I didn’t attend Upton Park for this one, I have to confess; a combination of the day being Easter Monday, both my boys coming home from University and Mrs Bazza giving me the look that says, “It’s on the telly and if you go I’m going to have to kill you, if the Hammers’ fans don’t do the job for me!” Fair enough on this occasion I felt; and so it was that my lads and I settled down in front of the box to watch the game.
This was a thoroughly enthralling encounter and a game of two halves quite literally in which the first half saw Blues systematically ride out a sticky start and then dismantle West Ham ruthlessly exploiting their shortcomings with three excellent goals to counter the single reply from the home side to go in 3-1 ahead. It could have been worse for the Hammers had Chris Burke made better contact with a gilt-edged chance in the fourteenth minute when put clean through, or chosen the option of the square ball to King – in splendid isolation – ten yards out in front of goal.
Blues made no mistake 13 minutes later, however, when Jordon Mutch put in an excellent challenge on Carlton Cole to win the ball and Marlon King latched onto it before giving it back to the youngster who continued his run through the centre of midfield. He cleverly shielded the ball using the bamboozled Abdoulaye Faye’s body to unsight Robert Green in the West Ham goal; Mutch drilled the ball low past him for a deserved 1-0 lead. Three minutes later it was even better as Mutch – again hustling Cole – found Wade Elliott who threaded a superb ball through a static Hammers rearguard for King to drive into the area, open up his body and slide the ball under Green’s body for 2-0. Sadly, as we all know Blues just lately cannot keep a clean sheet especially away from home and having completely bossed the half they allowed West Ham back into the game from a corner kick. James Tomkins was allowed a free header back across goal to Vaz Te waiting three yards out. The latter’s header made no mistake and West Ham were back in a game they had no right to be in. However, in the fourth minute of time added on Blues forced a corner of their own and in a bizarre moment, Chris Burke hit a shot into the ground from Nolan’s headed clearance and the ball looped up and over Curtis Davies and Cole into the top corner of the net to restore Blues’ two goal cushion.
Those of us who have been following the Blues for as long as I have just know that 3-1 away from home to most other teams means you go on and win the game. I can think of a number of occasions when this has not been true of Birmingham City and I said to my boys at half-time when they were cock-a-hoop that West Ham had to be better than they were in that 45 minutes and expect a battering as they play like Bolton used to under Big Sam Allardyce. Those of you that know me will know that I am never wrong with a prediction except for lottery ticket numbers and the score line of any game affecting our great and glorious lads! 😀 Sure enough West Ham lumped the ball into our penalty area and claimed a penalty at every opportunity and I for one didn’t blame them. The Upton Park crowd were up and singing about blowing silly bubbles and all that b******s but it was exactly the right approach in the position they found themselves.
Whilst Blues had been by far the better side in the first period, we were absolutely hammered (no pun intended) by the home side in the second period. We stood up to the onslaught well overall but the turning point came when N’Daw had to go off for a hamstring strain midway through the half, replaced by Zigic and the writing was on the wall. We were under massive pressure and seemed unable to get out of our own half. When we got it, we didn’t keep it and it has to be said that Blues were fortunate to escape at least two penalty appeals, one of which was definite the other questionable. The West Ham players were chirping at the referee all through the half and I had a foreboding that sooner or later he was going to give one eventually as he did with two minutes left.
Cole had cut the deficit with twenty minutes to go when Davies and Zigic went for the same ball and Cole was left with no one within five yards of him as Nolan hooked the ball back to the striker eight yards out. The left footed finish was a formality after such poor defending. Nevertheless, Blues so nearly hung on but Lansbury’s fiercely hit drive straight at Burke cannoned off the winger’s elbows as he took defensive reaction to his face. It is very difficult to see how Burke could have got out of the way but penalty it was and after the earlier incidents, Blues could have no complaints but it is one of those that is galling if you are on the wrong end of the decision and I bet if the player had been Valencia or Giggs rather than Burke it would have been waved off Upton Park or Old Trafford! Vaz Te crashed the ball down the middle for 3-3.
All said and done I would have settled for a draw before the match so we cannot be too disappointed. The result was fair in the end when you consider the whole game. Both teams could have won this; Blues with Burke’s chance in the first half, Zigic with a glorious chance from a header when he had only just come on and Wade Elliott missed a wonderful opportunity to put Chris Burke through with a minute or so left for a one-on-one with Green. They hit the bar in the first half with a delightful chip from Nicky Maynard just before half time that Boaz Myhill had waved goodbye to, plus the close calls following frantic activity in our box in the second half. However, West Ham, creditable though their stirring comeback was, did not deserve to win the game but a point was merited and on balance I’m happy.
The Good: Excellent, exciting and entertaining game between two of the best sides in the Championship. It lived up to its billing.
The Bad: The defending for West Ham’s first goal. I told my boys it would be costly and in the final analysis it was. Leaving Cole with too much space wasn’t much better.
The Ugly: Chris Burke’s mood; he undoubtedly feels hard done by and he probably was but they definitely should have had a penalty earlier so justice was served in the end.
West Ham United (4-5-1): Robert Green 7, James Tomkins 7, George McCartney 6 (Danny Collins 34, 6), Winston Reid 6, Abdoulaye Faye 7, Ricardo Vaz Te 8, Mark Noble7 (Sam Baldock 82, N/A), Kevin Nolan 7, Gary O’Neil 7, Nicky Maynard 6 (Henri Lansbury 46, 7), Carlton Cole 7.
Not used: Matthew Taylor, Guy Demel.
Booking: Reid (foul, 67)
Blues (4-5-1): Boaz Myhill 7 Peter Ramage 7 David Murphy 7 Curtis Davies 7 Steven Caldwell 8 Chris Burke 7 Keith Fahey 7 Guirane N’Daw 7 (Nikola Zigic 68, 6) Jordon Mutch 7 Wade Elliott 7 Marlon King 7 (Andros Townsend 80, N/A)
Not used: Colin Doyle, Erik Huseklepp. Nathan Redmond.
Bookings: N’Daw (foul, 37), Zigic (foul, 72), Burke (handball, 87)
Referee: J Moss: 7; I’m not going to blame the referee here for giving the penalty when he did and not giving one when he perhaps should have. He was under tremendous pressure from the West Ham players and the crowd that were baying for a spot kick virtually every time the ball went into our box. I think he handled a high pressure game in an intimidating atmosphere well and has to take some of the credit for contributing to a cracking game and an excellent watch. Sure there were errors and his linesmen made one or two minor bad calls but overall I thought Mr Moss and his colleagues did a good job and I don’t feel we should go after the guy who receives the least remuneration of any one on the pitch.
Attendance: 31,045.
Bazza KRO SOTV
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