FT: West Brom 0-0 West Ham - Pulis’ poor tactics leads to Hammers snooze draw

The first half wasn’t that good, and the second half wasn’t that much better, as West Ham settled for a scoreless draw Saturday afternoon with West Brom at the Hawthorns.

It was the unfortunate typical Tony Pulis counter attacking, defensive shape performance from the hosts side, as the Hammers were the side looking more willing throughout the march to go forward. But without Manuel Lanzini or Mark Noble to pick a pass, it was a performance devoid of chances from both clubs.

The match’s top moment came in the first half, when Pedro Obiang released a great, ambitious shot from near the midfield line that caught Ben Foster flat footed and hit the top of the crossbar in the first half.

West Brom’s best chance came when Matt Philipps got easily past Jose Fonte, only to serve a fine delivery in the box that James Morrison couldn’t put on goal despite being left all alone. The draw serves as the Hammers first points on the road this season following three defeats to start the 2017-18 campaign. The boos from the West Brom home at full time showed their disgust with Pulis tactics and his team’s displays.

West Ham will return to the London Stadium on Tuesday, when they play Bolton in the third round of the EFL Cup, before hosting Tottenham next Saturday in another London derby battle between them.