Player Grades: West Ham United come away with a point at the Hawthorns

In what was potentially the most boring match we’ve ever witnessed, we give you our West Ham United post match ratings. Most of these ratings were innocuous as there wasn’t much to judge, for example the defense. When you have one shot on goal, how can you properly judge a clean sheet? Well, we did our best to try!

Starting XI

Joe Hart - Had an easy, non confrontational first half where West Bromwich Albion offered no shots on goal. Joe spent most of his time this match just shuffling side to side in anticipation with nothing ever really coming his way. By the end, we would see one shot on goal. ONE. This grade is more neutral than it is a judgement.

Final Grade: B

Pablo Zabaleta - Tale of two halves really, though not to his fault. Zabs had a wonderful first half if you take away the yellow card he found in the first seven minutes. Once James Collins went down, Zabaleta moved from right wingback to more of a left center back. Credit for versatility.

Final Grade: B

Jose Fonte - Is it me or does Jose Fonte just seem more involved when he plays for Portugal? I’m sure a lot of that is tactical, yet, there it is. Still, a clean sheet is a clean sheet and Fonte had a decent go of it. A bit lacking in pace against the speedy Matt Phillips made for some interesting moments but overall a good effort.

Final Grade: B

Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images

Winston Reid - Two key blocks set the tone for the big New Zealander who looked like his old self against the advances of Matt Phillips. Strong showing from arguably our best defender.

Final Grade: B

James Collins - Played injured for most of the match and toughed out difficult challenges. Ultimately was forced off in the 58th minute for Mark Arnautovic.

Final Grade: B-

Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Aaron Cresswell - Not the best match from the left back who is still fighting for a spot on the starting XI. Sure, it’s been three straight matches with his name on the team sheet but Arthur Masuaku is waiting in the wings, ready to pounce. His crossing was poor, and his free kicks even worse. Many good chances were spurned because of Aaron’s wasted chances.

Final Grade: C-

Cheikhou Kouyate - Kouyate mostly sat in front of the defenders and looked to distribute and snuff out Baggie advances. The man from Senegal did both proficiently, no more.

Final Grade: B-

Pedro Obiang - He tried his luck from 40+ meters away. Foster back peddled feverishly trying not to get caught out, when Obiang’s ball dipped right onto the crossbar. Luckily, West Brom come out unscathed. Other than that, his passing was poor and his defending was just okay. Not the worst on the pitch, but far from the best.

Final Grade: C

Michail Antonio - Michail was absolutely the heartbeat of the squad today and my personal man of the match. Playing two positions, he made himself known in both. Most of our legitimate efforts were created out of his tenacity. He never stopped running until the final minute extra time. The one prayer that keeps me going is having both Antonio and Lanzini on the pitch and healthy.

Final Grade: B+

Chicharito - Glance at the lineup sheet and you’ll see Javier Hernandez slotted as a left winger. In truth, he’s central, trying to get some space to do what Chicharito does. To West Brom’s credit, they snuffed out any advance by Hernandez, leaving him a bit desperate. His only real chance came in the 70th minute. A long ball toward Javier was charged out by keeper Ben Foster, in the process clipping Chicharito, sending him rolling for seemingly miles. A bit of acting and a yellow card later, West Ham failed to capitalize yet again.

Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images

Final Grade: C

Andy Carroll - Jeez it’s nice having this man back in the XI. Carroll’s hold up play is unmatched and moving the ball forward is made easier knowing you can just lob it up to the pony-tailed giant. I can’t fault Andy too much for his lack of offensive efforts as the service to him was sub par. Cresswell was constantly looking for Carroll in the middle, but the attempts were very poor. Subbed off for Sakho in the 81st minute.

Final Grade: B

Substitutes

Andre Ayew - Unfortunately for Slaven Bilic, this time the substitute would not prove to be the difference.

Final Grade: C

Marko Arnautovic - Basically came on and rolled around a lot. Nothing really to impress upon.

Final Grade: C-

Diafra Sakho - Only had a few moments on the pitch, but failed to take advantage. At one point he fielded a long throw from Antonio, only to lose the ball in the box.

Final Grade: C-