Brentford beat West Ham 3-0 to leave Hammers’ survival out of their hands
Brentford secured a dominant 3-0 Premier League victory over West Ham to bolster their European ambitions and leave the visitors’ top-flight survival out of their own control.
The damaging defeat means the East London club will drop into the relegation zone if Tottenham Hotspur defeat Aston Villa on Sunday.
The hosts capitalized on early misfortune when Konstantinos Mavropanos inadvertently turned the ball into his own net after 15 minutes following a penalty-box scramble.
Woodwork frustrates unlucky visitors
The Hammers were desperately unlucky throughout a deeply frustrating afternoon where they hit the goal frame on three separate occasions.
Taty Castellanos struck the post twice, while Crysencio Summerville also rattled the crossbar during a relentless push for an equaliser.
The Greek defender thought he had redeemed his earlier own goal by heading home from a deep cross, but a VAR review disallowed the effort for a marginal offside.
Bees ruthlessly punish defensive errors
The home side, who arrived having not won in their previous six fixtures, ruthlessly asserted control after the interval to punish those missed opportunities.
Igor Thiago doubled the advantage from the penalty spot seven minutes into the second half after El Hadji Malick Diouf tripped Dango Ouattara inside the area.
Mikkel Damsgaard then sealed the comprehensive victory with eight minutes remaining by firing a low strike past goalkeeper Mads Hermansen.
The West London outfit have now firmly established themselves as a bogey team for their capital rivals, winning eight of their 10 top-flight encounters since promotion.
Bees goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher also produced a vital stoppage-time save to deny Castellanos, preserving a clean sheet and capping a miserable afternoon for the traveling supporters.