West Ham erase three-goal deficit at Cardiff in Parker’s first match

West Ham overturned a three-goal half-time deficit to draw 3-3 at Cardiff on Wednesday, giving Scott Parker a point in his first match as head coach. Jack Moylan scored all three of Cardiff’s goals before the interval, but Divine Mukasa, Arne Engels and Max Kilman answered after the break, according to Sky Sports and West Ham’s match report.

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Moylan opened the scoring in the 11th minute with a shot from outside the penalty area. He added a penalty in the 37th after being fouled by Morato, then completed his hat-trick two minutes later from a Joel Bagan corner. Cardiff reached half-time with a commanding advantage, leaving Parker facing an immediate test on the day his appointment was announced.

West Ham introduced Joël Piroe, Mohamadou Kanté and Ezra Mayers at the interval. Jarrod Bowen then supplied the pass for Mukasa to lift the ball over Nathan Trott in the 58th minute. Engels reduced the gap again seven minutes later, finishing after Piroe helped on another Bowen pass for his first West Ham goal.

Kilman completed the recovery in the 82nd minute, meeting Bowen’s cross from the right at close range. West Ham continued looking for a winner, with Tomáš Souček forcing Trott into a late save, but the visitors had to settle for the draw. Their second-half response ended a run of two consecutive defeats.

In comments published by West Ham, Parker said he had met the players that morning and had chosen to take charge from the touchline despite having little preparation time. He criticised their first-half passivity and use of possession, describing a team that played backwards too often. The greater aggression and willingness to take attacking risks after the interval were the changes that encouraged him.

Parker also stressed the need to understand why the performances either side of half-time had differed so sharply. He praised his players’ character in recovering from a difficult position after their recent losses, while identifying consistency as work still to do. West Ham next travel to Blackburn on Saturday, with Parker intending to use the short turnaround to establish more of his ideas.