West Ham duo Joel Piroe and Joel Veltman have sent messages of respect to Swansea after the Hammers’ crucial victory in Wales, despite the hostile reaction from some home supporters.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s West Ham side claimed a precious 1-0 victory at the Swansea.com Stadium thanks to Divine Mukasa’s first-half goal, moving into second place and closing to within a point of the Swans after 11 games.

It was a massive result for West Ham, who ended Swansea’s four-match winning run and dented their rivals’ hopes of opening up a commanding seven-point lead over them in the promotion race.

The performance was far from spectacular, but the Hammers showed the defensive resilience required to grind out results in a fiercely competitive Championship campaign.

Some Swansea supporters were less than impressed with West Ham, taking to social media to criticise West Ham’s display. But two of the visitors’ players have struck a rather more respectful tone.

West Ham striker Piroe pays respects to former club Swansea

Joel Piroe has a particularly strong connection with Swansea, having started his career in English football with the Welsh club and scored 41 goals in 91 appearances during his time there.

However, the reception was not entirely welcoming. Piroe was booed by some Swansea supporters when he came on as a second-half substitute, despite his goalscoring feats in their colours.

The Dutch-born forward could easily have responded to that hostility, but instead chose to acknowledge his former club in a gracious message on Instagram after the game.

“Always special to be back in Swansea. Three points on the road.”

It was a simple message, but one that acknowledged his history with the club while celebrating a vital result for his current employers.

Piroe may not have enjoyed the warmest reception from every supporter inside the stadium, but his words demonstrated that he retains an appreciation for the club where he first made his name in English football.

Experienced defender Joel Veltman also had words of praise for Swansea after West Ham secured the win.

The former Brighton, Ajax and Holland star acknowledged the quality of the opposition and accepted that the Swans’ position at the top of the table was no accident.

Veltman pays Swansea a classy compliment after Hammers win

“They’re a good team,” Veltman told West Ham TV when reflecting on the hard-fought victory.

“They’re first in the league for a reason but every game we play, we come to win.”

Veltman also insisted West Ham deserved their victory, pointing out that the visitors had opportunities to make the result more comfortable.

“At the end, we deserved it because you saw the chances from us as well. We had a couple of 1v1s with the goalkeeper. Like I said, we should, in a nice way, kill the game earlier.”

It was a fair assessment of a contest in which West Ham defended superbly but struggled to put the game beyond Swansea.

Mukasa’s goal proved decisive, while the Hammers’ back line stood firm despite the hosts threatening to find an equaliser. Swansea even struck the underside of the crossbar through Ben Cabango, but could not turn their pressure into a goal.

The three points could prove hugely significant as the Championship season begins to take shape.

West Ham are now within a point of Swansea and have demonstrated that they can win difficult away games even when their attacking performance is not at its best.

Swansea may have felt disappointed by the result, and some supporters were clearly unimpressed with the visitors. Yet Piroe and Veltman chose to acknowledge the quality of their opponents rather than get drawn into the criticism.

For West Ham, the priority was securing the victory. Their two Joels have now offered a reminder that respect for an opponent and the pursuit of three precious points can go hand in hand.