It wasn't free-flowing, it wasn't tiki-taka. It wasn't even quality at times against a fallen giant of English football, a shadow of themselves in the 'Theatre Of Dreams.' It didn't need to be.
It was backs against the wall, scrappy; heading towards yet another defeat.
But in the face of it all, West Ham showed pure grit to salvage a point and keep them alive in the fight at the bottom.
It was the best kind of tribute to Billy Bonds.
Nuno Espirito Santo commended his side's efforts after West Ham snatched a late point against Manchester United on Thursday night. Summer signing Soungoutou Magassa pounced on a loose ball in the box to cancel out Diogo Dalot's 58th-minute opener, preventing Ruben Amorim's side from moving into the top five.
The Hammers, who slipped into the relegation zone the night before after Leeds' 3-1 success over Chelsea, have now lost just one of their last five games, as small signs of improvement continue to show under the former Nottingham Forest manager.
Good result at a tough ground
Nuno was pleased with what he saw and noted the support of the 3,000 travelling fans too. "It was a very good performance, knowing that Old Trafford is always difficult.
I think the boys overall in the whole game competed really well. We reacted from conceding a goal that came in a strange way, but the reaction was really, really positive.
We controlled the second half. Even when we conceded, we could see our fans, and I have to thank them. They kept supporting because they saw that the boys were there and truly deserved that equaliser.
We had chances also in the final moments of the game, but we were really pleased."
Midfield of the future
Combining a young midfield trio including 21-year-old Mateus Fernandes and 22-year-old Freddie Potts, it was Magassa who stood out, following his signing from Monaco. The box-to-box midfielder showed defensive qualities and calmness on the ball, earning him the man of the match award in the process.
It's an area where West Ham have shown weaknesses in recent years, often citing a lack of pace and creativity.
While Nuno was proud of the whole team, one key player in particular earned his praise. "I have to give a special mention to Jarrod Bowen. We are very pleased to have him as a captain.
The way he led by example, the way he created so many problems for the defence of Man United, the chances that he provided, then he got the header that leads to the goal.
But everybody kept running, everybody kept believing, kept working very hard against a very good team full of talented players, really difficult to contain, and that required a lot of concentration. Everybody, everybody, everybody worked very hard"
There was even a feeling in the air that three points could head back to London after the equaliser, for the second successive time in this fixture, with their opponents looking stunned.
"I think honestly, we felt we could have won the game.
You could feel it. The atmosphere was with us, the momentum of the second half was huge. We covered, we combined, we went and we went for it."
Work in progress
The East London side remain in the bottom three as they battle to stay in touch with the sides above amidst a tough run of fixtures before Christmas.
With Brighton, Aston Villa and Manchester City to come, team belief seems to have been rebuilt, with the club gaining seven points from losing positions in the last month. A stat that shows things are moving in the correct direction.
"We are making progress, with two wins and two draws from our last five games. And even when we lose, it's how we compete. I think at the London Stadium last time out against Liverpool, we competed really well. The results may not come, but the spirit has to be there.
The organisation, the team spirit, the belief, the commitment, the hard work – those are the basics for us to try and go out of this situation, knowing that it's hard with the urgency of everything that we need.
But I’m really, really happy with the commitment of all those who played tonight. The way we work on a daily basis, this is what can improve us."
