West Ham0 - 1Brentford

Brentford's number seven struck four minutes into the contest, and his effort proved to be enough for Thomas Frank's side to emerge victorious against the Hammers, who have now lost four of their six matches under new head coach Graham Potter.

The result has left Brentford in 11th spot in the Premier League table, now just three points behind 10th-placed Brighton & Hove Albion and four clear of Crystal Palace in 12th.

Meanwhile, West Ham stay down in 16th, level on points with both 15th-placed Everton and 14th-placed Tottenham Hotspur, while the capital outfit are 10 points outside of the relegation zone in England's top flight.

SPORTS MOLE'S VERDICT

The only goal of the match was an untidy one, with Schade scoring at the second time of asking, but there is little doubting that Brentford deserved all three points due to the manner of their performance.

Potter will have known that he was taking on a big job at the London Stadium, and West Ham's issues in the final third of the field were again on full display on Saturday, with only three shots registered on target.

West Ham have now been beaten in three of their last four league matches at the London Stadium, failing to score in their last two, and while the team do not have any relegation fears, their season could end with a whimper.

Indeed, the Hammers are out of the FA Cup and do not have an awful lot to play for in the league, so their attention will already be switching to next season, but Brentford are now just five points off the top eight and will certainly be looking up the division rather than down.

WEST HAM VS. BRENTFORD HIGHLIGHTS

4th min: West Ham 0-1 Brentford (Kevin Schade)

Brentford take the lead in the fourth minute of the contest, as Schade finds the back of the net at the second time of asking after West Ham fail to clear their lines.

Initially, it appeared that West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola had kept out Schade's second attempt from close range, but the referee's watch buzzed to let him know that the ball had indeed passed the line.

MAN OF THE MATCH - NATHAN COLLINS

It was a team performance from Brentford rather than any particular player putting in a five-star display, but Collins deserves the man-of-the-match award due to his excellent display in the middle of the defence.

The 23-year-old won three aerial duels and made two tackles, while he also completed 27 of his 32 passes, with West Ham's forward line unable to get the better of the towering defender.

WEST HAM VS. BRENTFORD MATCH STATS

Possession: West Ham 59%-41% Brentford

Shots: West Ham 13-14 Brentford

Shots on target: West Ham 3-5 Brentford

Corners: West Ham 9-2 Brentford

Fouls: West Ham 10-13 Brentford

WHAT NEXT?

West Ham will be bidding to bounce back from their latest defeat when they visit title-challenging Arsenal in the league next Saturday.

Brentford, meanwhile, will be looking to make it back-to-back wins in England's top flight for the first time this season when they make the trip to a struggling Leicester City outfit on Friday night.

Written by

Matt Law