Sunderland 1 West Ham 0
Gabbidon, Parker and Dyer came in for Faubert, Kovac and Barrera. Despite wins in the last couple of games the first half here was back to normal service for West Ham, with the team sitting back and allowing Sunderland to dominate the game.
Sunderland had by far the most possession in the first half and when West Ham did manage to get the ball forward Cole was unable to retain possession. Despite their dominance however Sunderland weren't making too many chances. They managed a couple of long range shots on goal from Cattermole and Bent but both shots were straight at Green.
Then in the 34th minute Gyan got clear on the right wing and crossed to Henderson in the area who fired the home side into the lead from 10 yards. A couple of minutes after the goal Gyan came close to getting the second after he beat Green from 20 yards, only to see his shot clip the crossbar.
West Ham's best opportunity in the half came after Spector picked the ball up in midfield, span on the ball beating two players in the process and then drove into the area before shooting just wide of the left hand post.
West Ham showed more attacking intent in the second half without ever really looking like they would get the equaliser. In the 49th minute Obinna crossed from the left wing to Cole on the edge of the box. Cole did well to turn his man and just fired his shot wide of the right hand post.
Sunderland probably had the better chances to score in the second half. In the 66th minute Gyan forced a save from Green with an effort from the edge of the area. In the 85th minute Green spilled the ball in the area and Wellbeck would have scored except for some quick work from Tomkins to deflect his shot wide.
In the 79th minute Obinna shot just wide of the left hand post from the edge of the area. In the 82nd minute Obinna crossed from the left and Parker ran to the near post and managed to stick out his leg but he could only deflect the ball well wide.
So back to normal for West Ham after a couple of wins on the bounce. Hopefully Grant will have at least learnt from this game that Cole needs more support up front and Obinna is far more effective playing from the left.
posted by Keir Clarke @ 4:49 PM
8 comments
8 Comments:
Its going to be a long hard season !!!!!!
Bob The Hammer
back to the west ham we know and hate!
Much better defending than at Anfield,but one or two shots on target all game is woeful. Cole ,per usual ,was probably the worst player on the pitch -apart from one decent left-footed chance his contribution was weak.
Questions have to be asked about why Piquionne was not brought on sooner. To leave it til 70 minutes was crazy. It doesn't reflect well on the manager.
GET COLE OUT - He is the biggest waste of space I have ever seen and it must be so disheartening to the other players who work hard to get the ball in the final third, give it to Cole who miscontrols it and gives it away. Then the rest of the team have to win it back.
We were ok all over, apart from upfront because of that lazy twat. Didnt deserve his start after two lucky goals on Monday and another below par performance.
Sell Cole and Upson Quick!
I agree! Cole's touch and general contribution was really poor today! He could have got himself sent off too!
Cole can control the ball further than most players can kick it!! Useless!!
Piqionne aint been that clinical this season but start him over cole, even if he has a broken leg, start him over cole!
Agree- Piquionne is far more likely to score- Cole can't score ,and doesn't do anything else to make up for his lack of scoring. If he held the ball up well, like he used to, or if he passed well or won the ball back when we lsoe possession,that wud be different. But Cole is failing in every aspect of the game. If he continues to start ,it is likely that we will go down. He shud only be used as a substitute or as cover. Any time he gets a sniff of a regular place in the side,he gets lazy
One other thing about Cole- his laziness is very bad for team spirit. Many players are slogging there guts out - how do those players feel when they see the laziness and sloppy play of Cole. It cannot be good for morale , and Cole's negative impact on the side has gotto be stopped ,before it is too late. the last time that I recall one individual player having such a negative effect on a West Ham side was Gary Breen. Which was teh last time we went down
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