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On this day 2003 we went to Ninian Park to play Cardiff City in the League Cup.
Looking back at WHO the match report came from Alex V.
http://web.archive.org/web/20031017182234/http://www.westhamonline.net/feature.php?20254
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It may be the cup sideshow rather than the league, but I think this excellent comeback from a two-goal deficit will give the side a very timely boost. Cardiff aren't working wonders in the league, but they do look a difficult side to play against and obviously have Earnshaw up front - we made them look very very ordinary in the second half.
I was worried by the teamsheet. One concern was Ferdinand stuck into the midfield in the absence of Carrick, Lomas, Lee, Hutchison or cup-tied Alexandersson. But with three up front and Etherington pushing on from midfield as well you'd have to say that it was rather a cavalier 4-3-3 approach from Brooking once again, forced on him by the available personnel.
And lightweight in midfield we definitely looked - Cardiff just tore us apart for a lot of the first half, and we stood aside and let them. I think Horlock was reluctant to commit himself too much with the inexperience alongside him, and Etherington and Ferdinand just didn't put a tackle in. It wasn't much better at the back - Pearce and Dailly seemed to just be marking their men from about five yards away. Our only real chances for much of the first half came from tackles from Connolly and Mellor up front!
Cardiff's opener came soon enough, and was a bit of a nightmare for loanee Wayne Quinn - their winger Bowen just sidestepped a fairly pathetic lunge and strode into the area to pull the ball back for Earnshaw to tuck it away. I suppose Quinn might say that there was no cover for him at all, but that's all the more reason not to just go to ground and get nowhere near the ball. Bit of a gift, shame.
Then, after a bit of tactical sparring in the match, Cardiff grabbed a two-goal lead through Earnshaw. We did our typical trick of letting them walk through us, but there was no doubting the strike which flew past James from outside the area. I wonder actually if James was unsighted a bit by Dailly crossing in front of him.
Then just before half-time, the lifeline that we needed. Etherington made up a nice bit of ground, and slid in an absolutely perfect ball into Connolly's run directly in front of him. The weight of the ball was everything, and attracted a rather desperate lunge from the defender, who missed the ball and brushed Connolly's standing foot in the area. Call it a dive if you like, but I call it professional forward play - the defender went to ground and missed the ball, you'd have to be some sort of lunatic not to look for the foul as a striker. Defoe blasted the penalty kick home and we got to half-time on the up rather than down-and-out.
Hard to really say what Brooking did at half-time other than give the players a swift kick up the arse. We looked much hungrier for the ball in the second half, the strikers seemed to come deeper and got more involved, and basically we created enough chances to more than deserve the victory. In a way I really don't think it's rocket science, if we can get the ball to Connolly or Defoe's feet regularly then it's hard to see us not scoring goals. And Defoe in particular really came looking for the early pass in the second half - simple really, give the ball to your best player and watch him go!
The equaliser was always on the cards, though when it came it was a slightly fortuitous one. Mellor laid the ball back to Defoe, loitering back in midfield - he rode a challenge, and blasted a rather hopeful shot from outside the area. Unfortunately for Cardiff Gabbidon put in a very half-hearted lunge which saw the ball flick off him and into the centre of the net, totally wrong-footing the keeper. Maybe I'm being blinkered in thinking it, but it seemed like the sort of goal that we always concede but never score - about time we got a fluke.
The only downside in the second half was probably the chances we missed. Defoe mishit a pass to Mellor when he should surely have just shot on the angle - inexplicable from such a selfish player and on a hat-trick too! Mellor himself should have scored from a rebound but somehow failed to pounce on it - he also took his eye off the ball on a cross that the keeper totally fluffed and could only head it over the bar. Connolly's best chance was a brilliant mazy run, but his shot was too central and was parried to Defoe whose shot was well blocked. Horlock shot well on the volley with his wrong foot but straight at the keeper, who was also on hand to deny sub Garcia late in the match.
But in the end we got our reward - a very classy goal too. Ferdinand threaded a lovely ball into Connolly on the edge of the area - the Irishman's lay-off was excellent, but Defoe's finish was sublime, sidestepping the lunges and then smashing the ball low into the left corner.
The funny thing about the comeback though, was that it was so 'on the cards' in the second half that it almost took the enjoyment out of it. Maybe as well there's a slight feeling that these games are just less important than the real job in hand - I'm sure any of us would have preferred the same comeback on Saturday rather than tonight. Still, I think it must be good for the morale of the players to have a little shot at one of the top domestic competitions - without the cups it would seem a more depressing campaign ahead.
All eyes back on the league now, and also on the treatment table - we're still desperately missing Carrick's class in midfield I feel and his fitness may be the crucial factor in our promotion this season. But the squad is looking thin and it would be a bonus to get any of our injured players back at the moment. But it's nice to know that even down to the bare bones we can win these sort of matches...
WEST HAM PLAYER RATINGS
David James
I think he let the crowd get to him - they seemed to pick him out for some abuse and his kicking just got worse and worse as the match progressed. It must have been at least double figures the amount of times he kicked it straight out. Not that the straight kicks do any better - we can't win headers up front so we need to kick it less, that's it in a nutshell.
Rating 6
Ian Pearce
Worryingly poor. Tidy and positive at times, but at others he just seemed to be nowhere near his man. And it was one of those games where he just seems to have two left feet - he got very lucky a couple of times with balls caught under his feet in crucial areas that ricoched to safety,
Rating 6
Christian Dailly
Even worse than Pearce, he was comprehensively outplayed by Earnshaw. Too scared to get too near his man and get turned, too slow to catch his man when the strikers did get the ball at their feet - not a great combination.
Rating 5
Wayne Quinn
Really an awful, embarrassing mistake for the first goal - he might as well have taken the ball and walked it into the net himself. A shame really because in general I like what he does - he uses the ball well, and seems to usually be in the right place at the right time.
Rating 5
Tomas Repka
No booking, and really very few errors from our foul-throw specialist. He even got forward more than once. Seriously though, it was nice to see him get through a game doing efficient work, not losing his head, and looking like a fairly natural right-back.
Rating 7
Kevin Horlock
Mixed feelings. I think he did do his job, and took responsibility for starting our attacks and also covering in front of the defence despite being outnumbered at times. But maybe he got bogged down a little defensively for me, because he seemed to spend a lot of time covering back and chasing the ball but not winning it for us. And I just thought he overdid the long passing - it's irritating to see him giving the ball away with another misplaced 50-yard pass when there's a simple percentage pass along the floor open to him. Somebody tell him to keep it simple.
Rating 7
Matthew Etherington
I cringe a bit watching him play, especially in the more central role, because he simply doesn't take enough responsibility for getting back behind the ball - he trots back each time and I just want to give him a swift kick. But coming forward he does lots of good things - he's relentlessly positive, though sometimes to the point of running blindly down lots of dead ends with the ball. But he also threatens to pick out that perfect pass, which he did for the crucial penalty before half-time - good stuff.
Rating 7
Anton Ferdinand
To be honest I expected a bad performance from Anton in central midfield - I hate to see square pegs in round holes and the memories are still fresh of players like Potts and Dailly filling in so poorly in the past. So I was pleasantly surprised - he did an efficient job, nothing exceptional, but tidy enough to get the thumbs up. I think he could apply himself a bit more on the pitch - he seems to be ambling about at times. But he didn't give the ball away too often, fizzed the ball in nicely for the winner, and looked like the promising talent we've been promised.
Rating 7
David Connolly
Defoe is destined to get all the major plaudits, but Connolly really is superb for us - what a player and at what a bargain price. His touch and ball retention is just fantastic - great control, almost graceful at times. He comes short for the ball, can twist and turn past his marker, and knows how to pick out the perfect pass as well. And with effectively two assists for the goals tonight it's job done.
Rating 9
Neil Mellor
He won the ball for us a few times with some good tackles, worked hard throughout, and even managed to win the odd header for us, but overall I'm still yet to be impressed. He just needs to get a goal somehow surely to give him a kick-start, because he was renowned at Liverpool as a finisher, but sadly we haven't seen that quite yet with another couple of misses today to add to the collection. But at the same time he seems to be some sort of lucky talisman - I don't think he adds all that much to our play, yet we seem to play better with him in the team. I'm baffled...
Rating 6
Jermain Defoe
Funny, because after two goals for Earnshaw I looked at Defoe and thought 'I bet he doesn't like that' - I think even the commentator remarked that Earnshaw must be the 'hottest property in football'. Three goals later, and after probably one of his best performances of his career so far, I think Jermain has proved his point. Whether or not he was asked to play deeper or wider in the second half, Defoe just made sure he got the ball a lot more, and every single time he got it it seemed like sparks were going to fly. He not only scored the goals, but he really made us click in that second half - it almost makes me think that he's wasted playing up front, because we want him to play everywhere on the pitch. Awesome stuff.
Rating 10 MAN OF THE MATCH
Richard Garcia (on for Mellor)
A brief cameo up front from Garcia - he won a couple of headers, had a great chance to score, and looked very promising. I still think he could make it at the club...
Rating 7
SUBS NOT USED:
Bywater, Sofiane, Noble, Kilgallon.
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Other matches on this day:
2008: Watford 1 West Ham United 0 (LC)
2008: Newcastle United 3 West Ham United 1
2006: Manchester City 2 West Ham United 0
2001: West Ham United 3 Newcastle United 0
2000: Coventry City 0 West Ham United 3
1995: West Ham United 2 Everton 1
1992: West Ham United 0 Crewe Alexandra 0 (LC)
1989: West Ham United 1 Watford 0
1986: Preston North End 1 West Ham United 1 (LC)
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