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Vinny 5:43 Thu Sep 15
On this day - 15th September

More WHO Archives.

On this day in 2007 West Ham beat Middlesbrough 3-0 at Upton Park to go 5th in the league.

Here is my report for WHO from that game:

http://web.archive.org/web/20070917053617/http://www.westhamonline.net/

West Ham United 3 Middlesbrough 0

Another splendid result was recorded by Alan Curbishley’s men as West Ham got the better of Middlesbrough. Lee Bowyer, an own goal and Dean Ashton all got the goals which secured a second consecutive victory and propelled us into the top five.

This was by no way a vintage performance and it would be easy to pick faults from some of our play, but it is difficult to argue with a three nil scoreline. Middlesbrough had enough chances to make us pay yet their woeful finishing was taken full advantage of by a West Ham side who had the ability to catch their opponents on the break.

Only one change was made to the side which destroyed Reading at the Madjeski Stadium two weeks ago. Anton Ferdinand was out with a knee injury and was replaced by James Collins.

It was us who started brightly, getting at Boro’ from the off, playing the game in their half and looking to create chances About ten minutes in and we had our first chance to open the scoring.

A cross was cleared as far as Mark Noble who hit an optimistic shot at goal which took a wicked deflection and had the keeper Mark Schwarzer scurrying for the ball which sailed wide and out for a corner.

The Upton Park crowd thought that West Ham had taken the lead around the fifteen minute mark as a lovely move set Ashton through. It was a nice interchange with Bellamy which saw Ashton creep in behind the Boro’ defence and finish with the side foot only for the linesman’s flag to deny Ashton the goal he and the fans so want to see.

Boro’ had a wonderful chance to get themselves in front which they somehow failed to capitalise on. It was all down to their new signing Mido, who managed to play a brilliant defence splitting pass through to Jeremie Aliadiere, who was clean through. His shot went past Robert Green and looked to be heading into the back of the net but it bounced off the post and was cleared away for a corner.

That was a let off and a warning that we would have to be on our guard against a side possessing a few players who could make a killer pass and split our defence. The funny thing was that we never took any notice of this warning and it was just down to luck that we never conceded over the ninety minutes.

Boro’ again had a chance to score when a cut back found Aliadiere once again but his shot was straight at Green who saved well.

The West Ham injury fiasco took another turn as striker Craig Bellamy pulled up with an injury which few seemed to notice and he walked off dejected which was seemed like a hamstring injury.

He was replaced by Carlton Cole who would go on to have a big impact on proceedings despite being on the receiving end of some disgraceful abuse from the West Ham support who seemed to treat him as hate figure. The abuse towards Carlton Cole was more than the abuse that Frank Lampard receives. Such venom was in the words directed at him. It was almost like people would rather he messed up every time he got the ball just so that they could be proved right.

Boro’s themselves had to make an unscheduled chance with Jeremie Aliadiere coming off injured and being replaced by Turkish International Tuncay. He would have an instant impact as his run and shot had to be met well by Green.

Boro’ ended the half the better side after a good 10 – 15 minutes of pressure which on another day may have seen them grab a goal. We had begun the first half well and had been superior for the first quarter, but with the goal being disallowed and Craig Bellamy going off injured it seemed to knock the stuffing out of our game and it was a concern that we would not be able to find a pattern to our play in the second half.

But that thought would have been wrong as West Ham came bursting out of the traps and managed to grab two goals in the first five minutes of the second half effectively winning us the game in such a small space of time.

Not even 30 seconds were on the clock as Lee Bowyer snuck into the box and finished beautifully to put us one up. It had started with Hayden Mullins who played a nice pass to Carlton Cole who himself played a nicely weighted pass into the area for Bowyer to sublimely finish. It reminded us of what Lee Bowyer was once like in his Leeds days when he was at his best. A brilliant finish and a much needed goal.

If we thought that was a great start to the half, four minutes later we would find ourselves further in front. Once again it was a clinical counter attack which ended in some good fortune.

Etherington broke out and played a nice pass through to Carlton Cole who ran towards goal skipping past a poor challenge from a Boro’ player and his low pass which was going towards an unmarked Etherington in the area was diverted into the goal by one time West Ham target Luke Young.




Carlton Cole continued received a extremely high amount of abuse from his own supporters, but if you had of told me that he was going to come on for an injured Bellamy and create two goals I don’t think anyone would have objected.

Fair play to Boro’, they really gave it a go and will be scratching their heads to how they did not manage to breach our defence which had so many holes it would need a long trip to Ann Summers to try and fill them.
Tuncay had two chances to get one back for Boro’ but his finishing was woeful. The first chance was saved brilliantly by Robert Green but it is the second chance which most will remember.

Rochemback played a simply wonderful pass through to Tuncay who had been kept onside by Lucas Neill. The Turk ran towards goal with lots of time and acres of space. He lifted the ball over the onrushing Green, but the lob ended up being too high and it bounced off the crossbar and went over to the delight of the West Ham fans.

Any hope of a Boro’ comeback was lost as another counter attack saw West Ham increase the lead further. It was Mullins who played a fantastic cross field ball out to Matthew Etherington who burst down the left and put in a magnificent cross which Cole couldn’t get to at the near post but with the keeper in no mans land, Dean Ashton met it at the back post to score his first goal of the season and his first goal since the FA Cup Final of 2006.

“Ole Ole Ole Ole, Deanooo Deanooo” could be heard all around the Boleyn. West Ham had found their hero and he had got that first goal which we had all been willing him to get.



The last half an hour saw Boro’ have the majority of the possession and despite some desperate defending, we managed to keep them out with Robert Green pulling off some excellent saves and he claimed a number of crosses and corners.

As an attacking force we still looked to catch them on the counter attack and the introduction of Luis Boa Morte didn’t do this any harm.

It was Boa Morte’s run and cross which found a completely unmarked Cole in the area with acres of space and loads of time. But the striker’s finish from just a few yards out was embarrassing and he somehow hit it wide when it looked easier to score.

Cue more abuse for the ungainly forward who had shown bags of effort during this game and although he lacked quality at times his performance was one which had made a difference.

It may not have been a vintage West Ham display but I will take these results all day long – and long may they continue.

Player Reviews

Robert Green
Just like the last game against Reading, Green played a big part in our success. This clean sheet just didn’t happen, Green made sure it happened pulling off some excellent saves and was firm in the air making catch after catch. Good performance from Greeno.

Lucas Neill
Looked a little rusty at times today – thought he failed to keep up with the rest of the defence when they stepped up to catch the Boro’ forwards offside. He was of course strong in the tackle and never shrieked a challenge which is what we would expect of our captain.

Matthew Upson
He is starting to prove his worth with another strong performance which his attributes were in full view. Not only is he excellent in the air but it is his reading of the game which impresses me the most. He made countless interceptions and made up for his lack of pace with his vision. Another clean sheet with him at the back is never a bad thing.

James Collins
Thought it was a surprise inclusion today. Obviously Ferdinand was injured but as it had been Gabbidon on the bench for most of our Premiership games this season, I would have expected him to start. But Collins didn’t disappoint. His aerial ability is second to none and his no nonsense distribution can sometimes be a real help. Did get caught at times especially with the flight of the ball on occasion. But overall he didn’t have a bad game and shows that we have good depth to our squad.

George McCartney
Played well during the first half but it seemed as though his midweek exploits for Northern Ireland (on and off the plane) had caught up with him in the second period. He struggled to get forward and was playing very deep during that second half. But he got through the game and put in a solid performance.

Lee Bowyer
Thought this was his best performance of the season – not just because of his goal, but because he was involved for the whole 90 minutes without looking lost and knackered. Boro’ didn’t have much pace in their side which helped Bowyer’s performance. His goal was sublime – the volley was exquisite and that is now two goals he has scored this season. Is taking his chance.

Mark Noble
Actually surprised I’m going to say this but thought Noble was pretty quiet during this encounter. Of course there would be the occasional flying tacking which would get the crowd going but I think Noble looked a little tired during the course of the game.

Hayden Mullins
A terrific performance yet again from Mullins. Was impressed with him against Reading and he carried on from that game with a excellent display. He was making tackles and playing nice passes – one which had a major part to play in our third. His pass out to Etherington was pinpoint. Scott Parker and Freddie Ljungberg are now available for selection but with Mullins playing this well he cannot be replaced just yet.

Matthew Etherington
How good is this Etherington geezer? Has really excelled so far this season and is looking like the player that he always had the potential to be – but maybe not the bottle. He has found his balls and is looking very strong. Boro’ couldn’t handle him and his cross for the third goal was excellent.

Craig Bellamy
Injury prone players get injured.

Dean Ashton
Has got that first goal of the season in his second start of this campaign. Hopefully it will be the first of many – and I’m sure it will be. He looked much sharper today and is gradually getting back to full match fitness. Was good in the air and his flicks and passes are coming off more and more. Dean Ashton is back.

Subs Used

Carlton Cole (on for Bellamy 26 mins)
Did Carlton Cole make a positive impact in this game? The answer is a resounding yes. Worked really hard, made two goals – thank you very much. No Bellamy for next week. I wouldn’t bet against Carlton Cole starting against Newcastle.

Luis Boa Morte (on for Etherington 78 mins)
Looked sharp but with us doing more defending than attacking it was hard for him to get into the game.

Freddie Ljungberg (on for Ashton 81 mins)
Did nothing but get needlessly booked.

Overall

We currently sit 5th in the league after five games. I think we can say that this has been a good start to the season after an initial worry about our style of play. It seems that we are a counter attack team – and a pretty handy one at that. The loss of Bellamy will hinder this but with Matthew Etherington playing like he is playing he has become vitally important to our success.

Up front we now have a problem – to continue with the pace we would need to play new signing Henri Camera. But Curbishley may well give Cole a chance next week.

Newcastle are up next and although it is going to be tough, I actually think we can get all three points.


========================
Other results from this day;

2014: Hull City 2 West Ham United 2
2013: Southampton 0 West Ham United 0
2012: Norwich City 0 West Ham United 0
2002: Tottenham Hotspur 3 West Ham United 2
2001: Middlesbrough 2 West Ham United 0
1998: Northampton Town 2 West Ham United 0
1992: West Ham United 5 Bristol City 1

Josh 5:49 Thu Sep 15
Re: On this day - 15th September

"Craig Bellamy
Injury prone players get injured."


Not learnt much since have we....

Vinny 5:48 Thu Sep 15
Re: On this day - 15th September

And here is the report from the Norwich City game in 2012 on WHO

http://web.archive.org/web/20120919184302/http://westhamonline.net/article.php?6392751

Having not played for two weeks it was always going to be interesting to see what West Ham were going to turn up. Was it going to be the one who destroyed Fulham or the one who went away to Swansea and were easily brushed aside?

In the end I think we got a little bit more of the Fulham display but without the potency going forward as our final ball and striking options were not up to the standard that they were in that game.

Whilst I am happy to come away from Carrow Road with a point and a clean sheet I cannot help but think that the game was there for the taking and with a bit more quality in the final third we would have scored.

The phrase ‘respect the point’ will of course be branded and I’m fully accepting of the point and of course a third clean sheet in four games but there were moments where I felt a little bit more energy in our play would have caused problems for the Norwich backline.

Norwich themselves will look at this game as one on another day they would have won as they had a few chances to score and we had to ride our luck at times. Considering I feel we are weakest in defence, to keep the opposition out yet again is impressive.

I would hope that this will alter people’s perception of our 3-0 defeat at Swansea and the point about that loss being down to individual error vindicated as there were lots of similarities between both performances but obviously in this one without the mistakes.

In a way it was very similar to many of our away displays last season where we would look solid and then try and nick a goal but in this instance we didn’t do enough, especially in the second half where we never seemed to get out of first gear.

Although I felt we were a little lacklustre I am not too critical of the performance as it was another display which tells me once again that we are not out of place in this division and we are more than able to compete despite being told by so many before the first game that we would not be able to get close to most of the teams in the league.

We have a squad which I am extremely pleased with and in most positions we have more than one good quality option.

Losing Andy Carroll to injury in Fulham game was a blow given his impact and his replacement Carlton Cole had a big chance to stake his claim and remind us all that he can score goals at this level. Sadly for him and for us he didn’t hit any sort of form and was largely anonymous throughout his time on the pitch.

I said in the Fulham report that if we try to play with Cole as if he is Carroll we will get nowhere and that proved to be correct as he simply cannot dominate defenders in the air. His strength is the ball into his feet but he was isolated from the other players and failed to move into areas where he could receive the ball.

When we play Cole or even Maiga we are going to have to adapt to their strengths and not try and play as if Andy Carroll is on the pitch because it will not work and those strikers will offer very little.

The Team


We had expected to see a few changes to the starting line up as we had a few players returning from injury.

What we got was Allardyce keeping faith in the team who began against Fulham with only Carlton Cole coming in for the injured Andy Carroll.

Matt Jarvis was back in contention but found himself on the bench alongside George McCartney who was also coming back from an injury. Joey O’Brien kept his place at left back.

Also amongst the substitutes was Yossi Benayoun.
Managing Norwich City was Chris Hughton who played 43 times in all competitions for West Ham between 1990 and 1992.

Reffing the game (fresh from his gold winning summer at the Olympics!) was 49 year old Chris Hoy from Lancashire.

First Half


I was pleased with our start as we looked to get ourselves on the front foot early like against Fulham with Mohammed Diame doing that strong running he seems so fond of doing. He burst forward and won a corner.

The corner was taken by Mark Noble and it fell to Matthew Taylor who hit a shot which took a deflection and was nearly diverted goalwards by Kevin Nolan but he couldn’t get enough on the ball.

With five minutes on the clock Norwich had their first half chance as Surman collected a low pass and he cut inside Demel and hit a curling effort which went wide of the goal. A bit more composure and he would have at least worked the keeper.

Both sides were finding a lot of space in an oddly open game. Norwich had good movement amongst their midfield and were getting numbers forward to support Grant Holt.

We came close to opening the scoring with 13 minutes on the clock. It began with Diame who played an excellent pass through to Vaz Te who got into the area, put in almost a cross-shot which the keeper Ruddy got a touch to and Carlton Cole stretched to nod the ball towards goal but it was cleared off the line by Martin.

This clearance only went as far as Matthew Taylor who took a touch and dragged his right foot effort wide.

At the other end a clumsy tackled from Mark Noble led to a free kick around 25 yards out but Snodgrass hit the wall with his effort.

Norwich managed to work the ball to the wide area where Snodgrass was on the ball again and the former Leeds United man got past Taylor but as Nolan was about to make a challenge he flung himself to the ground in an attempt to win a penalty.

The Norwich players and supporter all protested but Foy had a perfect view of the incident and made an excellent call in rejecting these claims.
Two minutes after that incident we had our best chance of the half and probably the entire game. Diame passed the ball to the left for O’Brien to drive at the Norwich defenders and burst his way into the area (albeit a little luckily) and he set up Kevin Nolan whose shot was kept out by Ruddy.

It was very end to end with both sides looking to open the other up. Norwich were forcing a few corners but we were doing similar as Vaz Te cut inside and hit a low shot which took a slight deflection. From that corner it was actually Norwich who had the goal scoring chance as they broke on the counter.

Well not exactly a counter attack but a long ball forward saw Joey O’Brien get himself in to a mess and Snodgrass just needed to pick his man out in the area but his cross was cut out by James Collins.

From the resulting corner it was all a bit of a whirlwind which I am struggling to actually recall. What I do remember is a complete panic in our area where Jaaskelainen had to make a couple of good saves to keep the score level.

There was still hope for us going forward and Cole got the ball to Diame who was on the left and he cut inside and hit a hard shot at goal which was saved down low by Ruddy.

The main talking point of the first half and perhaps the entire game came with five minutes of the half remaining.

The lively Surman received the ball and had beaten James Collins only for the Welsh Defender to hack him down with a poor challenged which looked on first view as inside the area. The ref blew his whistle and some Norwich supporters had begun to cheer as if a penalty had been awarded but a free kick on the very edge of the area was given.

Replays of this incident have shown the referee to be correct in awarding a free kick only. It was a incredible decision really and if had given it you could have understood but luckily for us the officiating was spot on.

The free kick was taken by Johnson who smashed the ball into the wall and the follow up from Garrido was smacked high over the bar a we went into half time at 0-0.

Second Half


On the whole I think Norwich just shaded it in the second half as we never really got going although we did have a lot of the ball and a lot of space to run into.

Too many wasteful crosses were our main problem and this is something that was extremely frustrating to watch.

In the first two minutes of the half we put two crosses into the area. Cole put a decent ball into the area but there was no one in there to get on the end of it and then a few moments later Vaz Te put cross in but it was very poor.

As one of our attacks broke down with Cole running into an offside position, Norwich broke forward and the ball was given to Jackson on the left who hit a shot which looped up off Demel and Collins put it out for a corner.

The corner was cleared to Vaz Te but that counter attack broke down and the ball was moved forward for Norwich to Jackson who turned and hit an excellent shot which was diverted over the bar by Jaaskelainen.

With 57 minutes on the clock Sam Allardyce made a double substitution with Carlton Cole and Matthew Taylor being taken off and replaced by Modibo Maiga and Matt Jarvis.

Vaz Te was found in space again this time on the left as he had a great chance to pick out someone in the box but his cross was terrible and went behind for a goal kick.

Just a minute later Vaz Te was at it again as Noble via Demel found him on the right hand side but his cross into the area was so poor it again went behind for a goal kick. The Portuguese forward was visibly unhappy with his effort as were the West Ham fans.

Jarvis came out to the right wing and he put in a much better cross with 65 minutes gone but it just evaded Vaz Te who was running into the area.
We had begun to defend deeper and although Cole had come off we were having the same issue getting Maiga into the game as he also could not do anything of note when it came to winning headers.

Norwich took off Grant Holt with 19 minutes left which was an indication of how well our centre halves had played as he had not been in the game at all. Replacing him was Tottenham loanee Harry Kane.

Maybe it was just me but with fifteen minutes to go the game seemed to really die. Both sets of supporters were quiet and considering a goal would probably win it for either side I would have expected a bit more atmosphere in those final stages.

Norwich had plenty of the ball the final quarter of the game and had a number of efforts at goal but many of them were either off target or easy for Jaaskelainen to save.

Benayoun came on for Vaz Te with three minutes of normal time to play and I was still hoping even at this stage that we were going to grab a goal which I felt we could get if we committed a few more bodies forward.

A corner from Mark Noble on 88th minute was met by James Collins bit it went high and wide when he may have done a little better.

With the 90 minutes up we forced another corner but from the corner the golden chance would actually fall to Norwich as the broke forward with three on two and the ball was played into Kane who looked poised to score but his finish was easily saved low by Jaaskelainen.

This was not your typical 0-0 draw and although not the greatest match you will see it was open and there were plenty of attempts at goal.

I might be greedy thinking that we could have won the game as Norwich had plenty of chances but with a bit more quality which I believe Jarvis, Benayoun and Carroll will give us we will win games like this in the coming months.

Player Reviews


Jussi Jaaskelainen
He will be able to look back at four games and three clean sheets. This is impressive and whilst I have reservations about him and his awful kicking, the most important statistics look very good. 6

Guy Demel
Troubled by the Norwich winger Jackson in the first half but then for some reason they took him off and Demel saw out the rest of the game with ease. 6

James Collins
Clumsy and ugly defending but he can come away from this game knowing that he succeeded in doing his job. Made a good last ditch interception in the first half which saved a certain goal but his challenge on Surman could have cost us dear. Not the most reliable. 6

Winston Reid
A top performance from Reid who had some real bruisers to deal with in Holt and Morison. It took him a few minutes to get used to Morison who thought he could come on and rattle the young defender but this is not the same Winston Reid who signed for the club in 2010. This is a stronger, fitter, more composed and much better quality Winston Reid. 8

Joey O’Brien
I thought he was having a good first half until a mistake which nearly cost us a goal. He is a player playing out of position but has dug in during the last two games in an attempt to stake a claim in the side. I can’t fault 95% of his display and this was a solid showing from Joey. 6

Mark Noble
His corners and free kicks were really poor which was a disappointment given that good delivery could have really caused some problems for Norwich. Otherwise he did well enough as he sat deep in the midfield, got stuck in and spread the passes about. A few mistimed challenges were a slight concern as when we were in the Premiership last he had a tendency to give away a lot of free kicks. 6

Mohammed Diame
Another excellent display from Diame who has certainly been our most consistent player over the four league games. His strong running forward can be a real asset to us this season and we need to get players supporting him and available for a pass as he can beat a player which sheer strength alone. 7

Kevin Nolan
In and out of the first half but totally missing in the second. He didn’t do a lot wrong when on the ball but he was lost in a game which he really couldn’t get into. 5

Matthew Taylor
His display against Fulham was encouraging but he couldn’t reproduce that display in this game. He did well early on and could have scored in the first half but he just went further out of the game and the decision to bring on Jarvis was not a surprise. 5

Ricardo Vaz Te
Our most creative player really couldn’t create anything during this game. He got into the position and was always the outlet but his final ball was abysmal. Onto the next for Vaz Te. 5

Carlton Cole
He was take off in the second half but you have to question whether he was ever playing as he never got into the game at all. I can make excuses for him regarding the supply and the fact he was very isolated but when he hasn’t got the ball he has to do more to make space and he has actually got to want the ball which I felt he didn’t with this display. 4

Subs Used

Modibo Maiga (on for Cole 57 mins)
Like Cole he did very little and hardly got involved. He is the type of player you want running down the channels and in behind the defence. If we play like he is Andy Carroll he will do nothing, like he did here. 4

Matt Jarvis (on for Taylor 57 mins)
Another positive display from Jarvis who looked better than most of our attacking players in the 33 minutes he was on the pitch. He will start next week I guarantee. 6

Yossi Benayoun (on for Vaz Te 87 mins)
I think most of us would have had him on about 10 minutes earlier and he had little time to make impact although he looked good on the ball as we remember from before.

Subs Not Used: Henderson, McCartney, Tomkins, Diarra

Bookings: Collins

Man of the Match: Winston Reid

Norwich City: Ruddy, Martin, Barnett, Bassong, Garrido, Johnson, Surman, Snodgrass, Howson, Holt, Jackson
Subs: Rudd, Turner, Hoolahan, Morison, Tierney, Kane, Fox

Referee: Chris Foy, 9

Attendance: 26,806

Overall


I always want to see West Ham win so anytime that we don’t I come away a little disappointed. I, like everyone has to be realistic and we have no divine right to go away to Norwich and beat them so to come away without conceding and with a point is not bad at all.

We have started the season well, there is no doubt about that and I am confident going into the next few games that we will pick up quite a few points.

What I like is the strength in depth and fair play to Allardyce, he has certainly built the squad he wants and we now have competitions for places throughout the team.

Some of the players were not at their best during this match especially the likes of Vaz Te who we know can offer a whole lot more.

This may not have been stunning but it was a solid performance and a good point.

Next Game – Sunderland (h) Saturday 22nd September 3pm Kick Off

Oh a 3pm kick off? I was beginning to forget what those were like. This is a fixture we would have all looked at the start of the season as one we can win.

Like most of the Premiership, Sunderland are another unremarkable side who will be looking to take anything away with them. We need to show our attacking qualities like we did against Fulham and we certainly have a chance.

If Andy Carroll makes a surprise return then things could look even better.