So in the end, West Ham got the job done, ending a week of injuries and undercooked performances with a victory. They won’t remember the finer details of their first league win in Stratford, and it’s probably just as well.
Watford are the next league visitors here, but first, there’s a tricky trip to Manchester City. Bournemouth, pointless after two decent team efforts spoiled by individual errors, go to Crystal Palace.
Today will at least linger in the memory of Michail Antonio, who wrote a little piece of history, and played himself out of defensive duties for the foreseeable future. That’s it from me; thanks for reading. Bye!
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Full time! West Ham 1-0 Bournemouth
It wasn’t a classic, but Michail Antonio’s late header means West Ham are up and running at their new home. Bournemouth had looked good for a point until Harry Arter was sent off with 15 minutes to go.
94 mins: Bournemouth pile forward, and Noble sends Calleri clear! He closes in on Boruc, the crowd expectant... but fires his shot wide of the far post. And that’s that.
92 mins: Nerves jangling in the West Ham area, as a long throw is brought down brilliantly by King. His shot is turned away well by Adrian, and Francis’ follow up is blocked.
91 mins: Michail Antonio is awarded man of the match, for scoring the goal, basically.
90 mins: Four more minutes.
89 mins: Obiang is booked within ten seconds of his introduction. Bournemouth have a chance to heave the ball into the box, and Cook’s flick on has to be turned away smartly by Reid.
88 mins: King wins a corner, but Bournemouth can’t do anything with it. Pedro Obiang is coming on for West Ham, in place of Gokhan Tore, who impressed in bursts today, and set up the goal.
86 mins: Dan Gosling is on for Bournemouth, in place of Fraser.
Antonio began the move with a searching low cross that ran through the area to Tore on the left side. The winger held the ball up well on the left, putting Smith on the back foot before swinging it into the box, where Antonio climbed above Daniels at the far post to nod it in.
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GOAL! West Ham 1-0 Bournemouth (Antonio)
Antonio climbs to put a cherry on a dreadful match, and score West Ham’s first league goal in Stratford.
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83 mins: Bournemouth keeping the ball comfortably. Someone is going to have to pick a man of the match.
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81 mins: Calleri blazes the ball over from a presentable position, just outside the box.
80 mins: Arter may now wish he hadn’t been quite so smart-mouthed with the linesman in the first half. Bilic has thrown Fletcher on, with Nordtveit, who has played well, coming off.
78 mins: Eddie Howe immediately brings on Nathan Aké for Jordon Ibe, who takes an age to leave the pitch. Following Arter’s slow departure, it costs West Ham three or four minutes – and Collins has had enough, remonstrating with Ibe as he leaves the field.
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Red card! Harry Arter sent off for Bournemouth
Reckless stuff from Arter, who grapples with Michail Antonio down the touchline, eventually hauling him down and earning a second yellow card for his trouble.
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76 mins: Daniels picks out King in the area, but he can’t get the ball down – that’s been a recurring theme today, whether through nerves or possibly the pitch.
74 mins: Bilic fetches his binoculars to take a look at his bench. Not a lot of attacking options – young Ashley Fletcher, snaffled from Manchester United over the summer, is the only forward.
72 mins: Calleri opens up the Bournemouth defence with an inventive, lofted diagonal pass. Antonio is onto it, and has men in the box, but can’t bring the ball under control. Grabban comes on, replacing Callum Wilson.
71 mins: West Ham have 20 minutes to find a winner, but they’ve got the full yips now, with Masuaku overcooking another routine through ball. For Bournemouth, Lewis Grabban is coming on.
69 mins: Former West Ham manager Alan Pardew is in the crowd, probably muttering about the new place being “a bit flash”.
68 mins: Kouyate and Francis both get up gingerly after what’s known as ‘a coming together’ these days. The Bournemouth players take on water during the break in play – word is that it’s muggy out there, without much breeze reaching the pitch.
67 mins: Noble, a typically unfussy presence in midfield, gives away a careless foul on Ibe, who’s heading nowhere fast along the touchline. Ibe dusts himself off to take the free kick, which is hopeless, heading straight out of play behind Adrian’s goal.
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65 mins: Masuaku sums up West Ham’s half with a lofted through ball that sails on towards Westfield.
64 mins: Ibe keeps the home defence guessing, bursting infield from the right, looking up and then firing a low effort through a crowd – but it’s straight at Adrian.
63 mins: I’m trying not to say that the next goal will be crucial. But, you know, the next goal will be crucial.
61 mins: Valencia is off, replaced by Jonathan Calleri, making his Premier League debut having featured at the Rio Olympics for Argentina.
58 mins: More like it, as Antonio stands the ball up from Noble’s pass, and Tore, lurking unmarked, lashes a left-footed volley into the side netting.
56 mins: Havard Nordtveit is heavily involved as West Ham try to hold the ball for a spell. His pass out wide is picked up by Byram, but the move breaks down, the hosts looking short of ideas.
54 mins: West Ham haven’t turned up for the second half.
“It would be lovely if former Leyton Orient player Charlie Daniels could bang one in for Bournemouth today” says Ian Burch. Or, for that matter, substitute Benik Afobe, who was born in Leyton.
52 mins: King fires an absolute rocket from 25 yards which Adrian does very well to turn over the bar. The Bournemouth fans, parked behind the goal, thought that was in all the way.
50 mins: The tables have turned dramatically, with West Ham unable to get out of their own half. Are we to conclude that the London Stadium pitch has a huge downhill slope?
49 mins: A big chance for Bournemouth, as King finds a gap in the home defence and slots a pass to Ibe. The winger has time to shoot, or pick a pass, but does neither – his cross cleared away with Wilson waiting.
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Thanks to Thomas Brake, who has pointed me in the direction of this – Northern Ireland’s Chris Baird sent off for two fouls in the same passage of play. Michael O’Neill wasn’t happy, complaining that Baird hadn’t been officially cautioned, but there’s nothing in the rules to back him up.
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47 mins: Adam Smith, who scored last weekend, skips upfield and fires a low shot that’s easy for Adrian. Bournemouth have been noticeable more positive early in the second half, and Fraser wins a cheap free-kick from Tore.
Peep!
We’re back under way. Bournemouth immediately win a corner, and Adrian misses his punch clear, before the ball is hoofed away, high into the air. A nervous start from West Ham.
A couple of thoughts on the stadium – it looks the part, with the crowd close to the touchline thanks to those retractable stands, and the green felt around the pitch has been ironed out since the Europa League.
The gap between the touchline and the dugouts is massive, but large technical areas allow the managers to keep a close eye on their charges. One gripe – the screens at either end are absurdly big. This isn’t the NFL.
“Re: 37 mins. If both of those were bookable offences, shouldn’t have Byram been sent off?” asks Max Imamovic.
I’m not sure they were both clearly bookable offences – the one on Wilson looked worse. Even so, I’m struggling to recall a player being shown two yellow cards, and then a red, in this fashion. Anyone?
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Some more names better than the London Stadium:
“To satisfy the new tenants’ tradition and their recent ownership, how about the Hammers & Thongs Stadium?” honks Justin Kavanagh, while on a similar theme, Alix Sharkeys suggests “the Nude Camp”.
More family-friendly suggestions from Gavin Reddin – “the Bubble Moore Stadium” and Chris Drew plumps for The Gerard Manley Hopkins Bowl, or similar.
Half time: West Ham 0-0 Bournemouth
A half of football that won’t linger in the memory, although the hosts were comfortably the better team. More soon.
46 mins: A magic moment from the otherwise anonymous Ibe, linking up with Wilson and Smith before dancing in along the byline, forcing Reid to concede a corner. Reid unleashes a volley at the assistant, and picks up an entirely unnecessary booking.
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45 mins: Two additional minutes.
44 mins: Noble’s free kick finds Antonio, but his header is an awkward, ill-timed effort and loops harmlessly through the air.
43 mins: Free kick for West Ham as Fraser bundles Byram over. It’s on the right, just over the halfway line, right next to where Slaven Bilic has spent the entire first half barking orders.
41 mins: Bournemouth have offered very little going forward, but they do win a corner, which Fraser takes, and sends arcing over everyone, and out for a goal kick. On the touchline, Eddie Howe looks fed up.
39 mins: Valencia races into the area and fires a speculative shot at the near post which Boruc, looking a little unprepared, has to parry out. West Ham, lacking a creative linchpin, are finding that just running straight at their opponents is working pretty well.
37 mins: Steve Cook is booked for hacking down Valencia at the start of that breakaway, and Sam Byram follows suit, cautioned after two over-zealous challenges in quick succession; first on Fraser, then Wilson.
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36 mins: King, who has struggled to find his place in the Bournemouth attack, can’t connect with an angled pass from Surman. Tore leads the counter attack, running Steven Defour style straight through the middle. He slips a pass to Antonio, whose weak shot barely troubles the side netting.
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34 mins: Kouyaté lashes a shot over the bar as Bournemouth fail to clear their lines. West Ham are comfortably on top, but just trying a little too hard.
33 mins: Another free kick opportunity for Tore, after Arter handles Valencia’s cross from the right, getting a booking into the bargain – possibly for his sarcastic reaction to the assistant. This time, it’s pulled back along the ground towards Collins, who clatters his marker and concedes a free kick. Scrappy stuff, this.
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32 mins: Wilson tests James Collins’ reflexes from a hopeful through ball. The centre back does enough to scramble the ball back to Adrian.
31 mins: Masuaku, brought in after Aaron Cresswell suffered a knee injury, gets forward from left back and fires a clever early cross in – but Valencia is too slow getting onto it.
30 mins: Steve Cook sums up Bournemouth’s attacking efforts so far with a long ball that misses Wilson by thirty yards.
28 mins: Replays show that Tore should have won a penalty, rather than a free kick – Daniels was standing on the 18-yard line when he brought him down.
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27 mins: There’s a break in play while Valencia receives treatment. Slaven Bilic could really do without this – they’re becoming this year’s Bournemouth.
25 mins: West Ham building some attacking momentum, as Kouyate’s shot is blocked, before Noble’s dangerous lofted cross is flicked away in the nick of time by Adam Smith, with Valencia lurking.
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“What would you call the stadium then? And none of this sponsored nonsense!” asks Ruth Purdue.
Given its shape, tenants and recently regenerated location – how about The Bubble?
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22 mins: Tore has been eager to make an impact, and darts in from the right towards the D, before he’s clumsily upended by Daniels. Another chance from the free kick, but he can’t clear the wall. It rolls out to Masuaku, who hits a daisy cutter from 40 yards that will at least count as a shot on goal.
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You could say that.
20 mins: He’s no Dimitri Payet, hitting an apologetic effort that doesn’t make it beyond the first man. Wilson then finds himself in a mismatched tussle with James Collins, and wins a free kick to ease the pressure.
19 mins: Antonio bustles upfield and finds Valencia, whose shot is blocked – but Craig Pawson awards a foul, and Tore will have the chance to bend in a free kick from the right...
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18 mins: Home fans settling in nicely, offering a first ironic cheer as King miskicks wildly from 18 yards out.
17 mins: Sam Byram, making his first Premier League start since February, finds Tore with a lovely slide-rule pass down the right wing. The winger jinks down the touchline, but he’s short of support.
15 mins: Ibe, deployed down the right, steals a march on Masuaku and curls a shot on goal, but it’s straight at Adrian. The crowd are making an impressive noise so far, when they’re not squinting in the sun.
14 mins: Wilson, King and Ibe will test the nerves of West Ham’s defence today, and Wilson, played onside down the left, almost picks out Ibe with his low cross. A half-chance each, then, after 15 minutes.
12 mins: Wilson, isolated up front, almost gets a break on the edge of the box, but can’t get the ball under control. West Ham wrestle it back, and Surman is penalised for bringing down Kouyaté.
10 mins: As I type that, Tore finds Noble with a cute flick into the box – but the captain’s hasty pull back is cleared.
8 mins: Noble battles for the ball in midfield, where the hosts are struggling to get a foothold. Payet, Feghouli, Ayew, Carroll, Lanzini – they have plenty of attacking talent, but not much out on the pitch.
“Typical” tuts Chris Drew. “Just like buses, you wait four years for action from an Olympic stadium, and two lots turn up at once.”
6 mins: Tore, who flourished under Bilic at Besiktas, sees his angled shot blocked by Daniels, but gets another go, and curls his second effort just wide.
5 mins: Antonio and Francis race after a through ball, with Francis passing back to Boruc neatly despite a shove from Antonio.
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3 mins: As against Manchester United, Bournemouth have started positively, pressing all over the pitch. The away fans are also making themselves heard.
2 mins: Ryan Fraser, in his natural wide role on the left, links up with Ibe, but Fraser’s cross is blocked.
Peep!
Craig Pawson gets us started.
Five minutes until kick-off. Bournemouth are lined up in the tunnel, decked out in luminous green. West Ham are in claret and blue. There’s plenty of noise waiting for them as they head onto the pitch, compromised somewhat by some tinny, unnecessary music from the PA.
Slaven Bilic has offered some reassuring words on Dimitri Payet: “He felt something after the Chelsea game… it’s nothing big, and he’s back in training. I would love him to play today, but it’s impossible.”
A warning over standing during the game greeted by loud boos from the West Ham fans.
— Jacob Steinberg (@JacobSteinberg) August 21, 2016
The fans are making a decent noise, drowning out the PA with a lusty rendition of “I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles”. The club have sold more than 50,000 season tickets for a ground with a current capacity of 57,000, so empty seats were never likely to be an issue.
“Are we sure Cristhian Stuani’s parents didn’t just have a lisp when they were naming him?” asks James A. “Ah! My coat. I’ll see myself out.”
There’s a school of thought that new grounds take a little getting used to, but in reality, it’s more of a mixed bag. Despite the rash of modern stadia in the English game in the last 20 years, just six teams have started a Premier League season in a brand new ground.
From that small sample size, the results vary wildly, but in their first ten home games, Middlesbrough, Derby, Bolton, Southampton, Manchester City and Arsenal averaged 1.75 points per game – an entirely respectable figure. Only Saints and City, with 13 and eight points respectively, really struggled to settle.
Longer term, the picture isn’t much clearer. For every City of Manchester Stadium, there’s a Ricoh Arena, and the King Power Stadium, perhaps the noisiest new ground in the land, began life as the unloved Walkers Bowl. For any relocating team, the priority is to stay above the very low bar set by Darlington and their 25,000 seater arena, now hosting a third-tier rugby club.
Your thoughts on the London Stadium:
@niallmcveigh "The London Stadium" is just wrong.It's not London's - not any more - even if there's a few non-West Ham events scheduled.
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) August 21, 2016
And some er, interesting, ideas for an alternative name. Printable suggestions welcome!
@niallmcveigh The King Porn Stadium? The Canalside Stadium? The Ann Summers Stadium? Stadium Olympico Piemashio??? We're spoilt for choice!!
— Jack Torcello (@JackTorcello1) August 21, 2016
Premier League pricing has arrived in Stratford...
Cheap as chips? Hmm... pic.twitter.com/cQuB0OGrhl
— Philippe Auclair (@PhilippeAuclair) August 21, 2016
Today’s lunchtime game finished Sunderland 1-2 Middlesbrough, Cristhian Stuani (yes, that is how you spell it), scoring both Boro goals. That means the loser of this match will be stuck in the bottom three with Sunderland and Palace.
‘The London Stadium’ though? Really?
Two changes for West Ham from the team that lost to Chelsea on Monday, with just five of the team that started in Romania on Thursday keeping their place. Andre Ayew and Andy Carroll are both set to miss several weeks with injury, and Dimitri Payet doesn’t make the squad after failing to shake off an injury.
To the relief of many home fans, Michail Antonio is moved up the pitch, with Sam Byram coming in at right back. Turkish winger Gokhan Tore makes his first league start, while Reece Oxford, nine years old when work on the stadium began, is on the bench.
For Bournemouth, just one change from the team that lost to Manchester United last Sunday, with Ryan Fraser replacing Lewis Cook, who misses out altogether. Callum Wilson, who scored a hat trick at Upton Park last season, starts up front.
Team news
West Ham: Adrian; Byram, Reid, Collins, Masuaku; Kouyate, Nordtveit, Noble; Tore, Valencia, Antonio.
Subs: Randolph, Obiang, Ogbonna, Fletcher, Calleri, Burke, Oxford.
Bournemouth: Boruc; Adam Smith, Francis, Steve Cook, Daniels; Fraser, Surman, Arter; Ibe, Callum Wilson, King.
Subs: Gosling, Ake, Afobe, Gradel, Brad Smith, Federici, Grabban.
Referee: Craig Pawson
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Preamble
Hello. Eight years after construction began, five years after West Ham were handed the keys (then had them taken back), three-and-a-half years after the controversial move was rubber-stamped, and three Mayors of London, two Olympic Games and one interminable Farewell to Boleyn later, it’s finally time.
Bournemouth, fresh from hosting José Mourinho’s welcome do last weekend, are appropriate guests for the London Stadium’s long-awaited opening gala; Eddie Howe’s team were fighting for their Football League lives while West Ham and Spurs were angrily comparing tenders across the boardroom table.
While Bournemouth merrily climbed the league ladder, West Ham won the right to call the stadium home (and whatever else they fancied, with a share of naming rights), and were immediately presented with a vivid worst-case scenario of second-tier hoofball, endured by a handful of fans stationed a short Tube ride away.
As it turns out, the club arrive here in an excellent position, and the very early signs, both on and around the pitch, have been encouraging. The easy part’s done – now they have to win matches here. Kick-off is at 4pm BST; team news and build-up to follow.
Here’s Jacob Steinberg’s preview:
Losing at Chelsea on Monday before playing in Romania on Thursday night was not the ideal way for West Ham United to prepare for their Premier League debut in their new ground. It has been a slow start to the season for the Hammers and Slaven Bilic will hope to have Dimitri Payet available from the start. Bournemouth, beaten by Manchester United last weekend, won this fixture last year thanks to Callum Wilson’s hat-trick. Jacob Steinberg
Kick-off Sunday 4pm
Venue Olympic Stadium
Last season West Ham United 3 Bournemouth 4 Live Sky Sports 1
Referee Craig Pawson
This season G1, Y4, R0, 4.00 cards per game
Odds H 5-6 A 3-1 D 11-4
West Ham United
Subs from Randolph, Spiegel, Oxford, Burke, Ogbonna, Nordtveit, Kouyaté, Valencia, Calleri, Fletcher, Samuelsen, Browne, Quina
Doubtful Kouyaté (hamstring), Nordtveit (knock), Payet (knock)
Injured Ayew (thigh, Dec), Cresswell (knee, Dec), Feghouli (hamstring, 10 Sep), Henry (knee, unknown), Lanzini (knee, 28 Aug), Sakho (match fitness, unknown)
Suspended None
Form L
Discipline Y2 R0
Leading scorer Collins 1
Bournemouth
Subs from Allsop, Federici, Gosling, Aké, Afobe, Gradel, Hyndman, Fraser, Grabban, Wiggins, B Smith, Mousset, O’Kane, M Wilson, King
Doubtful Hyndman (ankle)
Injured Stanislas (hernia, 27 Aug), Mings (knee, Sep), Cargill (groin, unknown)
Suspended None
Form L
Discipline Y0 R0
Leading scorer A Smith 1
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