Slowly but surely, West Ham are edging their way to safety. While this battling draw against a Crystal Palace side with their minds elsewhere proved terminal to his former club Wolves as it confirmed their relegation, Nuno Espírito Santo had to be satisfied with a point after Brennan Johnson missed the best chance to boost his former employers Tottenham.
Palace, who have now been involved in eight stalemates this season, were indebted to captain Dean Henderson for producing the save of the night to deny Konstantinos Mavropanos just before half-time, although West Ham struggled to create much else. Nuno will be disappointed not to have stretched their advantage over Tottenham to four points, although their fate remains very much in their hands with David Moyes’s Everton next up on Saturday.
After Brighton’s Georginio Rutter was the toast of the East End on Saturday night with his late equaliser against Spurs, Nuno challenged his players to take their opportunity against a Palace side still recovering from their exploits in the Conference League – a competition West Ham know well. Footage of Adam Wharton and co out in Florence in the early hours of Friday morning that went viral on social media as they celebrated with supporters would have only given them more encouragement.
