the home side when Arthur Masuaku bundled Albrighton to the ground inside the area after a poor first touch, but luckily for Moyes, referee Martin Atkinson waves away the penalty appeals.
After the 20 minute mark West Ham started to improve and Ogbonna came close with a header from a Manuel Lanzini free-kick, but Kasper Schmeichel got down well to make the save.
Two more chances for an equaliser were spurned when Manuel Lanzini took too long on the ball following a West Ham break and Kouyate made a mess of a header from eight yards out after another dangerous cross in from Lanzini.
However, just before the break, West Ham found the equaliser which their play had merited. Lanzini swung in a corner from the left Schmeichel came to claim for the ball but was caught in no man’s land, allowing Kouyate to head home from close range to level the scores going into half-time.
The West Ham faithful were hopeful that the second half would see their side improve on their first-half display and find a possible winner, and the signs were encouraging.
Arthur Masuaku was threatening down the left flank and got past his man once to send in a dangerous cross which Schmeichel gathered, before his fiercely struck shot was saved once again by the Leicester goalkeeper down to his left.
The fans in the London Stadium responded and were in fine voice in a bid to try and spur their side on, and Marko Arnautovic flicked the ball over the bar after another cross in from the left by Lanzini.
David Moyes’ plan was clear, as his side swung in a large number of crosses over the course of the second half, but Andy Carroll was unable to benefit from his team-mates’ efforts in the middle.
Andre Ayew came on for the home side and came close to a stoppage time winner, but his overhead kick from close range flew just over the bar following a Hammers corner.
The draw isn’t enough to lift West Ham out of the relegation zone, but Moyes will be encouraged with the performance and he will look to build on it the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, Claude Puel will be content with a draw after a good start from Leicester as they were second best during the second half.