"Just go out there and enjoy your football lads" |
God only knows what Big Sam said at half time but within
moments of the start of the second half his side had signalled their intent and
Momo Diame smashed through the Fulham defence before unleashing a smashing
drive into the right hand corner of the Fulham net. And so ended a dismal run
of misfortune and poor play from the Bubbles boyz.
The first half had started brightly for West Ham who
dominated early exchanges and the once again unfortunate Maiga smashing a
header off the bar! Then Fulham carved out some possession and the game
trundled forwards with the occasional effort for each side but without a goal.
For West Ham Kevin Nolan missed one he would normally bury (before this season
that is!) . Fulham almost unlocked the
Hammers defence as Darren Bent almost got free but for the canny, if somewhat illegal,
intervention of the returning George McCartney. Fulham looked nervous at set
pieces but otherwise the over keen Hammers frequently fluffed their chances –
epitomised by a sequence of slips and poor touches by Matt Jarvis. And so came
half time. Hmmm.
Then the second half kicked into life with Diame’s excellent
strike and the Hammers seized the game, and hopefully their season, by the
scruff of the neck. Soon after, Maiga made some space with his trademark swivel
and Stekelenberg could only palm it away to Stewart Downing, who made some
space before ballooning the ball over from 5 yards! Hmmm. Not to worry, for the
Hammers tails were up as Tomkins and then moments later, Jarvis had good
chanced with headers. Jol tried to change it worth some substitutions and Big
Sam followed suit, replacing Jarvis and
Nolan with Morrison and Joe Cole - who immediately made an impact with two
excellent efforts, one of which bounced back off the bar!
And so we wondered, another Spurs or would we see grasp
defeat from victory like at Carrow Road? The answer soon came as within moments
of entering the fray, Carlton ‘Killer’ Cole extended his excellent record
against Fulham by tapping in from 3 yards after a well worked move with Downing
who was excellent throughout.
Worryingly for Fulham, they were unable to mount any meaningful
response and with two minutes of normal time remaining, Joe Cole smacked one in
after a nice work with Ravel Morrison. Fulham looked demoralised, while the
Hammers look forward to the next encounter with a Crystal Palace side who saw
their recent winning streak of one game ended at Carrow Road.
Player Ratings:
Jaaskelainen: Back to his reliable self but hardly troubled as Fulham
could not manage a single shot on target! . 7/10
Demel: Strong in defence, enthusiastic coming forward and made a few of
his swashbuckling runs 7/10
Tomkins: Who will be sacrificed when Reid returns? Hard to tell on this
performance as Tomkins was solid
throughout and also posed a major threat at set pieces. Could’ve been punished
more by a twitchy ref for a foolish first half tackle. 7/10
Collins: Ginge quietly gets on with his job, making block after block. 7/10
McCartney: Great to see him back, what he lacks in pace he has in
smarts! 6/10
Jarvis: Energetic but looks too hurried and wasted a number of good
chances in both halves. 6/10
Diame: Big presence throughout and added another impressive strike to
his collection. His strength both in defence and attack was crucial in
suffocating the Fulham midfield pairing of Parker and Sidwell. 8/10
Noble; Fairly quiet by his usual hyperactive standards but solid
throughout. 6/10
Downing: Probably our best wide player this season? Always looking to
create and should have opened his account with a good chance early in the
second half. 8/10
Nolan: Hmmmm. Again missed a good chance he would normally slot away.
Replaced by Morrison with 15 minutes remaining…..a glimpse of the future
perhaps? 6/10
Maiga: Desperately unlucky again on a number of occasions and you’ve got
to admire his courage. Surprisingly effective aerial presence at times. 6/10.
Substitutes:
Morrison: lively. Why wasn’t he on from the start? Doubtless he’ll be
thinking the same! 7/10
C. Cole: You gotta love him –
unless you are a Fulham fan! His goal may be a big moment for our season! 7/10
J. Cole: Talk of his leaving is media-driven nonsense. Downing and Cole
for the wide positions? 8/10.
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