James Ward-Prowse’s goal two minutes before the break has given West Ham a 1-0 half-time lead over the Blues at Portman Road.
Town initially made two changes from the team which lost 2-0 at Leicester last week with Conor Chaplin and Nathan Broadhead returning to the XI but were forced into a late switch after Alex Palmer was taken ill in the warm-up, manager Kieran McKenna having said there had been illness in the camp at his Friday press conference. Christian Walton started in his place with Cieran Slicker on the bench.
Chaplin, making his 150th league appearance for the Blues, was the number 10 with Julio Enciso absent from the squad, again presumably due to illness.
Broadhead was to Chaplin’s left with Jack Clarke, who was at Wembley to watch his former club Sunderland promoted to the Premier League via the play-offs yesterday, on the bench.
George Hirst again started with Liam Delap on the bench for what’s set to be his final game for the club, as was Massimo Luongo, who McKenna has revealed is set to depart in the close season.
Centre-half Cameron Burgess was back on the bench having missed the trip to Leicester with a minor hamstring problem, as was lifelong West Ham fan Sammie Szmodics for the first time in three months after ankle surgery, but ex-Hammers full-back Ben Johnson was not included. Young left-back Somto Boniface was again among the substitutes.
West Ham made five changes from the team which lost 2-1 at home to Nottingham Forest a week ago with keeper Lukasz Fabianski coming into the side for his final game for the club along with Konstantinos Mavrapanos, Ollie Scarles, Edson Alvarez and Niclas Fullkrug.
Ex-Blues left-back Aaron Cresswell, who is leaving the Hammers this summer, Alphonse Areola, Vladimir Coufal, Rodriguez and Mohamed Kudus all dropped to the bench.
Prior to kick-off both teams took a knee to show a commitment to fighting racism to applause but some boos.
As the game got under way, the home crowd sung in tribute to departing midfielder Luongo.
Hammers captain Jarrod Bowen scuffed the game’s first effort wide of Walton’s left post in the fourth minute.
Two minutes later, Bowen crossed from the right, a long ball having flown over Jacob Greaves, but failed to pick out a teammate. However, there was a moment of panic when Tuanzebe passed back to Walton on his right side rather than to his preferred left foot but the keeper scrambled it away.
On 10, Greaves flicked Town’s first chance of the game wide with his head from a free-kick out on the right.
Two minutes later, Hutchinson played a clever pass out of trouble on the right outside the Town area and found Broadhead midway inside the Blues half, the Wales international nutmegged Jean-Clair Todibo and burst away before slipping over. However, he was still able to feed Hutchinson breaking forward on the right and the England U21 international hit a shot into Fabianski’s arms from an angle.
Town began to dominate the ball, the Hammers having started in control, and in the 25th minute, as the home crowd cheered Luongo as he began warming up, a long spell of possession ended with Broadhead curling a shot towards goal and Fabianski, this season’s oldest Premier League player at 40, clawing it away from under the bar.
A minute later, skipper Morsy, making his 150th league start for the Blues, shot not too far wide of Fabianski’s right post, then at the other end Niclas Fullkrug poked a toe at a cross from the right with Tuanzebe, playing his 50th Premier League match, in front of him but only diverted the ball to Walton.
As the game reached the half hour, VAR checked a challenge on Fullkrug from Dara O’Shea as the two chased down a ball through the middle - with a linesman’s flag surprisingly not raised - but decided there was no case to answer.
Five minutes later, Max Kilman was shown the game’s first yellow card for catching Hirst in the back of his head with an elbow on halfway.
In the 36th minute, a slick move from the Blues involving Morsy, Chaplin and Broadhead ended with Leif Davis failing to pick out a teammate having been played in on the left.
Three minutes later, Bowen and Ward-Prowse exchanged passes on the edge of the Town area, the Hammers captain hitting a shot which Walton batted way. Ward-Prowse’s follow-up was blocked and the Town keeper pounced on the loose ball.
Moments afterwards, Hutchinson ran onto a ball over Ollie Scarles on the right and hit a shot which struck the outside of the post. However, the assistant’s flag was raised for offside.
As so often after Town been well in a half and had had chances, the opposition went in front, the Hammers taking the lead in the 43rd minute courtesy of a mix-up in the Blues’ defence.
Tuanzebe took a throw on the right midway inside the Town half and found Morsy, but the Egypt international’s pass backwards towards Greaves was wayward and seized on by Bowen, who cut to his right to Ward-Prowse, who made no mistake from 10 yards with only Walton to beat.
The goal was the last action of a half which was a microcosm of Town’s season as a whole.
West Ham had started strongly but without seriously threatening but the Blues had grown into the game and as the half-hour approached were on top but without making that superiority tell, Fabianski having been forced into one impressive save from Broadhead.
However, a mistake at the back of the type which has been common over the course of the campaign gifted the Hammers the lead two minutes before the break.
Town will hope to get back on terms in the second half, preventing a new club record nine home defeats on the trot.
Town: Walton, Tuanzebe, O’Shea, Greaves, Davis, Morsy (c), Cajuste, Hutchinson, Chaplin, Broadhead, Hirst. Subs: Slicker, Woolfenden, Burgess, Boniface, Taylor, Luongo, Szmodics, Clarke, Delap.Â
West Ham: Fabianski, Ward-Prowse, Fullkrug, Mavropanos, Alvarez, Bowen (c), Todibo, Kilman, Soucek, Wan-Bissaka, Scarles. Subs: Areola, Cresswell, Coufal, Paqueta, Kudus, Guilherme, Ings, Rodriguez, Irving. Referee: Tim Robinson (West Sussex). VAR official: Matt Donohue.