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There would be no winner during the final Premier League clash of matchday 32; West Ham United and Crystal Palace playing out a tense 0-0 draw at Selhurst Park.
Former Upton Park frontman Dean Ashton, though, could not shake the feeling that a South London stalemate would have been greeted pretty warmly in the northern quarter of the capital.
Roberto de Zerbi remains confident Tottenham’s survival prospects, despite the nature of Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Brighton. One suspects the Italian would have bitten your arm off at the elbow if you had told him West Ham United would end the week only two points further ahead, rather than four.
Two points dropped or one point gained? 🤔
Credit: Getty Images/Julian Finney
The so-called supercomputers at Opta have crunched the latest numbers, concluding that Tottenham have a 57 per cent chance of relegation as things stand.
The scales would have tipped far further in the Hammers’ favour, however, had Konstantinos Mavropanos or Taty Castellanos found a way past Dean Henderson on a night of few chances.
West Ham United fail to move four points clear of Tottenham
“On reflection, it does feel like a slight opportunity missed,” Ashton told Sky Sports. “It could have been so huge in terms of a dent to Tottenham.
Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
“It feels like a tiny opportunity missed. West Ham had enough opportunities to get that goal, but Crystal Palace away as a fixture is not easy. So, a point has to be a positive.
“There was no lack of fight. That’s important to mention.”
Chelsea loanee Axel Disasi recorded a fifth clean sheet in nine Premier League outings for his temporary employers. Mavropanos excelled again, while Mads Hermansen barely had a save to make.
Ashton’s frustration, though, lies with the fact that West Ham really should have gone in ahead at half-time. Castellanos saw an audacious, trademark volley cleared almost off the line by Maxence Lacroix. Mavropanos saw a thumping header denied brilliantly by Henderson moments later.
“Castellanos is unfortunate that it hits the defender. Otherwise, we are talking about a very, very well-executed overhead kick,” adds Ashton, who scored 19 goals for the Hammers before retiring aged 26 due to injury.
“You’ve got to give all the credit to Henderson. In his goalscoring form, I think Mavropanos would have fancied that.”
Jarrod Bowen reflects on hard-fought Selhurst Park stalemate
Pick your Man of the Match after Palace 0-0 West Ham!
Photo by Henry Nicholls / AFP via Getty Images
“Probably a bit of both,” captain Jarrod Bowen said at full-time, admitting that the frustration was balanced out by the pride of another clean sheet. “[Palace] are a really good side, really good at home.
“We knew we would have to defend really well and we had some chances that, another day, could have gone in. A point, at the end of the day, I don’t think is the worst thing in the world.
“Quality is not going to get you out all the way. It’s team spirit, togetherness, and we [showed] that tonight. A clean sheet again. We had one against Wolves, another one tonight.
“We wanted to win but it wasn’t to be. We’ve got a big game Saturday [against Everton] that we want to win, as well.”
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