West Ham not good enough in Brentford loss, says Espirito Santo

Igor Thiago and Mathias Jensen scored as Brentford secured a 2-0 Premier League victory over West Ham United on Monday, inflicting a club record fourth successive home league loss at the start of the season on their hosts.

Brentford moved up to 13th in the table with 10 points from eight games, while West Ham, booed off by their fans, are 19th with four points.

New West Ham manager Nuno Espirito Santo will have seen the size of the job at hand as his side were second to everything and only the woodwork and wasteful Brentford finishing prevented a rout.

“It’s very nice to get the three points and get away from the relegation zone,” Brentford midfielder Mikkel Damsgaard said.

“We missed a lot of chances, on set-pieces we could have had more (goals), but we are happy with the three points. We are finding a rhythm as a team and connecting a bit more.”

EMPTY WEST HAM SEATS: There were empty seats at kickoff as what seemed like several thousand West Ham fans staged a stay-away in protest against chairman David Sullivan and vice-chair Karren Brady.

“It was 2-0 but probably could have been more to them,” West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen said. “We started well and had some corners and set-piece, but the goals were poor (to concede) on our part.

“We will only get better by watching back the things we have not done well. We are not doing anything well this season.”

Brentford came into the game having lost all three of their away league matches this season but had 22 attempts on goal, the most they have managed away from home in the Premier League.

The goal that had been coming for Brentford arrived on 43 minutes as a long ball was collected by Kevin Schade on the edge of the box and he held off three defenders before feeding Thiago.

The striker’s shot was half-blocked by West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola, but the ball dribbled into the corner of the net.

It was more of the same in the second half as Brentford dominated possession and Schade struck the crossbar with a header on the hour-mark.

West Ham never looked like finding an equaliser, and Brentford made it 2-0 with virtually the last kick of the game when Jensen was picked out in the box in space and drilled the ball into the net from 15 yards.

Espiroto Santo admitted his side, second bottom in the table with four points from eight games, were tentative in a game in which Brentford had a club record 22 shots in an away Premier League fixture.

“The fans are concerned, and we can feel it. And that feeling passes to the players and transforms to anxiety on the pitch,” Espirito Santo said.

“Today was a disappointing evening because it was a disappointing performance. It was not good enough. The first 15 minutes things were clicking and the team were organised and combining well. After that we lost composure.

“Credit to Brentford, a physical team that put us under problems. Throw-ins, corners and the momentum of the game changed.”

There were plenty of empty seats at a quiet London Stadium as fans launched a stay-away in protest at the club owners.

“It was tough. Not just for me. It was tough for our fans, for our players, for everybody,” Espirito Santo said. “It’s a challenge for all of us. It’s up to us to change the momentum and bring our fans back to support us.

“Win our individual duels. In four days’ time (away at Leeds United on Friday) we need a big improvement.”

Espirito Santo promised hard work from the coaching staff to get the side away from the relegation zone.