Bowen hat-trick hands West Ham first win of 2024, eases pressure on Moyes

West Ham United attacker Jarrod Bowen bagged a hat-trick to help his side secure a 4-2 victory over Brentford at the London Stadium this evening.

It was West Ham’s first win over the Bees in the Premier League and their first victory of the year.

The England international bagged his first career hat-trick after 15 braces to help the Hammers halt their dreadful run of eight games without a win.

Bowen opened the scoring in the fourth minute as he collected an Emerson Palmieri cut-back before arrowing a shot beyond Mark Flekken to set West Ham on their way.

He doubled the lead three minutes later as the Hammers worked the ball down the right flank, and Vladimir Coufal crossed for him to finish.

Brentford were deflated from going two down so early but rallied their troops and fought back into the game, pulling one back through pantomime villain Neal Maupay.

However, Bowen restored the two-goal cushion as Mohammed Kudus danced into the Brentford box before lifting a cross that the former Hull City forward headed home with aplomb.

Palmieri thudded in a fourth before Brentford struck again through Yoanne Wissa to make it 4-2. 

The Hammers saw out the win, which will come as a respite for manager David Moyes after a torrid period.

Moyes has come under fire following their poor string of results that has left them clawing their way up from eighth position, outside the European places. 

He was reportedly close to signing a new deal earlier in the season, but those talks died down when the winless streak started, leaving a cloud of uncertainty over the manager’s head.

The win today will bring some relief for the former Everton and Manchester United manager, who could still leave the role at the end of the season.

The Hammers were already drawing up a shortlist of replacements for Moyes if he failed to snap the winless run, but Bowen’s hat-trick has bought him more time to turn things around.