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Back to the WHO archives and on this day in 2012 West Ham drew 1-1 with Sunderland at Upton Park with Kevin Nolan scoring the goal.
Here was my report from that game:
http://web.archive.org/web/20121109045118/http://westhamonline.net/article.php?6406065
With the way we scored our equaliser I think many of us came away from the ground feeling as if we had won give the injury time dramatics which saw us come away with a point.
As I walked to the train station my view became a little clearer and frustration is certainly at the forefront of my mind as we controlled the game and in the second half we battered Sunderland who sat so deep they were almost camped in their area.
Our style was direct for the majority of the game and when Matt Jarvis was introduced there was a lot more quality to our delivery into the area.
A draw was the least we deserved and it is disappointing that we could not find the equaliser a few minutes earlier as I believe we would have gone on to win the game.
The stats back up our dominance with 20 shots at goal and 11 on target compared to that of Sunderland who had just 4 shots and 2 on target.
For a ‘long ball’ side we certainly had a lot of the ball with 61% possession in or favour and we also amassed 10 corners whereas Sunderland had just the one.
The Sunderland keeper made a wonderful save to deny Kevin Nolan in the first half, and James Collins saw his header crash off the crossbar.
There is no doubt about it – we dominated the game and this is exactly how I want us to be playing at Upton Park as we took the game to the opposition and made them work.
Whilst we may not have been as effective as we were against Fulham we were still dangerous and this is yet another indication that we are not out of place at this level which was an accusation spouted by many before the season kicked off.
The strangest thing I witnessed was the streams of ‘fans’ walking out before the final whistle and many of them were leaving before the 90 minutes were even up. I could perhaps understand this if we were 4-0 down but we were really going for it and the game was quite exciting.
How disappointing for those ‘fans’ as they missed Kevin Nolan’s goal in the 93rd minute which sent Upton Park mad. I cannot understand the mentality of some but then when I am asked which football supporters annoy me the most I tend to always say ‘West Ham’.
The Team
I like many expected there to be changes to side who drew 0-0 at Norwich but the team announced was exactly the same.
O’Brien was at left back again despite being right footed and George McCartney being fit and Matthew Taylor kept his place with Matt Jarvis again having to settle for a place on the bench which was probably the most surprising.
Many had expected Modibo Maiga to perhaps start but he was also on the bench with Carlton Cole given another chance up front.
On the bench Gary O’Neill was named amongst the subs with the injuredDiarra not included in the 18 man squad.
On the bench for Sunderland was former Hammer Matthew Kilgallon who was at the club on loan in 2003 from Leeds United. He made two league starts and two substitute appearances before going back to Leeds.
The referee was 40 year old Lee Mason from Lancashire.
First Half
It was clear that we wanted to start the game at a high tempo similar to that of the Fulham game and with Mohammed Diame we had a player who could burst forward with speed and power which he attempted to do early on.
The early stages of the game were scrappy with both sides surrounding possession easily and in our case we just looked a bit too eager and were rushing the passes.
With little going on in the way of chances Sunderland scored the opener after only 9 minutes in a goal which seemed to come out of nowhere.
Again it was largely down to James Collins who mishit his pass cross the defence and straight into the path of Seb Larsson who picked out Steven Fletcher in the area and the striker took a touch and smashed it past Jussi Jaaskelainen who did get a hand to the ball but couldn’t keep it out.
So 1-0 to Sunderland out of the blue and bit of a shock as we conceded our first goal at home this season.
We attempted to get back on level terms straight from the restart as Noble put a corner into the area which was cleared but only as far as Diame but his cross was knocked behind for another corner.
We had begun to win a number of free kicks but Sunderland defended them well although in fairness some of the balls played into the area by Noble were not all that great.
Sunderland were starting to commit quite a few fouls with many of them being obvious although any side with a player such as Lee Cattermole in the midfield is not going to get much else.
Diame was doing all the running and he won a free kick just outside the area. It looked as though Noble might have a go but he prodded the ball to Kevin Nolan who saw his shot smash into the wall and it was cleared.
Nothing was really going for us and although we were comfortable at the back (given that Sunderland didn’t really want to attack us) we were struggling to find any fluidity going forward.
A free kick was pumped into the area by Reid and the ball fell to Demel who hit a shot which was deflected wide for a corner. The resulting corner eventually found its way to Nolan who hit a sort of cross shot across goal which no one could get on the end of.
With ten minutes to go until half time we were starting to knock on the door and another free kick was put into the area, this time by Noble and Cole nodded the ball down for Nolan with his back to goal to turn and shoot just wide.
Two minutes remained of the half and we created our best chance so far when Vaz Te received the ball on the right and did well to get a cross into the area for Kevin Nolan to meet the ball with an acrobatic effort which was superbly saved by the Sunderland keeper Mignolet. It had looked destined for the back of the net but for a terrific save from the keeper.
We may have gone in at half time losing but I was not too despondent as we had created chances and if we did more of the same in the second period we would surely get the goal.
Second Half
If anyone tells you that we didn’t batter Sunderland in the second half then they are either a little simple or of course a Sunderland supporter. But surely not even the most ardent Sunderland fan can deny that all they did in the second half was hold on.
We started fast and the noise inside the ground was creeping up as we took it to them and got the ball into the area quicker.
On the 56 minute mark we should have equalised when a ball forward saw Cole flick the ball into the path of Vaz Te but he couldn’t apply the finish which he had looked poised to do.
Vaz Te and Matthew Taylor were replaced a minute later with Matt Jarvis and Yossi Benayoun coming on in their place.
Jarvis was in the thick of things just moments after coming on as Gardener cynically took him out and was shown the yellow card. This card had been coming for Sunderland as they had begun to try and disrupt any flow to the game but making a number of poor tackles.
Sunderland looked as though they may catch us on the counter attack but some last ditch defending from Winston Reid made sure one of their moves broke down.
Joey O’Brien collected a ball from Jarvis and the full back burst forward and hit a decent effort at goal but Mignolet was right behind it.
Jarvis was making a real difference for us and was putting some quality balls into the area but there were not enough players in the box attacking the ball which was frustrating to watch.
Another corner was won and put into the area by Noble as it landed at the feet of James Collins who smashed a shot at goal but it was charged down and despite appeals for handball Sunderland survived again.
Sunderland had got deeper and deeper and were defending from their own area. If this was a boxing match we would be winning on points by some way but we needed that killer blow.
With 77 minutes on the clock Carlton Cole was taken off with Modibo Maiga replacing him.
A lapse in concentration saw Noble caught in possession and he was saved by a superb sliding tackle from Winston Reid who was really having an excellent game.
We continued to push forward and another corner was won. Noble played it in again and Collins met the ball with a thumping header which crashed off the cross bar and went over.
It was at this point where I thought this just wasn’t going to be our day. I couldn’t believe we hadn’t scored because there had only been one team in the game.
Sunderland were playing time wasting tactics which was infuriating the West Ham players and support. Frazer Campbell had gone down with injury but the Sunderland players had not put the ball out and we got possession back.
When the ball did go out Campbell was up on his feet but the referee then allowed the physio to come on the pitch which saw Campbell go down again.
This really enraged Jussi Jaaskelainen who raced over to the referee in the other half to protest. This saw the keeper booked.
So as Campbell was about to hobble off with the touchline about a foot away Sunderland decided to take him off and he had to then hobble all the way across the pitch which seemed to take forever. In fairness to Sunderland Manager Martin O’Neill he was urging his player to hurry up.
As we went into four minutes of added on time it seemed as though we were not going to get the deserved goal.
Noble (who was now almost a centre half) drove a long ball forward which looked to be going out but Matt Jarvis kept going and hooked the ball back into the area for Maiga to nod down and Kevin Nolan to turn and shoot past Mignolet and send Upton Park absolutely fucking mental.
A last minute goal in football is amongst one of the most joyous feelings one can have and the celebrations were fantastic.
Kevin Nolan had yet again come up with the goods and he scored his 3rd goal of the season.
Unfortunately there was just not enough time to muster another attack and we had to settle for the 1-1 draw.
An entertaining game and one which we never deserved to lose.
Player Reviews
Jussi Jaaskelainen
Having not seen a replay of the goal from Fletcher I did think at the time he may have done better with the shot although it was probably hit with too much power. Apart from that I don’t think he had to make another save. 6
Guy Demel
With no Adam Johnson to trouble him he had a relatively easy afternoon. His link up play with Vaz Te was not great and both players offered little going forward on the right hand side. 6
James Collins
For the most part he was decent and won a lot of headers but the fact is yet again he has had a major part to play is us conceding a goal and you almost wince every time he has the ball at his feet. 5
Winston Reid
An excellent display from Reid who showed great recovery on a number of occasions. Solid, and starting to become quite dependable. 7
Joey O’Brien
Reluctant to use his left foot which for a player playing at left back is quite odd to see. In the first half when he was moving forward he would slow the play down to adjust the ball to his better foot. He could have at least attempted to use the left foot. I remember him using it away at Watford last season. He needs to be replaced by McCartney now. 6
Mark Noble
There was a few complaints about his set pieces although the majority of them did cause problems in the Sunderland area and we were unlucky that nothing fell our way in and around the box. He sat deep, sprayed the balls about and did what he does usually. Not a bad display from Noble. 6
Mohammed Diame
The beast of our midfield. Another display of his ability to be an all-rounder. He can run with the ball, he can head, he tackle and soon we will be seeing him score I suspect. He was given the man of the match award by the sponsors and I cannot disagree. 8
Kevin Nolan
With little going on in the way of a ‘strike force’ Nolan was usually the man who was getting on the end of the chances. If anyone was going to score it was going to be him and he took his goal so very well. It has been a long time since we had such a good goal scoring midfielder. 7
Ricardo Vaz Te
Poor for most of his time of the pitch although he did nearly get an assist for the Nolan chance in the first half. His attitude didn’t look great and it wasn’t a shock to see him taken off. I would also think he will be sitting out the next league game. 5
Matthew Taylor
Just never really got into the game. He put in a few decent crosses but there wasn’t enough aggression in his game to make an impact. I would have actually kept him on and put him at left back and took off O’Brien. 5
Carlton Cole
Much like against Norwich it is difficult to remember him doing much. He never saw even of sniff of a shot at goal and never once was in a position to have a go at goal. He was never given a ball over his shoulder or into the channels and had no impact whatsoever. It’s time for Maiga to have a go now. 5
Subs Used
Matt Jarvis (on for Taylor 57 mins)
A really brilliant contribution from Jarvis who I am again extremely impressed with. I look forward to watching him play and he will start against QPR surely. 7
Yossi Benayoun (on for Vaz Te 57 mins)
Always comfortable on the ball and gave us something different on the right but drifted inside too much which really saw us lose the right hand side as a way to get the balls into the box. 6
Modibo Maiga (on for Cole 77 mins)
Like Cole he was given very little to work with but he did have a telling contribution as his header made the goal for Kevin Nolan. He deserve a go against QPR if Carroll is not fit.
Sub Not Used: Henderson, O’Neil, Tomkins, McCartney
Bookings: WH: Jaaskelainen, Reid SUN: Gardener
Goals: WH: Nolan (90+3) SUN: Fletcher (9)
Man Of The Match: Mohammed Diame
Sunderland: Mignolet, Gardner, Bramble, O'Shea, Rose, Cattermole, Larsson, Colback, McClean, Sessegnon, Fletcher
Subs: Westwood, Kilgallon, Vaughan, Meyler, Campbell, Wickham, Saha
Referee: Lee Mason, 4
Attendance: 33,052
Overall
We know how tough this league is and we do not have a divine right to win every game especially against a well organised unit such as Sunderland.
But if we are going to draw games then at least we can do it like this by which I mean we dominated the game, were the better team and on another day we would have won the game comfortably.
The positives outweigh the negatives for me and we clearly are not even playing our best side. By my reckoning there are three and maybe even four players who will come into the team and make it better.
Jarvis, Benayoun, McCartney and of course Andy Carroll will make the team even stronger and none of those players even started this game.
I firmly believe we are going to get better and we are still finding out style and also bedding in the new signings.
Next Game – Wigan Athletic (h) Wednesday 25th September 7.45 Kick Off – League Cup 3rd Round
Not exactly the most exciting tie but one which sees a chance to get into the next round of the League Cup which I should point out is one of just two things West Ham can realistically win this season and I hope we take it seriously because I am never going to subscribe to the notion that you can’t have a good league season if you have a cup run. This is a media myth.
I would think a few of the players who were on the bench for this game against Sunderland will make an appearance but that should still be strong enough to be Wigan.
We may not have beaten Sunderland but we can still come away feeling positive about the game and the manner in which we scored our goal.
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Other games on this day:
2015: Leicester City 2 West Ham United 1 (LC)
2009: Bolton Wanderers 3 West Ham United (LC AET)
1998: West Ham United 1 Northampton Town 0 (1-2 agg)
1993: West Ham United 5 Chesterfield 1 (LC)
1990: Newcastle United 1 West Ham United 1
1987: Burnley 0 West Ham United 0
1984: West Ham United 0 Nottingham Forest 0
1981: West Ham United 4 Southampton 2
1979: Queens Park Rangers 3 West Ham United 0
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