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By JAMES SHARPE Published: 08: 59 AEDT, 31 December 2025 | Updated: 09: 52 AEDT, 31 December 2025 2 View comments Trust West Ham’s defence to squander the day. Twice Nuno Espirito Santo’s side led and twice they coughed it up. You can’t afford to do this in a relegation battle. The Hammers, who twice gave away penalties and scored one of their own, spurned a huge chance to close the gap on Nottingham Forest to two points with Sean Dyche’s side the next to visit the London Stadium. IS JARROD HAMMERS ONLY HOPE? One of the last remaining bastions of survival hopes to which West Ham can still cling is that they still have genuine match winners in their midst. None more so than Jarrod Bowen. West Ham had barely touched the ball when Brighton failed to clear Alphonse Areola’s long ball and suddenly Lucas Paqueta had played in Bowen, just like he did in the Conference League final, and the hosts were in front. As always, so much of West Ham’s threat came through Bowen as he linked up well with Callum Wilson. How many more times will the Hammers’ captain have to go to the well to save his side? ‘We need fight, ’ said Bowen. ‘We need a bit of emotion with the situation we are in. It is the first time that I've properly seen it. ’ Jarrod Bowen opened the scoring for West Ham, continuing his fine form against Brighton Danny Welbeck scored his first penalty before then chipping his second on to the crossbar CAN ANYONE FIX THIS DEFENCE? Few sides in the Premier League have such an insatiable appetite for self-destruction as West Ham. In the space of three first-half minutes, they gave away two penalties – first as Max Kilman dived in and brought down Yankuba Minteh, the second when Paqueta rugby tackled Lewis Dunk, a man twice his size, inside his own box. Welbeck buried the first but dinked his second against the crossbar. And they still can’t defend corners. On the hour, Areola flapped a corner straight to an unmarked Joel Veltman two yards out for a tap in.   No wonder Nuno Espirito Santo is so keen to bolster his defence in January. HURZELER WINS BENCH BATTLE Nuno needs additions everywhere. With his side a goal down, Fabian Hurzeler brought on Kaora Mitoma and Brajan Gruda. Two minutes later they were level. With the game in the balance in the final stages, Nuno brought on an 18-year-old Ezra Mayers and a 20-year-old Mohamadou Kante. Wilson, 33, is his only striker now Nicolas Fullkrug is off to AC Milan. The fans booed when Wilson was taken off after the hour and again when Paqueta hobbled off late on. Hurzler could turn to quality. Nuno had to turn to kids. ‘That’s the reality I saw in the game, ’ added Nuno. ‘Fresh legs and quality players, so difficult to contain and dominate. ’ BOTH SIDES OF PAQUETA Paqueta must be so infuriating for West Ham fans. At his best, he can bend games to his will but, at his worst, is a complete liability. The Brazilian flickered between the two here. Splitting passes and rugby tackles but also the composure to roll a penalty of his own into the corner after VAR, after a long, long check, adjudged Dunk of handling Callum Wilson’s shot. Lucas Paqueta again was a frustrating watch for fans - from a match winner to a liability WEST HAM (4-2-3-1): Areola 6. 5; Walker-Peters 6 (Mayers, 82), Todibo 6 (Mavropanos 45, 6. 5), Kilman 5, Scarles 7; Magassa 6. 5 (Soucek 82), Potts 6; BOWEN 8, Fernandes 6. 5, Paqueta 7 (Kante, 82); Wilson 6. 5 (Summerville 63, 6) Scorers: Bowen 10, Paqueta pen 45 Booked: Bowen, Fernandes Manager: Nuno Espirito Santo 6. 5 BRIGHTON (4-2-3-1): Verbruggen 6. 5; Veltman 7. 5, van Hecke 6, Dunk 6. 5, Kadioglu 6. 5; Ayari 7, Milner 5 (Hinshelwood 72, 6); Minteh 7 (Gruda 58, 6. 5), Gomez 6. 5 (Rutter 72, 6. 5), De Cuyper 6 (Mitoma 58, 7), Welbeck 6 (Kostoulas 83) Scorers: Welbeck pen 32, Veltman 61 Booked: Welbeck, Milner, Dunk, Kostoulas, van Hecke Manager: Fabian Hurzeler 6. 5 Referee: Michael Salisbury 7. 5 Attendance: 62, 438  Not that Hurzeler felt it should have been, though. ‘No one can say it is a clear handball, ’ says Hurzeler. ‘The VAR footage is not clear enough so it is just a guess. We are the best league in the world and to make a decision just because of a guess, I think that’s not possible. ’

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