Key events
Brendan Aaronson spoke to Sky: “To stick it out and get the result is huge for us. I have been working hard at it and last week I got unlucky with one, but that is how football is. I am proud of myself. It shows how strong of a group we are. We were unlucky with the result [against Burnley], but we bounced back. We have got to keep going from here.”
So did fellow scorer Joe Rodon: “I think every team is difficult in this league. I’m a bit frustrated to concede at the end, but overall delighted with the three points. It was important to keep that momentum and make it difficult for teams to come here.”
Stat via the BBC: “West Ham’s four points from nine games is their joint-worst return ever at this stage of a league campaign, also picking up just four in the second tier in 1932-33 and in 1973-74 in the top-flight (both using three points for a win).”
They stayed up in 1973-74, the last season Bobby Moore played for the club. Frank Lampard Snr played all 42 matches.
Will Unwin’s report has already landed.
The table makes yet grimmer reading for West Ham. Comfort for Leeds. The team below them, Brentford and Nottingham Forest, face Liverpool and Bournemouth respectively.
Full-time: Leeds 2-1 West Ham
Well done to Leeds who got the job done; they will be delighted. The damage was done in a ruinous start for West Ham, who were improved once Nuno brought on a midfield with creativity. This is their joint-worst start to a season. That was a six-pointer, and one they got nothing from. Big smiles from Daniel Farke. Nuno stays, as ever, impassive, though there is a tinge of melancholy.
90+4 min: Huge cheers as Ampadu wins a free-kick. Leeds think they can see this one out. Perri – on a yellow – takes his time. “We are Leeds” rings out as the job is completed.
90+3 min: James Justin smashes into Walker-Peters and is booked. VAR looks to see if was a red card offence. It isn’t.
90+2 min: Todibo booked for dissent as he throw the ball down in rage at an Attwell decision. Silly boy; it’s his team’s time he’s wasting.
90+1 min: There’s going to be four minutes to see out for Leeds. Suddenly, West Ham are full of vigour. A draw from here would be a disaster for Leeds but there’s cheers and respite when Todibo’s weak attempt lands in Perri’s hands.
Goal! Leeds 2-1 West Ham (Fernandes, 90)
Bowen’s chip and Fernandes’ flicked header and the Hammers are back in it. That was very well taken.
89 min: West Ham have given far more effort in the second half but been blunted when it came to final passes and balls. Wilson has run hard but looks rusty.
87 min: The Leeds fans, having had the attendance over 36,000 read out, then mock the London Stadium.
86 min: Off go Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Brendan Aaronson, on come Dan James and Lukas Nmecha.
83 min: Perri is booked for delaying another West Ham corner. Fernandes takes this one, and that’s cleared. Harrison robs Paqueta but it falls to Potts. All Hammers at the moment but Leeds are winning the battle for the skies. Rodon heads away.
82 min: Nice West Ham move, Diouf bursting on to a Paqueta layoff, but the ball is deflected behind. Another Hammers corner. Attwell and Paqueta are rowing over the ball being in the ‘d’.
80 min: Feels like West Ham have lots of full-backs and not enough forwards. They have had plenty of the ball. Freddie Potts has been influential; the latest midfield prospect, it seems.
78 min: Hammers corner, headed out, and Diouf blams his shot somewhere in the direction of Batley. Boos as Summerville goes off from away fans, Paqueta is kept on, looks like a change of heart from Nuno. Also off is Wan-Bissaka, as Magassa and Kyle Walker-Peters comes on.
76 min: Gruev is booked for a tactical foul on Paqueta, stopping the danger man escaping. West Ham about to make more changes. Paqueta is due to be one of them. That will go down well.
75 min: Lee Woodard gets in touch: “I’m concerned that every manager who joins West Ham suddenly goes blind. Every fan can see Potts and Fernandez must start. Soucek and Irving can’t run. Or pass. Sully [David Sullivan] obviously not funding private eye tests.”
There’s a gag about Mr Sullivan’s products making people go blind to be cracked but…well, yeah.
73 min: Fernandes out to Paqueta, bit more swing to West Ham. Potts is making a difference, too. Leeds are retreating into their shell while trying not to get too far back. Delicate balance to be struck.
71 min: West Ham win a free-kick, Paqueta fouled, and Fernandes will take it. That was dreadful, the ball looped up and over, and out. Perri watching it run out.
69 min: Leeds have lost a bit of control. Tanaka’s influence has faded and Ilia Gruev is coming on, the Bulgarian.
67 min: Justin Kavanagh: “Friar Nuno and his brotherhood seem to be reduced to Hail Marys at this stage. At this rate, West Ham haven’t got a prayer and will need a miracle to stay up.”
Also JK: “Just when Leeds fans were entering a period when they might be able to enjoy the last 20 minutes with an all-too-rare 2-0 lead, and you have to go and mention Paris 1975.”
Well, they started it by singing about it.
66 min: Charles Antaki gets in touch: “Perhaps it’s a good job that Nuno’s facial expressions range only from placid to imperturbable, with perhaps a shy smile thrown in if things are going exceptionally well. Not that that particular expression will trouble him much tonight, or for the foreseeable future.”
Paqueta is channelling his rage into actual football now, and has a shot blocked. When Wilson is tackled, he wins the first West Ham corner of the night. It is duly wasted.
65 min: Here comes Fernandes and Potts, off go Soucek and Andy Irving, the Scottish wizard.
63 min: Matheus Fernandes and Freddie Potts are imminent for West Ham. Is there a more East End name than Freddie Potts? Born in Barking, too, though dad Steve, Hammers legend was born in Hartford, Connecticut, the insurance capital of the USA.
61 min: Leeds showing more danger on the counter, Harrison’s shot will not beat Areola this time, though.
61 min: Paqueta is still giving it out to Attwell, he’s also arguing with Soucek. It is not a happy ship that Nuno is being asked to sail.
59 min: Solo run by Aaronson, slaloming through. Is it going to end in a goal? No, it comes off Kilman and back off the bar. It deserved a goal. He’s been brilliant tonight, the boy from New Jersey.
58 min: Watching back that Paqueta moment. He was very lucky to stay on the pitch. Just as the Hammers look to be getting a foothold. Perri steps in to claim the ball aimed by Irving to Bowen.
56 min: Leeds fans singing “champions of Europe”. Paris 1975 is now over 50 years gone.
54 min: Dodgy moment for Perri, the Leeds keeper as Summerville’s cross comes off at funny angle. Then Paqueta gets involved with the ref, having been booked for dissent. He is veering into orange territory.
52 min: The lively Aaronson runs the channels, can’t get past Kilman but does manage to win a corner. That first half, according to the excellent Seb Hutchinson on Sky, was only the third longest half since records began – in 2006-07.
50 min: Jean-Clair Todibo is wearing a Robbie Fowler-style nose strip. Perhaps he could spread some Vicks on his chest for extra 90s style. Perhaps he suffers from snoring problems.
49 min: Richard Hirst gets in touch: “Who do you think was most wan at half time: Bissaka or his manager?” Nuno looked deep in thought as he came back out, like he was wondering why he does this for a living when it hurts so bad.
48 min: Soucek looks to escape, only for his tug on Bijol’s shirt to be penalised.
47 min: West Ham resume with the 4-4-2 they ended the first half with. Nuno is a true football man, Paqueta is playing off Callum Wilson and seeks his strike partner.
46 min: We resume with a half-time change, Jack Harrison is on for Noah Okafor. That looks like an injury as Okafor was playing well down the left.
Half-time: Leeds 2-0 West Ham
Grim viewing for West Ham, dreadful as the game began but better as the half went. Leeds still full of danger but may yet rue not scoring another. They will get further chances, though; this Hammers team guarantees that.
45+13 min: The half close down with Wan-Bissaaka, far more comfortable on the right, throwing in a couple of challenges. He’s a fine defender, maybe use him where he’s best.
45+12 min: Soucek, at last, gets forward, and Bowen finds him but this time the header is wide, he just couldn’t get over it. Better from West Ham, they can still rescue something with the attacking talent they have. The defence may be a different matter.
45+10 min: Only three more minutes of surely the longest first half of the Premier League season. Nearly an hour of a horror show for West Ham, more miserable than an Eastenders double header.
Bogle, on the burst, forces a save on the near post from Areola, who has earned his corner. But also earns a corner. This one is aimed at Rodon but cleared.
45+8 min: More panic from the Hammers as Calvert-Lewin hounds Kilman into a backpass to Areola, and the hurried kick almost comes straight back at him.
45+7 min: Peter Oh is in: “I don’t know if this quite nails it, but West Ham’s ongoing woes remind of the saying ‘When all you have is a Hammer, everything looks like a smashed thumb’.”
45+5 min: Jeers as Paqueta wafts over the bar. Soucek, who usually joins the attack, is sat far too deep. He’s not the most adept defensive midfielder. Paqueta takes out his frustration by smashing into Tanaka.
45+3 min: West Ham fans boo as Kilman dithers; on their next attack, it’s Okafor on the escape, and he zings a shot wide, the former Napoli and Milan man.
45+2 min: Leeds go close again, Aaronson’s ball in Calvert-Lewin’s vicinity. But not close enough.
45 min: Bad news for those filing match reports: 13 (thirteen) added minutes for the first half. Unlucky for some.
42 min: Kari Tulinius gets in touch: “Maybe Graham Potter wasn’t the problem. After his exploits at Forest, Nuno’s star shines bright in the football firmament, but if he can find a coherent team in his squad before Christmas, it’ll be miraculous.”
James Justin will replace Gudmudnsson, the former Leicester player is a capable outlet. A one-cap wonder, though injuries prevented more.
40 min: Summerville crashes in and Longstaff is felled. That’s a booking that receives loud cheers from the home fans. Gudmundsson meanwhile is limping. He goes down, and asks for the physio. There’s going to be plenty of time added on.
39 min: An Ethan Ampadu gallop ends up with him seeing glory and shooting. He misses but that begs the question: how is he still 25? Feels like he has been around forever.
37 min: Long ball pumped forward, Rodon can’t clear the danger, and Jarrod Bowen, coming into the game at last, fires wide of the goal.
West Ham goal disallowed
36 min: Paqueta smashes in after Bogle’s clearance comes off Wilson. A neat finish, smashed home. The home crowd silenced, then jeers as the flag goes up. The lines come out in Stockley Park…will it stand? It’s tight as the proverbial. Semi-automated offside still jiggered – in AWS we trust – so it’s back to the diagrams. It takes well over two minutes to deny the Hammers. But good process from the linesman.
33 min: Summerville, the former Leeds player, is being booed on every touch by the locals.
31 min: Leeds first to every ball, the accelerator still being pressed as they try to kill off the game and open a gap on the Hammers. It takes Kilman to stop Aaronson stealing in on Okafor’s cross.
30 min: Sweeping Leeds move, backed by loud noise, it’s started by Longstaff and finished by Tanaka smashing over. The tails are up.
29 min: Leeds have been good, let’s credit them. Farke has planned this well. Set piece delivery is important these days, always was, despite Sean Dyche’s skinny jeans schtick.
