David Moyes hails West Ham bench strength vs Stoke as Hammers target 40 points for Premier League survival

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Tom Doyle16 April 2018

David Moyes praised West Ham's strength in depth against Stoke City as the Hammers rallied to secure an important 1-1 Premier League draw at London Stadium on Monday night.

Andy Carroll climbed off the treatment table to score a dramatic last-minute equaliser and deny Stoke a precious win in east London.

The striker, out injured since the turn of the year, was sent on as a last throw of the dice by Moyes with West Ham trailing to Peter Crouch's goal.

And within three minutes Carroll fired home from the edge of the area to snatch a point which edged the Hammers closer to safety and left Stoke in serious trouble.

Moyes was able to call on three key attackers - Carroll, Javier Hernandez and Manuel Lanzini - in the last 15 minutes, and West Ham got their reward to move on to 35 points - seven above the relegation zone with five games left to play.

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"We certainly didn't deserve to lose," Moyes told Sky Sports after the game. "If we did, the football gods really would be against us.

"We bossed the majority of the game. In the main, we played well and were on top when they got their goal.

"It was the game when we needed Marko Arnautovic to make a difference with the ball, unfortunately he didn't get that opportunity.

"I'm pleased we have got people off the bench who can make a difference - we've not always had the depth this season. I thought Javier Hernandez and Manuel Lanzini helped, all the players have played well."

In Pictures | West Ham vs Stoke City | 16/04/2018

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Moyes believes another five points from their last five games will be enough for survival, saying: "You always think 40 points is safe. A lot of clubs look like they will not able to get that, hopefully we do as soon as we can."

Joe Hart impressed against Chelsea last week to boost his prospects of being picked for England's World Cup squad, but did himself no favours on Monday night as Three Lions Gareth Southgate watched on as the goalkeeper's mistake allowed Crouch to put Stoke a goal ahead.

Moyes said: "Joe Hart faced a few similar shots in first half he gathered them easily, so it unfortunate that one bounced up and caught him out. Up until then we hadn't been threatened a whole lot."

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West Ham had the ball in the Stoke net four times on the night, but Arnautovic was flagged offside twice before Javier Hernandez's late finish was ruled out after the whistle had already gone for a foul by the Austrian forward.

Moyes added: "I think the ref the decisions right from what I have heard. I shows the level of pressure we put on. There were a lot of good things about about our performance."

Additional reporting by the Press Association.

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