Fulham 0 West Ham 2: Snodgrass, Antonio punish profligate hosts

West Ham executed a devastating counter-attacking display at Craven Cottage to beat basement side Fulham 2-0 on Saturday.

The Hammers’ fourth consecutive Premier League win was all but secured before half-time, with Robert Snodgrass and Michail Antonio on target as Fulham’s flaws were laid bare in the London rain.

The struggling hosts wasted several clear-cut early openings while West Ham ruthlessly punished the gaping holes in a defence still waiting on its first clean sheet of the campaign.

There was no way back for Fulham and they remain bottom of the table ahead of a potentially pivotal run of fixtures in which they face Newcastle United, Wolves and Huddersfield Town.

A painful opening half an hour for Claudio Ranieri saw Fulham repeatedly squander chances at one end before conceding twice on the break at the other.

First, Aboubakar Kamara shot too close to Lukasz Fabianski, before Snodgrass dispatched a fine effort high past Sergio Rico.

Further opportunities for Aleksandr Mitrovic and Kamara drew only routine stops from Fabianski and West Ham, by contrast, were clinical, Antonio controlling Javier Hernandez’s cute flick and nutmegging the goalkeeper.

Antonio’s goal seemed to dishearten Fulham, whose threat waned, and a second half of little incident saw the visitors cruise to victory to move up to ninth.

West Ham take this one, with goals coming from Snodgrass and Antonio. #FULWHU pic.twitter.com/X1aYKQHAq3

— Fulham Football Club (@FulhamFC) December 15, 2018

What does it mean? Few signs of Fulham progress

Ranieri’s first big task at Craven Cottage was to fix the division’s leakiest defence, his second was to get Fulham scoring again. The hosts were dismal in both penalty areas on Saturday and, with key fixtures fast approaching, swift improvement is still required.

Meanwhile, West Ham’s early season concerns appear to be no more. This was another assured away performance.

Samba star superb again

Any doubts about Felipe Anderson’s suitability to the Premier League have surely long since evaporated. Here, in miserable conditions, he ran the show for the counter-attacking visitors. The Brazilian teed up Snodgrass’ opener and then delivered a cross that drew two defenders towards Hernandez for the second.

It’s very cold here at Craven Cottage and it’s pouring with rain, but we’ve seen few nice touches early on from Felipe Anderson.

Masuaku wins a corner, but it’s cleared by Fulham. #FULWHU 0-0 (7)

— West Ham United (@WestHamUtd) December 15, 2018

Kamara costs Cottagers

Kamara has never been the most reliable in front of goal, but he should have come into this game full of confidence after netting in consecutive matches. Instead, some woeful early finishing handed West Ham the initiative, with his first effort – saved well by Fabianski – setting the tone for a miserable evening.

What’s next?

Fulham face a huge trip in more ways than one next week when they visit Newcastle. West Ham have a mid-table tussle with Watford to look forward to.