Pablo was through on goal. Holding off Brentford defender Sepp van den Berg, he runs into the box and just has Caoimhin Kelleher to beat. Head down, he looks at the ball. This is his moment: a chance to score his first goal for West Ham United.

But, no, his effort is tame and easily saved. Another opportunity gone.

That passage of play took place in the eighth minute of West Ham’s 3-0 loss to European chasers Brentford. So comfortable was Kelleher’s save, Pablo’s chance did not even feature in West Ham or Sky Sports’ highlights video packages.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s side failed to capitalise on playing ahead of Tottenham Hotspur, who face Aston Villa on Sunday, and defeat leaves them 17th, just two points ahead of their London rivals, having played a game more.

Of the many takeaways for the head coach, Pablo’s form should rank high. The 22-year-old striker is on a 14-game scoreless run since joining in January for €20million (£17.4m, $23.4m) from Portuguese side Gil Vicente. The most striking observation is how jittery he is in big moments. During last month’s FA Cup quarter-final penalty shootout loss to Leeds United, he looked nervous as he walked from the centre circle to the penalty spot and subsequently missed.

He does not have the aura of a confident striker. Barring his assist to Taty Castellanos in the 4-0 win against the now-relegated Wolverhampton Wanderers, Pablo has seldom offered much offensively. Although he has great work rate and good hold-up play, it all counts for little if his barren run continues. Castellanos and Pablo’s partnership has earned comparisons to Paul Kitson and John Hartson — who scored 42 goals in 123 league appearances combined — but of the two, it is only Castellanos who resembles Kitson and Hartson’s potency in front of goal.

Against Brentford, the two-time Argentina international hit the woodwork twice, saw a long-range strike saved by Kelleher, and headed wide from a corner. Of all the West Ham players, he looked most likely to score. Moments after Brentford’s second goal, courtesy of an Igor Thiago penalty after El Hadji Malick Diouf fouled Dango Ouattara in the box, it was Castellanos who immediately picked up the ball, rolled it towards the middle of the pitch and shouted at his team-mates. It did not help engineer a comeback, but it is the kind of desire and determination Pablo needs to mirror.

Castellanos would have played the full match had he not lost his cool after being cautioned for a late tackle on Keane Lewis-Potter. The striker was substituted in the 65th minute for Callum Wilson, with supporters in the away enclosure chorusing for his inclusion. There was an added onus on Pablo to step up, but the spotlight became too bright.

The club’s continued struggles with finding a potent marksman are well stated. Niclas Fullkrug, the £27m signing from Borussia Dortmund in 2024, left in January to join Milan on loan, while Sebastien Haller and Gianluca Scamacca have come and gone. The pair cost a combined £75.5m.

Premier League survival cannot solely rest on the shoulders of Castellanos, club captain Jarrod Bowen, and Crysencio Summerville. Others have to step up.  Konstantinos Mavropanos did in the draw against Manchester City and the win over Wolves; there were Wilson heroics at home to Everton, as well as Tomas Soucek’s goal and goal-line clearance in the same fixture. Axel Disasi, the Chelsea loanee; Mads Hermansen, who made a superb late save in the 1-0 victory against Fulham in March; and Mateus Fernandes have all had big moments. Yet, West Ham are still waiting for Pablo’s first meaningful contribution.

Nuno will hope to see a reaction in their next home game. After all, May 10 has previously been kind to West Ham against Arsenal, given it was the date of the 1980 FA Cup final. Their attacking chances against Brentford from Mavropanos, Castellanos and Summerville showed the intent was there. Mavropanos had a goal ruled out for offside by VAR, while in his post-match press conference, Nuno opted against giving his thoughts on whether challenges on Pablo and Soucek warranted penalties. West Ham supporters made their frustrations with VAR heard.

“Really disappointing,” Bowen told Sky Sports when asked about Saturday’s defeat. “All the goals were poor on our behalf and could’ve been stopped. We had chances, hit the post twice, bar and post again. We had a goal disallowed, too.

“There were a couple of decisions that didn’t go our way. You have to react in the right way. It’s going to hurt, but what we have to do now is focus on the next games. We have three games left (against Arsenal, Newcastle and Leeds United) and every one is a cup final.

“There’s so much on the line. We can’t let the last few weeks go away because of this result. On another day, we would have got the win. We’ve done a lot of good things. Everyone has to stick together, as cliche as it sounds. We’ve got a really good group. It’s down to the senior players to stand up. We can’t dwell on this. We have to move forward because there’s no other way.”