LONDON, Nov 24 (Reuters) - West Ham registered their first Premier League point under new manager David Moyes after battling back to draw 1-1 with Leicester City at the London Stadium on Friday.
With Mark Noble dropped from midfield, the Hammers got off to the worst possible start after seven minutes of Moyes's home debut when Marc Albrighton stabbed the ball home after the defence failed to deal with a Jamie Vardy cross from the left.
Moyes will be delighted his team did not buckle on a chilly night and, spurred on by a supportive crowd, they equalised just before the interval when Cheikhou Kouyate headed in off Danny Simpson from a Manuel Lanzini corner, West Ham's first opening-half goal in nine games.
Andre Ayew replaced the impressive Marko Arnautovic halfway through the second half and thought he should have been awarded a penalty for Harry Maguire's challenge.
Yet the claims were waved away, leaving West Ham, who showed more effort than quality, without a win in six league games and still in the drop zone in 18th place.
West Ham keeper Joe Hart, however, believed the performance, and the positive reaction of the crowd, set the standard for the future. "When we have support, we play better," he said.
"It could have gone both ways when we conceded the goal, which was awful, but the crowd chose to stay with us. We were organised and the quality will come."
Moyes said the crowd were "fantastic."
"They got behind the players, who gave them something to shout about."
(Reporting by Neil Robinson; Editing by Toby Davis)
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