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The mistake that Mads Hermansen made during West Ham United’s defeat to Aston Villa has been expertly dissected by pundit Joe Hart.
On Sunday, an underwhelming West Ham United lost 2-0 away at Aston Villa and duly entered the final international break of the season in the relegation zone.
While the loss might not prove too costly because relegation rivals Tottenham also tasted defeat, there is little doubt that West Ham were disappointing at Villa Park.
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Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images
With his side already 1-0 down following a John McGinn goal, Hermansen spilled a shot from range that allowed Ollie Watkins to pounce, putting the game beyond Nuno Espirito Santo’s side.
Though the Irons were poor even before that mistake, it denied Nuno’s team the chance to apply any real pressure in the closing moments of the game, proving a late hammer blow to their chances.
Former West Ham goalkeeper Hart believes indecision cost Hermansen.
Hart says indecision cost Hermansen against Villa
Speaking on Match of the Day 2, Hart said: “They’ve swapped Hermansen and Areola this season, they’re not as confident as you’d like them to be.
“People at home will rightly be asking questions. How has a Premier League goalkeeper done this?
“Now, look, it’s excellent from Ollie Watkins and I’ll get on to that point. But, I think it’s important to just see it from a goalkeeper’s perspective.
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Credit: Getty Images/James Gill – Danehouse
“Now, Hermansen here is perfectly set. Great balance. Morgan Rogers is a really good player and he’s expecting something dangerous from here.
“He’s set to spring across his goal. As we roll it [the footage] on, turns out it’s not actually a great finish.
“Just as it takes that bounce, I think Hermansen’s instinct is ‘catch’. Then, with the moment and the predicament that West Ham are in, he maybe thinks ‘parry it and get it out the danger area’.
Photo by Kevin Hodgson/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
“All this is going through a goalkeeper’s mind in a split second and then at the last second he goes ‘No, I’ve got to catch it, I’m a good goalkeeper, I’ve got to catch it’.
“He ends up doing nothing. We see it in his hands there. Left arm, elbow bent, his weight isn’t forward and he ends up kind of flopping.”
Hermansen has been one of West Ham’s better players in recent weeks, having won his place in the side back from Areola.
Still, this was a reminder that he is clearly not perfect.
Perhaps no one is but Hermansen did not convince at all at the start of the season and this mistake was an unwelcome reminder of that.
The Dane is not alone in struggling at Villa Park but every goal matters in the relegation battle and a goalkeeper simply cannot afford to make any kind of mistake.
It would be foolish to write Hermansen off completely and his role in West Ham’s recent revival should not be forgotten.
However, that performance at Villa was a reality check for everyone connected with the club. They simply have to improve when the Premier League returns next month after the international break.
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