Joe Short, of inews, has taken aim at West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice following his display in a 1-0 loss against Nottingham Forest.
It wasn’t to be for David Moyes’ side against newly-promoted Forest, who took the lead just before half-time thanks to a debut goal from Taiwo Awoniyi. The opener came not long after West Ham had their goal ruled out for a foul by Michail Antonio.
Come the second half, the visitors’ luck didn’t improve, as Declan Rice’s missed penalty helped Forest to a 1-0 win. Short took aim at the midfielder in his player ratings, saying: “Declan Rice – Two fouls in the opening nine minutes earned him an early yellow. Never really commanded the centre of the field as we’re used to seeing. His penalty miss summed up his afternoon. 5/10.”
Moyes will hope to see a response from his side next time out in the Premier League when they square off against Brighton & Hove Albion.
TIF Thoughts on Declan Rice…
Missing a penalty in such an important moment of the game will leave Rice incredibly frustrated, as will the game as a whole. West Ham hit the bar not once, but twice, and continuously tasted Dean Henderson in the Forest goal.
If Rice is not at his best, as was the case today, too, then West Ham look below par the majority of the time. The England midfielder, with a passing accuracy of 91% last season, according to WhoScored, keeps things ticking over in the Hammers’ midfield.
If Rice can remain consistent, and avoid displays like the one against Forest, then they stand more than a chance of securing their first three points of the season against Brighton next time out.