Cardiff City 3-3 West Ham: Moylan hat-trick not enough as Parker starts with dramatic fightback

Scott Parker was given the most dramatic of introductions as West Ham manager as his side recovered from a three-goal half-time deficit to snatch a remarkable 3-3 draw at Cardiff City.

Only confirmed as Nuno Espírito Santo’s successor on the morning of the game, Parker watched his new team collapse in the first half under the brilliance of Jack Moylan. The Irish midfielder produced a sensational 28-minute hat-trick that had the Bluebirds 3-0 up and the travelling support turning on their players with chants of “You’re not fit to wear the shirt.”

Moylan opened the scoring in the 11th minute with a swerving, rising drive from 20 yards that flew into the top corner after Alex Robertson found him in space. He then won and converted a penalty after being clumsily brought down by Morato, before completing his treble two minutes later with a near-post header from Joel Bagan’s corner that crashed in off the underside of the bar.

At that stage West Ham looked finished. Cardiff were dominant, clinical and full of purpose under Brian Barry-Murphy. The visitors had offered almost nothing beyond an early effort from Taty Castellanos that Nathan Trott scrambled away.

Parker’s half-time response was decisive. Three changes transformed the contest. Divine Mukasa reduced the deficit in the 58th minute, delicately chipping Trott after Jarrod Bowen’s perfectly weighted through ball. Seven minutes later Arne Engels scored his first West Ham goal, sliding home after Joel Piroe flicked on another Bowen pass.

The equaliser felt inevitable. In the 82nd minute Bowen delivered another dangerous cross and Max Kilman volleyed home from close range. West Ham almost completed an extraordinary turnaround in stoppage time, but Trott produced a fine fingertip save to deny Tomáš Souček’s header and preserve a point for the hosts.

There could scarcely have been a sharper contrast between the two halves. Cardiff were outstanding before the break and ragged after it. West Ham were dismal for 45 minutes and then relentless. Bowen, who finished with two assists, was the catalyst for the recovery.

Barry-Murphy was proud of his side’s first-half display but admitted they could not stem the second-half tide. Cardiff’s home unbeaten run continues, yet the two points dropped from a winning position will sting. For Parker, the result offered an early illustration of both the problems he has inherited and the character that remains within the squad.

Cardiff City: Trott; Ng (Kpakio 72), Fish, Bagan, Scanlon (Turnbull 72); Robertson, R Colwill (J Colwill 55), Moylan; Tanner, Salech, Willock (Ashford 55).
Subs not used: Tyrer, Tankiewicz, Moreno, Holt, Perrett.

West Ham United: Hermansen; Veltman (Souček 88), Mavropanos, Kilman, Morato (Mayers 46); Engels, Magassa (Kanté 46); Bowen, Solomon (Austbø 68), Mukasa; Castellanos (Piroe 46).
Subs not used: Areola, Scarles, Golambeckis, Orford.

Goals: Moylan 11, 37 pen, 39; Mukasa 58, Engels 65, Kilman 82.