- Payet shines again with goal, assist
- Norwich blows 2-0 lead
- Hammers move into fifth place
West Ham United overcame another sleepy first half, with goals from Dimitri Payet and Mark Noble leading the Irons back for a 2-2 draw versus Norwich City at Carrow Road on Saturday.
Robbie Brady and Wes Hoolahan scored to stake Norwich to a lead that looked set to boost them out of the drop zone, but the draw keeps them behind Newcastle on goal differential.
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It was Brady who punished West Ham’s lackluster first 45 with a 20-yard laser in the 55th minute.
And after Slaven Bilic made a pair of attacking substitutions, Steven Naismith and Hoolahan made the Irons pay dearly for a partially blocked shot.
Naismith’s shot deflected into the 18, and Hoolahan was within a hair’s length of onside as he buried a low shot past Adrian. 2-0 on two shots on target. Wow.
[ MORE: Latest Premier League standings ]12 - Dimitri Payet has scored or assisted 12 Premier League goals this season; twice as many as any other West Ham player. Achy.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 13, 2016
[ MORE: Full lineups, stats, box score ]
A poor touch or bounce, your call, for Michail Antonio stopped West Ham from getting a breakaway goal as John Ruddy had time to parry Antonio’s rip in the 69th minute.
Payet pulled one back with a rebound goal 17 minutes in scheduled time, after Victor Moses caused a turnover and took a quick shot.
And the newly-extended Payet continued his season wizardry with great vision to spot Noble from the end line. It was 2-2 within minutes after Noble blasted his shot home.