westhamacademy

The Hammers rounded off their pre-season preparations with an impressive win over Italian giants Roma at Upton Park. It was the perfect way for the squad to prepare for the beginning of the Premiership season and a number of players got another game under their belts.
Roma began brightly and were showing their class to the 26,425 crowd, as they put together a number of slick moves early on. The Italian club's captain and star man, Francesco Totti, was at the centre of most things they did well. However, when they took the lead on 1 3 minutes, it was a Frenchman who took the plaudits as Ludovic Giuly fired home a superb drive into Rob Green's top corner.
The visitors then clipped the bar and forced Green into three quality saves before half-time saw the introduction of Richard Wright and Dean Ashton.
Ashton was in fine form and twice went close before Hammers' equaliser came from the most unlikely of sources, when George McCartney rose highest to power a Ljungberg corner into the roof of the net.
The impetus was very much with West Ham and we took the lead just three minutes later. Mark Noble collected the ball in midfield and sent a fine pass out to the right which found Ashton. Faced up by one defender, the powerful hitman bamboozled his opponent with a step-over and burst into the box. From there the returning hero fired low and hard past Curci to give us the lead. The rest of the game went by without too much in the way of incident as the team completed a perfect preparation for the new season.

MANCHESTER CITY : Barclays Premier League

Upton Park
0-2
11th August 2007
Att: 34,921
Referee: P. Walton

Green
Spector
Ferdinand
Upson
McCartney (Ashton)
Ljungberg
Bowyer (Mullins)
Noble
Boa Morte (Etherington)
Zamora
Bellamy

City's foreign legion are too fast for Hammers

Sven-Goran Eriksson enjoyed a victorious start as Manchester City boss, after new boys Rolando Bianchi and Geovanni condemned West Ham to defeat. After making eight summer signings and the possibility of more to follow, it would have been difficult for Curbishley to predict what team the former England boss would put out.
One of the signings, Elano, enjoyed a superb introduction to the English game. Deployed just behind lone striker Rolando Bianchi, Elano found space intelligently, never lost his composure and always threatened to cause problems.
The 26-year-old had already signalled his intent by firing one shot just over. However, when he collected Stephen Ireland's short pass, few had time to blink before Elano ran straight at Matty Upson. The Brazilian international skipped round him before firing in a low cross-shot, which invited a far post finish. Bianchi - fourth highest scorer in Serie A last term - was on hand to tap home.
The introduction of Matthew Etherington at half time instantly brought the Hammers more threat. Ljungberg was an inch away from turning home the winger's cross but, with just under half an hour remaining Curbishley called on Ashton, who had not played since breaking an ankle on England duty 12 months ago. The moment our returning hero had been waiting for arrived 11 minutes from time, as Etherington picked him out with a deep cross. The striker took aim from 10 yards, only to see his first-time volley skim the crossbar. It was the nearest West Ham came to spoiling Eriksson's day before substitute Geovanni rammed home number two four minutes from time, following great work from substitute Nedum Onuoha.

FREDRIK LJUNGBERG & CRAIG BELLAMY - HAMMERS DUBUTS

BIRMINGHAM CITY : Barclays Premier League

St. Andrews
1-0 (Noble pen)
18th August 2007
Att: 24,961
Referee: M. Halsey

Green
Spector (Gabbidon)
Ferdinand
Upson
McCartney
Dyer
Mullins
Noble
Etherington
Zamora
Bellamy

Noble coolly takes the points at Birmingham

Craig Bellamy was at the centre of controversy as the Hammers claimed their first win of the season at St. Andrew's.
Bellamy was brought down by Blues' 'keeper Colin Doyle for a 68th minute penalty, but Birmingham's players were aggrieved, as they felt Bellamy had dived to win the spot kick. However, television replays showed later that it was a clear cut penalty.
Mark Noble stepped up to convert from the spot and give the Hammers all three points. The Hammers felt justice was done as they believed they should have had a penalty in the first half, when debutant Kieron Dyer was brought down by Stephen Kelly.
The Hammers almost went ahead after 25 minutes but Mark Noble's fierce drive thumped against Doyle's post. Birmingham's best attempt of the opening half came in injury-time when Robert Green parried Radhi Jaidi's shot after Forssell's initial attempt had been blocked following a Larsson free-kick.
After the break West Ham looked more dangerous. Matthew Etherington saw his effort well saved by Doyle while Bobby Zamora then had two good chances in quick succession. Zamora lofted the first over the bar after controlling a long Ferdinand ball and then volleyed over from close range after a good run by Etherington.Once the Hammers had taken the lead City substitute McSheffrey forced Robert Green to tip a skidding 30 yard free-kick around the post. But it was the Hammers who looked most likely to score again as Bellamy and Dyer were both denied late on.

FULHAM Under-18 : F.A. Premier Academy League

Little Heath
0-1
18th August 2007

Narrow defeat gets youths under way

Street
O'Neill
Miller
N'Gala
Blackwell
Stanislas
Collison
Harvey
Edgar
Hunt
Sears

A tight derby contest saw West Ham United undone by a second-half goal in the opening match of the new Under-18 season. Michael Uwezu scored the only goal for the visitors midway through the second half at Little Heath to take all three points back to west London. The home side had their moments, notably when Jack Collison, who continued his fine pre-season form, saw an effort rebound off the post.
Tony Carr's team started well and created several chances. However, despite penning in the visitors for much of the first half it remained at 0-0 at half-time. After the break, West Ham United again had most of the opportunities to go ahead, not least when Ben Hunt thought he had scored only to see his effort ruled out for offside.
Freddie Sears saw a chance parried by the Fulham keeper and before Collison went close with that effort against the woodwork. Anthony Edgar got away well on the left but just could not lift it over the keeper and several other chances followed, all scrambled off the line by Fulham. It was ultimately a counterattack that saw Uwezu score for Fulham and resulted in the visitors taking home the points.
Youth academy director Tony Carr was not too downhearted after the 18 August defeat, seeing plenty of positives for the campaign to come. He said: "We were very unlucky to be honest; it was only our lack of clinical finishing in front of goal that cost us. We had most of the play and chances but it was simply one of those days when the ball would not cross over the line for us."

WIGAN ATHLETIC : Barclays Premier League

Upton Park
1-1 (Bowyer)
25th August 2007
Att: 33,793
Referee: A. Marriner

Green
Neill
Ferdinand
Upson
McCartney
Dyer
Noble
Mullins (Bowyer)
Etherington
Zamora (Ashton)
Bellamy (Boa Morte)

Bowyer's first for
Hammers salvages point

Lee Bowyer rescued a point for the Hammers with a rare goal nine minutes from time. Wigan's Paul Scharner looked to have won it for Chris Hutchings' side when he sent an acrobatic overhead kick past Robert Green with just 12 minutes remaining.
But the Hammers could and perhaps should have had this game wrapped up long before Scharner's spectacular strike. Wasteful finishing from the home side meant they are still without a home win this season.
Kirkland's crossbar with the aid of a deflection. Mark Noble shaved the foot of the post with a shot after following up from his own free-kick, 10 minutes into the second half. And Paul Scharner also skimmed the woodwork at the other end before Robert Green pulled off a great save from substitute Julius Aghahowa.
Bobby Zamora missed two good opportunities, sending one shot across goal for a throw-in and then letting Kieron Dyer's cross run under his foot with only Chris Kirkland to beat in the 21st minute.
Craig Bellamy was denied by an offside flag when he latched onto Dyer's pass just after the half-hour mark. But it was left-back George McCartney who went closest for the Hammers. His 37th minute strike just cleared
Dean Ashton was sent on for the last 30 minutes but he had two efforts blocked. But it was Wigan who eventually broke the deadlock, with Scharners effort, before substitute Lee Bowyer showed the Hammers how to do it.

KIERON DYER - HAMMERS DEBUT

PORTSMOUTH Under-18 (F.A. Premier Academy League)

Wellington Sports Ground
0-1
25th August 2007

Stech
O'Neill
Blackwell
Miller
N'Gala
Harvey
Stanislas (Edgar)
Lee (Kearns)
Hunt
Sears
Jeffery (Fry)

Please note:
No programme was issued for this game, this is a PIRATE PROGRAMME

West Ham United Under-18s' hopes of a first point of the new season were dashed by a late free-kick that gave the home side all three points.
The 25 August contest had looked like being a stalemate in what was a frustrating afternoon for youth academy director Tony Carr and his team, until the home side was awarded a debatable free-kick on the edge of the area. A low left-foot shot went agonisingly under the feet of the boys in the West Ham wall and into the corner of the net. In a game of few chances, it was always likely to be settled by one goal.
"It was petering out to a 0-0 draw and I think that would have been the right result. They didn't deserve to win and we didn't deserve to lose," said Carr. "It had been a pretty fair challenge on one of their boys, which to be fair on another day would have gone unnoticed, but they were awarded the free-kick and lucky for them, it went in."
He added: "It was the only decent shot they had on goal, but it wasn't a good game overall. They stuck ten behind the ball, were not attacking and adventurous, so it was hard to break that down and get our football flowing. In fact, their staff came up to me afterwards and apologised for the way they approached the game."

BRISTOL ROVERS : Carling Cup (Second Round)

Memorial Stadium
2-1 (Bellamy 2)
28th August 2007
Att: 10,831
Referee: M. Jones

Wright
Neill
Gabbidon
Ferdinand
McCartney (Collins)
Dyer (Noble)
Mullins
Bowyer
Boa Morte
Bellamy (Cole)
Zamora

Dyer break sours Bellamy's
first goals

The Hammers' progression to the third round of the Carling Cup was overshadowed by a horrific injury to Kieron Dyer.
The midfield man broke his leg in the 13th minute following Joe Jacobson's challenge. Dyer was stretchered off and taken to hospital, where it was confirmed he had sustained a double fracture to his right leg. It left Alan Curbishley feeling angry and frustrated as Dyer is the fourth of his summer signings to be sidelined.

RICHARD WRIGHT
HAMMERS DEBUT

However, the good news for Curbishley was that Craig Bellamy scored his first goals for West Ham to ensure there was no Carling Cup humiliation for the Hammers against League One opponents Bristol Rovers.
His double strike in the opening 45 minutes were his first goals since his £7.5million summer switch from Liverpool. Bellamy's first was a fantastic strike. The Welshman was all of 30 yards away from the Rovers goal when he let fly with an unstoppable strike which left Rovers' 'keeper Steve Phillips with no chance. And it was a typical Bellamy change of pace which created the second goal in stoppage time after Lucas Neill sent a long ball over the Rovers back-line. The home side had seen off Crystal Palace in the previous round and although their 14-match unbeaten run was coming to an end, they refused to go down without a fight. Rickie Lambert was denied by Richard Wright 10 minutes into the second half. Rovers kept battling and eventually grabbed a lifeline through substitute Andrew Williams. Williams scored a sublime solo goal, taking a great touch to evade Anton Ferdinand before smashing the ball past Wright with the outside of his foot. It made for a rousing finale and although there were chances at either end in the closing minutes, the Hammers held firm and go through to face Plymouth Argyle in the third round.

ASTON VILLA : Premier Reserve League

Woodside Park
1-2 (Reid)
29th August 2007

Walker
Pantsil
Fitzgerald (Miller)
Blackwell
N'Gala
Stokes
Hales
Collison
Jeffery
Sears (Stanislas)
Reid

A 25-yard scorcher from Kyel Reid was almost enough to secure a point for West Ham United on the first day of the new Premier Reserve League season until Aston Villa snatched a late winner.
The reserves kicked off on 29 August playing at the Woodside ground, home of Bishop's Stortford FC, under Kevin Keen and nearly took a share of the spoils. A young team, aided by first teamers Jimmy Walker in goal and John Pantsil in defence, started brightly and created several chances in the first 20 minutes. Jack Collison and Freddie Sears were both lively in and around the box and Pantsil saw an effort blocked as he tried a low shot. Aston Villa then pushed forward, Mikaelsson tried his luck with a rebound strike after Walker had saved, but the ball went wide. Reid then linked up well with Jack Collison, but the final ball was just too long for him to latch on to.
It remained 0-0 at half time and Keen made a change as the second half began, Ashley Miller coming on for Lorcan Fitzgerald.
Walker was alert to two Villa chances early on in the half, before another change was made to the Hammers side, with Junior Stanislas replacing Freddie Sears. Half chances fell to both sides and Walker made a double save before Villa made the breakthrough. Hogg jumped up high enough to see the ball hit the underside of the crossbar and then into the back of the net.

But the Hammers responded well and were soon on level terms. Reid picked up the ball and sent a blistering shot from 25-yards past the Villa keeper. Two goals in four minutes had opened the game up and West Ham nearly took the lead, as Reid sent in a pinpoint cross only for Junior Stanislas' effort to bounce off the post with inches to spare.
With the game looking like a stale-mate, Villa pounced to take all three points as Lowry hit the winner in the 89th minute. For goalscorer Reid, there was disappointment the Hammers could not get something from the game.

READING : Barclays Premier League

Madejski Stadium
3-0 (Bellamy, Etherington 2)
1st September 2007
Att: 23,533
Referee: H. Webb

Green
Neill
McCartney
Ferdinand
Upson
Noble
Mullins
Etherington
Bowyer (Spector)
Bellamy (Boa Morte)
Ashton (Cole)

Bellamy gains revenge for last season's sixer

The Hammers continued their 100% away record with an impressive 3-0 win at Reading's Madejski Stadium.
The result and performance was a far cry from the Hammers' last visit to the Berkshire club, when they were thrashed 6-0 on New Year's Day, and this victory went a long way to erasing that memory.
West Ham never looked back after Craig Bellamy had given them an early lead and Matthew Etherington added two more in the second half, with Robert Green saving a penalty in bewteen Etherington's strikes.
Bellamy had netted his third goal in a week withing seconds of the whistle. Lee Bowyer dispossessed James Harper in midfield and set Bellamy away with a well weighted pass. The Welshman rifled a low drive past Reading 'keeper Marcus Hahnemann.
The Hammers continued to look dangerous on the break and Dean Ashton, making his first start since the 2006 FA Cup Final went close to doubling the lead. Mark Noble sent a drive just wide from the edge of the box. Reading went in search of an equaliser though and Brynjar Gunnarsson saw a shot blocked before Michael Duberry headed just wide. Stephen Hunt came closest though, when his effort bounced off the top of the crossbar just before half time.
Etherington finally doubled the Hammers' advantage just four minutes into the second half. He played a clever one-two with Bellamy and beat Hahnemann with fierce shot.
Reading missed a perfect opportunity to get back in the match when Robert Green saved a penalty he had conceded himself. Green had upended Kitson but guessed correctly to stop Doyle's spot-kick.
And Etherington put the result beyond doubt in stoppage time with a well taken goal at the end of a solo run.

WATFORD Under-18 (F.A. Premier Academy League)

Little Heath
4-2 (Sears, N'Gala, Hunt, Hines)
1st September 2007

Street
O'Neill
Miller
Fitzgerald
N'Gala
Payne
Harvey
Stanislas (Hines)
Lee
Hunt (Fry)
Sears

It was a case of happy Hammers all around as the youth team recorded their first victory of the new season against Watford. The young Hammers started the game in blistering form and were 3-0 up within eight minutes.
Good link-up play between Ben Hunt and Freddie Sears saw West Ham take the lead, as Sears finished the move off by lifting the ball over the Watford keeper and into the net. Hammers grabbed a second goal soon after. Lorcan Fitzgerald crossed in a good corner which was flicked on by Hunt at the near post. In came Bondz N'Gala at the backpost to strike the ball towards the goal and while his first effort was parried by the keeper, N'Gala struck the back of the net at the second attempt from close range.
West Ham made sure of their commanding play, when they netted the third goal. A shot was deflected, hit the post and Hunt followed in the rebound after the Hornets keeper again failed to hold the ball. Outplaying their opposition, the young Hammers were looking likely to score every time they pushed forward.
But although on the backfoot for most of the game, Watford did manage to pull a goal back on the half-hour mark and it was 3-1 at half-time. In the second half, Hammers continued how they had started, mounting several attacks on the Watford defence.
Their strong endeavour resulted in a fourth goal as substitute Zavon Hines scored a great individual effort. After dispossessing his marker, Hines took the ball forward and coolly chipped the ball over the keeper. With 20 minutes to go though, Watford hit the net with their second goal, but West Ham kept their heads and ran out worthy winners.

READING : Premier Reserves League

Recreation Ground - Aldershot
1-1 (Cole)
4th September 2007

Walker
Pantsil
Dailly
N'Gala
Miller
Reid
Stokes
Collison
Boa-Morte
Ashton
Hines (Cole)

Cole earns a share of the spoils

A stunning strike from Carlton Cole earned West Ham United's reserves a deserved point away at Reading. Kevin Keen's side had gone behind in the first half on 4 September, when Reading's James Henry scored from a wide free-kick but with eight minutes to go Cole, who had come on as a substitute at half-time, struck the ball from long range to fire it into the top corner of the net and earn the Hammers a share of the spoils. The game saw Dean Ashton get 90 minutes under his belt, as well as Christian Dailly, who played his first game since fracturing his foot. Jimmy Walker, John Pantsil and Luis Boa Morte also played Reading also had a strong side out, featuring Dave Kitson, Leroy Lita and a debut for Liam Rosenior Lita had a couple of early chances but found Walker in no mood to let him past, while Kitson hit his effort against the post At the other end, Ashton make a good run into the box but could not get any contact on the final ball and young striker Zavon Hines went close to scoring, but his header was saved by the keeper. After 26 minutes, the deadlock was broken, when Henry struck home from the free-kick to give the Royals the lead. Kevin Keen brought on Cole for Zavon Hines at the start of the second half and the Hammers pushed forward in search of an equaliser, while Walker made three good saves to deny the Royals another chance to score. With 82 minutes on the clock, Hammers got a deserved goal as Cole picked up the ball 35-yards out and hit home with a magnificent strike.

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR Under-18 (F.A. Premier Academy League)

Little Heath
3-3 (Sears 2, Stanislas)
8th September 2007

Blackmore
Miller (N'Gala)
Blackwell
Payne
Spence
Harvey (Kearns)
Stanislas
Lee (Fry)
Hunt
Hines
Sears

Youths in six-goal thriller with Spurs

A high-tempo game saw West Ham United Under- 18's battle for a hard-fought point against London rivals Tottenham Hotspur. Both teams went out to attack from the start and it was the Hammers who got in front in the first half, thanks to a goal from Freddie Sears. Ben Hunt had started the move by dispossessing his marker and drove the ball into the box. It shot across the path of the Spurs keeper, hit the post and came out, landing nicely for Sears to strike in the rebound.
Spurs equalised, but Tony Carr's young charges were soon back in the lead, thanks to a well-worked move that has been honed on the training pitch at Little Heath. Oliver Lee made a break deep at the back, releasing the ball to Sears on the left-hand side and, while Spurs appealed in vain for off-side, Sears carried on his run and squared the ball low and sharp to Junior Stanislas who side-footed it into the net.
West Ham had a couple of chances to increase the lead before the break, but it remained 2-1 at half-time. In the second half, Hammers found themselves on the back foot as Spurs pushed forward. Hammers failed to clear a corner and Spurs made the most of confusion in the box to shoot home.
The home side battled on, but it was the North Londoners who found their feet again and toe-poked their third into the net after David Blackmore, making his first start of the season, just lost his hold on the ball.
Tottenham dominated the next half-hour of the match, but the Hammers got stronger again in the last quarter and

made it count as they grabbed another goal to make it all-square. Jordan Spence, also making his first appearance of the season following his duties for the England U-17 team in the World Youth Cup finals in South Korea, made a surging run and from the right-hand side crossed the ball into a crowded goalmouth for Sears to catch the ball on the volley and send it flying into the top corner of the net. As the minutes ticked away, it was Hammers who nearly snatched the winner. Sears again had the ball and decided to shoot, but this time didn't hit the target. It finished with the teams on level terms and for Carr and the team it was a good point gained.
"Although we let Spurs back in after scoring early on and then conceded disappointing goals, we battled back and I think from that, we certainly didn't deserve to lose," he said. "We had a strong first half, but Spurs dominated the second and we struggled to get possession at times. Yet we didn't give up and the pleasing thing for me was that we hung in there and when we got the opportunity to hit back we did. "It was a fast game between two teams who set their stall out to attack and we nearly snatched in the end, but it wasn't to be on this occasion."

MIDDLESBROUGH : Barclays Premier League

Upton Park
3-0 (Bowyer, (o.g.) Ashton
15th September 2007
Att: 34,361
Referee: S. Bennett

Green
Collins
Upson
Neill
McCartney
Etherington (Boa Morte)
Bowyer
Noble
Mullins
Bellamy (Cole)
Ashton (Ljungberg)

Ashton's first goal since his injury seals victory

West Ham were on top from the start with Matthew Etherington quick out of the blocks with an early cross which was cleared by George Boateng, before Bowyer burst through the midfield only to run into Jonathan Woodgate on the edge of the area.
Ashton thought he had opened the scoring after 12 minutes, only to be denied by a linesman's flag after he had latched on to Craig Bellamy's through-ball. However, Boro came even closer in the 18th minute, when Mido sent Aliadiere racing through, but the Frenchman's shot hit the post.
That ended a rather humdrum first half but the Hammers had to wait just 25 seconds after the break to open the scoring. Bowyer sprinted forward to get on to Cole's one-touch pass and volley sublimely past Schwarzer for his second goal of the season.
Just five minutes later we doubled our advantage when Cole shrugged off Downing and crosseed towards Mullins, only for Luke Young to steer the ball past Schwarzer with his out-stretched right boot.
Boro should have pulled a goal back just before the hour, when Julio Area's long ball sent Tuncay clear. Green charged off his line, only for Tuncay to deftly lob the ball over the keeper but see it bounce agonisingly off the top of the crossbar. Tuncay threatened again after being put through by Mido but Green pulled off a fine save at his near post.
However, shortly afterwards DeanAshton got the biggest cheer of the day when he wrapped up the points following another flowing move. Mullins sprayed the ball out to Etherington, who skipped past Young with ease before producing a marvellous cross for Ashton to sweep home at the far post.

COVENTRY CITY Under-18 : F.A. Premier Academy League

The Alan Higgs Centre
2-0 (Sears, Jeffrey)
15th September 2007

Street
Spence (O'Neill)
Fitzgerald
Fry
Ashman
N'Gala
Harvey
Stanislas
Kearns
Sears
Jeffrey

Youths keep up unbeaten run

West Ham United's Under-18's kept up their unbeaten run with a solid win away at Coventry. Tony Carr's young team scored twice in the first half to secure their second league victory of the season. Hammers were dominant from the start and 20 minutes in, had taken the lead against their hosts. Good movement down the right-hand side saw Jordan Spence, Junior Stanislas and Freddie Sears involved with the ball being cut across the box for Jack Jeffrey to net his first goal of the campaign. Just ten minutes later, West Ham increased their foothold on the game by grabbing a second.
The goal was similar to the first in that there was more good movement and passing, before Sears finished well from 10 yards out. In the second half, Hammers were once again strong, Stanislas went close with an effort and despite a few long-range efforts from Coventry, it was West Ham who saw out the match to go home with all the points.
Youth Academy Director Carr was full of praise for his side. The youth team has now won two games and drawn one, putting a little run together and have recovered well from the two defeats suffered in the opening games of the season.
"We were unlucky to lose those first two games narrowly, but each week we have progressed and have now scored nine goals in three games. "We had been conceding a bit as well, so Saturday's win over Coventry was made even better as we got a clean sheet to show for our efforts as well," said Tony.
"The boys are doing well. Jordan Spence has returned from the World Youth Cup finals very fit and sharp and Freddie Sears is hitting the net on a regular basis once again. In fact, Freddie wasn't shy in reminding me this morning that he has now scored four goals in three games! But the boys want to keep improving and they have a great attitude."

IN THE NEWS - Tuesday 18th September 2007

Eggert Magnusson relinquishes West Ham role

Eggert Magnusson is to step down as West Ham United’s executive chairman, it was announced today. Magnusson will remain as the club’s non-executive chairman and the Hammers’ Icelandic owner Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson is to take a more hands-on role in the club.
Gudmundsson is to appoint an executive team to handle the day-to-day running of the club, but Magnusson will continue to be heavily involved and will keep his own stake in the club. The shake-up is the next step in West Ham's masterplan to break into the top four in the Premier League, and includes moving to a new stadium.
The club insist the changes will have no impact on manager Alan Curbishley and his coaching staff, who will remain in control of all football matters. “I am so proud of what we have achieved since becoming involved with the club and I am grateful for Eggert Magnusson’s contribution to West Ham throughout this time,” Gudmundsson said. “Of course there have been challenges but we have made real progress and can be confident about the future.
“It is now vital for our longer-term ambitions to become one of the leading clubs in England playing for honours both at home and in Europe that we strengthen the senior team at the club and build a truly professional management structure for the future.” Magnusson said the time was right to “stand back a little”. “We have worked hard to create stability and optimism sometimes in very difficult and trying circumstances,” he said. “I think it is now important to broaden the management team so that we can deliver the bright future that is opening up for the club. “I have enjoyed my time as executive chairman but feel the moment is right to stand back a little as we move into a new and exciting period.”
Gudmundsson will remain chairman of the board of West Ham United Holding, with his close aide Thor Kristjansson as both vice-chairman of the holding company and executive vice-chairman of the club. Scott Duxbury remains chief executive and an expanded executive team will be announced in the near future.

PORTSMOUTH : Premier Reserve League

Upton Park
2-1 (Camara 2)
18th September 2007

Wright
Pantsil
Spector (Fitzgerald)
Dailly
Davenport
Stokes
Collison
Parker
Camara
Boa Morte
Reid

Camara up and running in reserves

Henri Camara got his West Ham United career off to a flying start by grabbing a brace of goals as the reserves ran out 2-1 winners against Portsmouth at the Boleyn Ground.
The striker was lively throughout the game on 18 September and finished neatly twice in the second half to give Kevin Keen's men their first win of the season.
Camara was one of eight first-team regulars who played and there was a welcome sight for watching West Ham boss Alan Curbishley as Scott Parker came through 90 minutes of competitive action against a strong Pompey side, who had the likes of Pedro Mendes, David Nugent and Linvoy Primus in their starting line-up.
The first half saw both sides have half-chances without making any impression on the game. Mendes hit a shot over the bar early on for Portsmouth, while at the other end Calum Davenport came forward for a corner and his header also went close.
Christian Dailly made a good clearance as Portsmouth had another effort and Kyel Reid, making promising runs down the wing, got the ball across to Camara, but it was just too far in front of him.
After the break, Camara sent a long-range shot just wide and then Reid tried an angled shot, also from some way out that just shaved the top of the bar.

The Hammers' pressure was to bring a result as Camara, causing trouble in the Pompey defence every time he went forward, latched on to a good cross from Luis Boa Morte to score from close range. West Ham were on the front foot, but Pompey went searching for the equaliser and just minutes after sending a shot whistling past Richard Wright's post, they got the ball in the back of the net, thanks to David Nugent. Parker was making himself busy in midfield, getting the ball out to Reid, John Pantsil, who was making good runs and Boa Morte, who again had a hand in the second goal for West Ham. Another pin-point cross from Boa Morte fell to Camara, who held off his markers to finish neatly and strike the ball past Pompey keeper Anton Silva.
The game finished with the Hammers on top, a blistering debut from Camara and another good work-out for Parker, who came through the match unscathed.

CARDIFF CITY Under-18 : F.A. Premier Academy League

University of Glamorgan Playing Fields, Treforest
6-0 (Hales, Sears 2, Stanislas 2, Payne)
22nd September 2007

Street, O'Neill (Spence), Payne, N'Gala (Ashman), Blackwell, Stanislas, Hales (Edgar), Lee, Fry, Sears, Hines

Six of the best for U18s

West Ham United made it four games unbeaten in emphatic style with Junior Stanislas and Freddie Sears getting two goals apiece.After losing the first two matches of the season, Tony Carr's men are riding high after a second successive away win. The Welsh hosts were behind as early as the fifth minute when Stanislas struck his second goal of the season. It was to remain tight until a minute before the interval when midfielder Lee Hales converted. That proved the killer blow to Cardiff and the floodgates opened in the second half. Within five minutes of the break, Sears had got off the mark and just before the hour Stanislas notched his second. With 15 minutes to play, Josh Payne got in on the act before Sears rounded out the scoring in the 90th minute. The victory was the perfect preparation for the visit of Chelsea to Little Heath with Adam Street also keeping his second successive clean sheet after coming back into the side.

NEWCASTLE UNITED : St James's Park

1-3 (Ashton)
23rd September 2007
Att: 50,104
Referee: M. Riley

Green
Ferdinand
Upson
Neill
McCartney
Etherington (Spector)
Bowyer
Noble
Mullins (Ljungberg)
Ashton
Cole (Camara)

HENRI CAMARA
HAMMERS DUBUT

Viduka too sharp for blunt Hammers

Mark Viduka got Newcastle off to the perfect start when he opened the scoring in just the third minute. Charles N'Zogbia curled in a delicious cross and Viduka lapped it up greedily with a superb, Shearer-esque, diving header.
However, West Ham were still very much in the game at this point and Steve Harper had to be alert to deny Noble and Bowyer with smart saves. Therefore, it was no real surprise when we levelled the match after 32 minutes.
Lucas Neill launched in a long throw and eventually Carlton Cole leaped highest to nod the ball down towards Ashton. The bleach blond striker showed no hesitation in grabbing his second goal in as many games, as he smashed a volley into the bottom corner.
Yet our lead lasted less than ten minutes and, once again, it was N'Zogbia who created the goal. The winger flew past Bowyer on the left after picking up Rozehnal's clearance, before crossing to the far post for Viduka to bundle home his second goal of the game and his third in a black and white shirt.
The second half saw half-chances at either end, with both Green and Harper making fairly routine stops. The closest any side had come to scoring again was Bowyer's fierce effort in the 72nd minute but, again, Harper was up to the challenge.
Just four minutes later, the home side wrapped up the points and nobody deserved a goal more than N'Zogbia. He exchanged passes with Obafemi Martins and got on the end of the Nigerian's cross to make it 3-1. Martins himself should have really finished things off three minutes from time but after rounding Green, he somehow contrived to hit the side netting.

PLYMOUTH ARGYLE : Carling Cup (Third Round)

Upton Park
1-0 (Ashton)
26th September 2007
Att: 25,774
Referee: P. Dowd

Wright
Collins
Gabbidon
Neill
McCartney
Parker (Noble)
Ljungberg (Bowyer)
Mullins
Boa Morte
Cole (Reid)
Ashton

Ashton volleys in to finally
sink Plymouth

SCOTT PARKER
HAMMERS DUBUT

The first notable action of the game came when Danny Gabbidon played a weak backpass, which forced stand-in goalkeeper Richard Wright into a hurried clearance with Sylvan Ebanks-Blake bearing down on him. After that initial moment of uncertainty however, we managed to get a stranglehold on the game and almost opened the scoring when we forced a corner in the 14th minute. Ljungberg swung the ball straight to James Collins, whose header was cleared off the line by Halmosi at the far post. Ashton should have put the Hammers ahead in the 23rd minute when he collected Lucas Neill's pass and turned superbly on the edge of the area, but drilled his shot narrowly wide. Shortly afterwards though, Akos Buzsaky, Argyle's tricky Hungarian midfielder, gave the hosts a scare with a 20-yard drive which flew inches over Wright's crossbar. Boa Morte then missed a gilt-edged chance to fire the Hammers ahead when he played a one-two with Hayden Mullins only to dink the ball over the advancing McCormick and wide. The Argyle keeper then saved well from Ashton's first-time shot before, at the other end, Neill had to back-pedal onto the goal-line to keep out Halmosi's free-kick with his chest shortly before the break. The second half begun at a frenetic pace but neither side really looked like breaking the deadlock until Ashton grazed the top of the crossbar with a free-kick, which took a heavy deflection off the wall and spun high into the air. But in the 91 st minute Ashton's moment came when substitute Kyel Reid sent over a low cross from the left, which the striker expertly volleyed across McCormick and into the corner of the net.

ARSENAL : Barclays Premier League

Upton Park
0-1
29th September 2007
Att: 34,966
Referee: A. Wiley

Green
Ferdinand (Gabbidon)
Neill
McCartney
Upson
Parker (Mullins)
Noble
Bowyer (Boa Morte)
Ljungberg
Camara
Ashton

Linesman wrongly denies Ljungberg a point

We have enjoyed good form against the Gunners recently, with two victories last season, but Arsenal are in fine form at the moment and again started brightly. Inside the opening two minutes the visitors broke quickly down the left, with Abou Diaby cutting the ball back to Emmanuel Adebayor, who drilled a low shot just wide from 15 yards.
However, Ashton was leading the West Ham line with plenty of aggression, and soon turned to drill a 20-yard shot just over. Arsenal, though, were ahead on 13 minutes as Adebayor held the ball up well on the right side of the area and fed a pass out to Alexander Hleb. His centre flew across the six-yard box, where Van Persie arrived at the far post to glance a header past Green, who was at full stretch and could only push the ball onto the post and in.
We continued to try to take the match to Arsenal, but the visitors were playing with a high defensive line and used the offside trap well. Van Persie came within inches of putting the visitors 2-0 ahead on 54 minutes. The Dutchman sidestepped marker Gabbidon on the edge of the area, and drilled his shot towards the top left-hand corner.
Green was again at full stretch and got his fingertips to the ball, which this time bounced back off the post and away.
Moments later it should have been 1-1 after Bowyer chipped the ball into the area from the right. Ashton had timed his run perfectly to get a free header at the back post, only to then put it straight at a grateful Manuel Almunia. This was a good spell for West Ham, Ljungberg did hit the net but was wrongly denied by a linesman's flag when he was level with the last defender.
However, Arsenal were dangerous on the break as Van Persie and Adebayor exchanged passes on the edge of the West Ham box, which sent the Togo striker clear and Green came to the rescue with a fine reaction save low to his left.
Towards the end of the game, Van Persie booted a downward header from Ashton clear in front of his own net as the Gunners closed out the match to stay ahead of the chasing pack. Green rebuffed Arsenal with a series of saves including a brilliant tip onto the post from van Persie's shot.

CHELSEA Under-18 : F.A. Premier Academy League

Little Heath
4-1 (Sears 3, Stanislas)
29th September 2007

Sears treble sees off Chelsea

Street
Spence
Payne (N'Gala)
Tomkins
Miller (Blackwel)
Stanislas
Harvey
Lee
Edgar
Sears
Hines (Kearns)

Freddie Sears continued his scoring streak with a stunning hat-trick as West Ham United went goal crazy for the second successive game.
After last week's 6-0 triumph at Cardiff City, Tony Carr's side ran out convincing winners at home against Chelsea at Little Heath. As with last week though, the first half was a cagey affair with only Sears' goal on 15 minutes separating the sides at the interval. However, it was to be a different story after the break.
The 17-year-old striker notched his second on 50 minutes and completed his treble midway through the half, just five minutes after Junior Stanislas kept up his fine form with a goal on the hour. The victory owed much to the defensive form of James Tomkins, who must surely be knocking on the first team soon.

BIRMINGHAM CITY : Premier Reserve League

St Andrews
1-3 (Jeffery)
1st October 2007

Walker
Miller (Spence)
Widdowson
N'Gala
Davenport
Stokes (Stanislas)
Hales
Collison
Jeffery
Hines (Sears)
Reid

Birmingham too strong in reserve duel

A superb Jack Jeffery strike was not enough to stop Kevin Keen's reserves going down to a strong Birmingham City side at St Andrews.
Only goalkeeper Jimmy Walker, defender Calum Davenport and winger Kyel Reid in the West Ham United squad had any first-team experience while their hosts boasted several players with proven top-flight prowess. Among them was goalkeeper Colin Doyle, defenders Stuart Parnaby, Martin Taylor and Radhi Jaidi along with Dutch winger Daniel de Ridder.
Neil Danns opened the scoring following a fine team move in the 18th minute before Jeffery struck a splendid curled equaliser from the edge of the penalty area. However, a disputed penalty just before the hour allowed Danns to restore the home side's lead before Wilson Palacios confirmed victory with a run and shot in the 78th minute.

ASTON VILLA : Villa Park

0-1
6th October 2007
Att: 40,842
Referee: S. Tanner

Green
Neill
McCartney
Gabbidon
Upson
Etherington (Boa Morte)
Mullins (Noble)
Bowyer
Ljungberg
Camara (Cole)
Ashton

Curbishley's list of woes
gets longer at Villa

This was a third successive league defeat for the Hammers, with Freddie Ljungberg posing the main threat with a series of crosses whipped Into the box. Yet the first decent opening fell to the hosts after just five minutes when the impressive Ashley Young turned past Danny Gabbidon and sent over an Inviting low cross. There was a let-off for the Hammers though, as Luke Moore, still searching for his first Premier League goal of the season, failed to make proper contact with his attempted volley.
Just four minutes later, Henri Camara had the ball in the net for the Hammers but he had done so with the most incredible example of a diving handball, which turned in Matthew Etherington's centre and the Senegal international was yellow-carded.
The action showed no sign of abating and Villa looked to have strong claims for a penalty after 13 minutes, when Lucas Neill appeared to tug at the shirt of Young as he burst into the Hammers box. But it was turned down by referee Steve Tanner to leave Martin O'Neill incensed on the touch-line.
It was no surprise when, after 24 minutes, Craig Gardner struck for the second time in five days to put Villa ahead. Agbonlahor was brought down right on the edge of the Hammers box by Gabbidon and Gardner drilled the resulting free-kick through the Hammers' wall and into the net via a deflection off Gabbidon.
West Ham tried to hit back quickly and Ljungberg steamed in to meet a cross by Etherington but his flying header was well saved by Carson who was perfectly positioned.
Yet it was Villa who were soon back in control as they attacked a packed Holte End in the second half.
However, they almost gifted West Ham an equaliser after 55 minutes when a poor clearing header by Mellberg only went straight to Cole just outside the six yard box but he failed to make proper contact and Carson was able to save away to his left.
It was a big let-off for the home side and neither team created any clear cut chances, until Green denied Agbonlahor at close range with five minutes remaining.

MILLWALL Under-18 (F.A. Premier Academy League)

7-3 (Sears 3, N'Gala, Edgar, Jeffrey, Stanislas)
6th October 2007

Stech
O'Neill
Blackwell
N'Gala
Ashman
Harvey
Kearns
Lee
Sears (Stanislas)
Jeffrey
Edgar

Seven-up for youths at Millwall

West Ham got off to a great start, taking an early lead through N'Gala who headed in Edgar's corner kick. Millwall equalised midway through the half but West Ham went close several times to regaining the lead, with efforts from Sears and Daniel Kearns. The Hammers were awarded a penalty just before half-time, after Sears had turned his marker and was then brought down in the box. The referee did not hesitate to point to the spot and Sears dusted himself down to convert the spot-kick and make it 2-1 at the break.
West Ham were in equally blistering form after the interval, going 5-1 up within 15 minutes of the restart. The third goal was a result of a great individual effort by Edgar, who sent a left-foot shot into the back of the net, before Jeffrey collected the ball after good work from Sears and slotted in the fourth. Sears popped up to get Hammers' fifth goal and his second of the day, before completing his hat-trick to make it 6-1.
The hosts managed to pull a second goal back, but West Ham were not finished and Stanislas - who had come on as substitute for the injured Sears in the 78th minute -wrapped up victory with the seventh. There was still time for one more strike, but it was at the other end as Millwall grabbed a third to make the final score 7-3.

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR : Premier Reserve League

Upton Park
1-0 (Boa Morte)
9th October 2007

Wright
Pantsil
Tomkins
Davenport
Spector
Stanislas (Hines)
Stokes
Collison
Reid
Boa Morte
Jeffrey

Boa Morte settles London derby

West Ham United won the battle of a lively London derby as Luis Boa Morte's first-half header was enough to secure victory against Tottenham Hotspur at the Boleyn Ground.
The home side, up against visitors that were unbeaten in four games at this level, controlled the first half after Boa Morte's early goal and battled through after the interval to ensure all three points would remain in east London. The win moves West Ham up to fifth in the ten-team Premier Reserve League table, a point ahead of their opponents.
Kevin Keen's men started brightly forcing a corner inside the first two minutes before Jack Collison and Boa Morte combined well for the first real chance on goal, although the visitors were able to clear. The promising start paid off on nine minutes as West Ham took the lead with a well-worked goal. James Tomkins, playing his first reserve game since suffering a shoulder injury at the end of last season, headed clear to an on-running Junior Stanislas. He in turn fed Kyel Reid who sent a perfect left-wing cross into the path of Boa Morte, and the Portuguese forward - partnering Jack Jeffrey in attack - had the simple task of heading in from close range.

Tottenham were more dangerous after the interval and went close when Leigh Mills hit the post and Tomkins then had to make a clearance in a crowded penalty box minutes later. Wright then made a save as Simon Dawkins hit a fierce shot. But the home side still had the upper hand - Reid sending a promising strike whistling over the bar before the solid Jonathan Spector tried his luck from long range after surging forward from left-back.
The visitors kept pushing and Tomkins was again in good form as he rose high to head clear a particularly dangerous attack before Jeffrey collected the ball from a good cross by John Pantsil, but could only watch as his header went just over the bar. Wright then saved from Boateng before Davenport had to be alert on the line to head clear a Tottenham free-kick.
West Ham though were unlucky not to have grabbed a second goal as Hines found himself in space but his shot shaved the post. Spurs tried one more time to find an equaliser but Pantsil cleared off the line and one goal proved enough for the hosts.

CHARLTON ATHLETIC Under-18 (F.A. Premier Academy League)

Sparrows Lane
0-1
20th October 2007

Stech
Miller
Payne
Spence
N'Gala
Harvey (Blackwell)
Fitzgerald
Hunt (Hines)
Lee (Jeffrey)
Stanislas
Edgar

U18's lose out in London derby

West Ham United Under-18s' six-game unbeaten run was thwarted as they lost out to a single goal at London neighbours Charlton Athletic at Sparrow Lane.
Tony Carr's side, who had hit 17 goals in the last three games, were unable to find the net in today's encounter and suffered what was only their third defeat of the season. Oliver Lee and Bondz N'Gala had the best of the chances and goalkeeper Marek Stech made vital saves but the Czech stopper was unable to do anything about the Addicks' second-half winner from Danny Uchechi.
Although disappointed to have lost, there were positives for the visitors as young striker Ben Hunt got a first run-out under his belt since being sidelined for a month with a knee injury.

SUNDERLAND : Upton Park

3-1 (Cole, Solano, Bellamy)
21st October 2007
Att: 34,913
Referee: C. Foy

Green
Gabbidon
Upson
Neill
McCartney
Etherington (Boa Morte)
Bowyer
Noble (Solano)
Mullins
Bellamy
Cole (Ferdinand)

Solano's debut strike conjures lucky win

Two late goals ended West Ham's three-match losing run after Nolberto Solano and Luis Boa Morte came on to orchestrate a bubbling finale at Upton Park.
The Hammers survived two early scares before eventually taking control in the first half of the game. It was a flowing move which ended with us breaking our mini-drought - no goals in 238 league minutes - when Cole, still deputising for injured Dean Ashton, notched his first of the season in the ninth minute. Midfielder Hayden Mullins sent George McCartney away down the left and the full back's fine cross was looped in over Craig Gordon by Cole's header in only his third start of the campaign.
Gordon's opposite number Green was called into action again when he turned Jones's speculative shot from distance over the bar for a corner but West Ham comfortably cleared the set-piece. Just before the break a Matty Etherington shot skimmed just wide of the far post before Lee Bowyer headed the winger's free-kick over the bar from a promising, unmarked position.
No wonder Roy Keane made two changes at the interval, taking off O'Donovan and Wallace, and sending on ex-Arsenal youngster Anthony Stokes and Chopra It seemed to have reaped a reward when Kenwyne Jones headed in to take his tally to four for his new club this season. But Solano came on to take a bow when his shot rebounded off the post and in, via Craig Gordon's back. The Hammers then wrapped up the game, when Craig Bellamy tapped home a Boa Morte cross in the dying seconds.
However, one of the key moments in the match had come earlier, when Robert Green made an incredible save to push Grant Leadbitter's drive onto the post and give us the platform to go on and win the game.

NOLBERTO SOLANO
HAMMERS DEBUT

FULHAM : Premier Reserve League

Motspur Park
1-1
23rd October 2007

Reid rescues Hammers

Kyel Reid's second-half goal saw West Ham United reserves take a deserved share of the spoils in a lively encounter at Motspur Park.
Kevin Keen's men made their point when Reid slotted the ball in from a corner half-an-hour into the second period of the match played at a chilly Motspur Park. Reid's equaliser cancelled out the Cottagers' first-half effort on the stroke of half-time from Bradley Hudson- Odoi.
Keen was full of praise for his team, which included Scotland midfielder Nigel Quashie making his first appearance since March after recovering from injury.
"We fully deserved to get back in the game after going behind, because we battled well and didn't give up," said Keen. "Kyel was outstanding tonight and was putting in crosses all the time and he got the goal to see us level." ystal Palace striker Shefki Kuqi in their ranks along with Elliott Omozusi in defence. As well as Quashie, who got a full 90 minutes under his belt with no ill-effects, West Ham saw Jonathan Spector and John Pantsil figure alongside a host of young players who are all beginning to make their mark at reserve level.
It was Fulham who had the most of the early chances in the first half, their first effort on goal coming from Wayne Brown. The visitors then saw Zavon Hines go close after he intercepted a failed clearance by the Fulham defence. Reid followed that by sending in a great cross, which was met by captain Jack Collison, but his left-foot shot was cleared to safety.
It was back up the other end as Brown struck a fierce volley just wide before his team managed to break the deadlock with virtually the last kick of the half. Hudson-Odoi struck the ball with his left foot and a deflection took it past goalkeeper Marek Stech at his left-hand post.

Stech
Paintsil
Widdowson
Tomkins
Spector
Quashie
Reid
Stokes (Hales)
Jeffrey
Hines

In the second half, Fulham nearly increased the lead through Brown, but Keen's young charges were growing in confidence and it was Reid leading the way. Not only did he fire in several crosses but he then nearly drew the Hammers level with a free-kick that hit the woodwork. The goal was coming and from the resulting corner, Reid managed to find a way through a crowded area to equalise with a deflected effort of his own.
West Ham were not finished there though and went searching for a second consecutive win. Notably, Reid crossed for Collison but the promising midfielder's goalbound shot was blocked. Fulham had a few half-chances of their own before the final whistle but it was to finish honours even.

PORTSMOUTH : Fratton Park

0-0
27th October 2007
Att: 20,525
Referee: M. Dean

Green
Gabbidon
Upson
Neill
McCartney
Noble
Solano (Spector)
Mullins
Bellamy (Etherington)
Boa Morte
Cole (Ferdinand)

Image courtesy of Paul Sturton

Green's last gasp save thwarts Pompey

West Ham fans chanted "Green for England" after goalkeeper Robert Green dramatically kept out Benjani Mwaruwari's Portsmouth penalty deep in stoppage time at Fratton Park.
Danny Gabbidon was ruled to have handled just inside the area by referee Mike Dean and, after Pompey players appeared to argue over who should take the spot-kick, Green rendered all debate irrelevant with a save from the Zimbabwe international. Pompey missed the opportunity to climb into the top four with a win but it could have been a lot worse.
Nolberto Solano, West Ham's hero against Sunderland when he launched victory from the bench, missed two gilt-edged chances to score with the goal gaping in front of him. After 24 minutes we should have taken a surprise lead when Cole's second attempt to cross from the left found Solano sneaking in behind Pompey's defence but the Peruvian failed to make contact with the goal at his mercy.
Nobby missed another opportunity to grab the lead for improving Hammers in the 65th minute. Etherington and McCartney cleverly set up Cole for a blast which came back off the junction of near-post and bar, leaving Solano again with an empty goal. However, his attempted diving header went wrong and the chance was gone.
Meanwhile, Green had also made super saves from Niko Kranjcar (twice) and Benjani -the league's top scorer with five in his last three games. First, Kranjcar took aim again from well outside the box after eight minutes and Green had to make an acrobatic leap to turn the ball over the bar.
As a popular England candidate now, Green did himself no harm in that respect with a fine save from a Kranjcar free-kick and then bettered it by turning away a Benjani blast early in the second half.
Those saves set the scene for his match-saving penalty stop in the closing stages, which made sure we returned to London with an impressive point in the bag.

ARSENAL Under-18 (F.A. Premier Academy League)

Little Heath
1-6 (Stanislas)
27th October 2007

Youths suffer Arsenal setback

A strong second-half display by a "top-quality" Arsenal saw Tony Carr's side go down to a 6-1 defeat at Little Heath.
It was the youth team's second reverse in a week against London rivals, having previously gone six matches unbeaten and scored 26 goals in that run before last Saturday's 1-0 defeat at Charlton Athletic. "We were outplayed by a very good side," said Carr. "We were beaten by a top-quality side but are very disappointed in our own performance of course. They have been set a very high standard today."
Despite the home side being on top at the time, Arsenal opened the scoring against the run of play in the first half. The young Hammers then got the chance to draw level when Zavon Hines was fouled in the penalty area. Junior Stanislas - who like Hines and Jack Jeffrey has recently made his mark at reserve-team level - converted the spot-kick and, with half-time fast approaching, it seemed likely to be all-square at the break.
However, the home side conceded a free-kick just two minutes later and the resulting ball in from the left saw Arsenal convert from close range and take the interval initiative. Despite that setback, West Ham United nearly drew level after the restart when Oliver Lee's header from Anthony Edgar's cross forced the visiting goalkeeper to
make a fine save. Buoyed by that, Arsenal moved up a gear and soon doubled their advantage.
A "purple patch" of possession then saw them add another couple of goals before Carr's side showed their fighting spirit with two good chances that led to Ben Hunt and Josh Payne both hitting the post. Arsenal had the last word though and added a sixth. Despite naturally wanting to win every game played, Carr still had reasons for optimism.

Stech
Miller
Blackwell
N'Gala
Spence
Harvey (Payne)
Stanislas
Lee
Hunt
Hines (Jeffrey)
Edgar (Fry)

COVENTRY CITY : Ricoh Arena - Carling Cup Fourth Round

2-1 (Hall o.g., Cole)
30th October 2007
Att: 23,968
Referee: R. Styles

Wright
Ferdinand (Gabbidon)
Neill
McCartney
Upson
Etherington
Noble (Paitsil)
Mullins (Spector)
Bowyer
Boa Morte
Cole

Late Cole strike books quarter-final place

Cash-strapped Coventry had their Carling Cup dreams cruelly ended by Carlton Cole's injury-time winner for West Ham. And it appeared they would get it too when Jay Tabb exposed some woeful West Ham defending to nod lain Dowie's men into a second-half lead.
But, after Luis Boa Morte's deflected effort had pulled West Ham level, the visitors continued to push forward and with referee Rob Styles about to confirm extra-time, Cole held off Ben Turner on the edge of the Coventry box, then kept his nerve to stroke home the winner.
Having named what was, in the absence of injured trio Dean Ashton, Scott Parker and Craig Bellamy, pretty much his strongest line-up, Hammers boss Alan Curbishley had every right to be disappointed. Disjointed for long periods and lacking in firepower, the visitors rarely made their Premier League class tell. In fact, their only notable attacking move of the first half saw Boa Morte charge onto Lee Bowyer's pass, only to fall under the physical presence of Turner. Cole rose highest to meet Matthew Etherington's corner and while the England Under-21 striker could not keep his glancing header on target, it at least provided a signal of intent. Unfortunately for Curbishley and his men, their intent had turned into nothing tangible before their defensive frailties were exposed by Tabb.
Had Coventry been able to hold their advantage for any length of time, the Hammers might well have panicked. Instead, the visitors benefited from a large slice of good fortune as both Marcus Hall and Kevin Kyle stuck out a boot to block Boa Morte's 15-yard half-volley and succeeded only in deflecting it past an unsuspecting Andy Marshall.
The Hammers' chances of forcing a victory without the need for extra-time looked to have been ended by the loss of Anton Ferdinand with what appeared to be a serious hamstring injury. But Coventry reckoned without Cole, who had the Hammers fans blowing their familiar bubbles by keeping them on track for Wembley.

NORWICH CITY Under-18 (F.A. Premier Academy League)

Colney Training Centre
1-0 (Stanislas)
3rd November 2007

Stech
O'Neill
Blackwell
N'Gala
Ashman (Spence)
Kearns
Stanislas
Lee (Harvey)
Hunt
Edgar
Fry (Brookes)

Youths bounce back at Norwich

Junior Stanislas struck the all-important goal that saw West Ham United Under-18s deservedly take all three points at Norwich City.
Stanislas, made captain of the team for the day by youth academy director Tony Carr, was rewarded for his outstanding all-round performance by hitting the net five minutes into the second half with a superb team goal. Good work thanks to the combination of Ben Hunt and Anthony Edgar saw the ball fall to Matt Fry. He then sent a low cross into the box and Stanislas, who had run in from the right hand side, struck a sweet left-foot shot to score.
Dominating the game throughout, the visitors could have extended their advantage and they also defended strongly when Norwich tried to hit back.
West Ham United made a bright start and the lively Stanislas almost got his team into an early lead. He dispossessed his marker and sent a good shot through to goal, but the ball appeared to bobble on the pitch and the effort was saved. Stanislas continued to be a threat as Carr's side kept up the pressure but they were just missing the final touch to get the ball into the back of the net. Norwich got forward as the first half drew to a close, but Marek Stech in goal, was rarely troubled. After the break, the away side continued where they had left off and, five minutes after the whistle had blown, they went ahead with Stanislas's goal. Carr made a few changes, bringing on Tom Harvey for Oliver Lee in the 60th minute and later Jordan Spence for Anthony Ashman and, in the 80th minute as a replacement for Fry, welcomed back Tony Brooks for his first appearance of the season after his recovery from a long-term knee injury.
West Ham United were a man down for the final ten minutes as Edgar was taken off after tweaking his knee and Carr had used up all his substitutes. But the young team continued their strong play and despite some late half-chances for Norwich, ran out deserved winners.

BOLTON WANDERERS : Upton Park

1-1 (McCartney)
4th November 2007
Att: 33,867
Referee: P. Walton

Green
Gabbidon
Upson
Neill
McCartney
Solano
Mullins (Spector)
Etherington
Bowyer (Paintsil)
Cole (Camara)
Boa Morte

McCartney's scissors kick lead cut by Bolton

Kevin Nolan struck deep into stoppage-time to earn Bolton a precious point against West Ham at Upton Park, lifting Gary Megson's hopes of escaping relegation from the Barclays Premier League.
George McCartney opened the scoring in the 19th minute from Matthew Upson's flick-on, his first goal for West Ham, and it looked like another defeat for Megson. But Danny Guthrie and Kevin Davies both hit the woodwork for the visitors, and Nolan struck at the death.
Although Ivan Campo shaved the post with an early free-kick, it was the Hammers who appeared the more confident, despite our lengthy list of injuries. The opener came in the 19th minute after Bolton failed to clear a Solano corner.
Matthew Upson had an effort cleared off the line, then flicked on when the ball was crossed back in, and McCartney produced an acrobatic volley past Jussi Jaaskelainen. It was the defender's first goal in West Ham colours - but he was required for his usual defensive duties two minutes later, when El-Hadji Diouf was found on the edge of the area.
His shot looped off the Hammers captain and over Robert Green but McCartney headed off the line. Bolton forced their way back into the reckoning with their forthright, direct style. Danny Guthrie got on the end of a Davies header and struck the near post with his volley from just outside the area. Green then tipped over when Speed drilled a volley from the edge of the area but Davies could not direct his header on target from the resulting corner.
Cole had a close-range effort saved before he was substituted, while Davies clipped the bar from a Guthrie cross and Jonathan Spector hacked off the line in stoppage-time. Then Nolan struck with seconds left after Lubomir Michalik flicked on a cross.

ARSENAL : Premier Reserve League

All four goals came in the second half, Spence equalising eight minutes after the Gunners had taken the lead through Nacer Barazite. Mark Randall then put the visitors back in front, before substitute Stokes struck a tremendous equaliser in the closing stages to secure the draw. The home side started brightly against a strong Gunners lineup. Nigel Ouashie was quick to use his experience early on, helping his team-mates to try and create a hold in midfield. The first real chance of the half though fell to Arsenal's Kieran Gibbs, who made a good run down the flank before shooting over the bar.
Kyel Reid then sent over a good cross which was met by Collison who found Hales in space only for his header to also land over the crossbar. Seconds later, Reid himself made another good run getting away from his marker, but could only shoot wide.
Four minutes of stoppage time were added on in the half, but there was still time though for Reid to play a short-corner into the box, which was cleared, before being brought down soon after to earn his side a free-kick. After a scramble, Reid's cross was eventually met by Zavon Hines who could only strike the ball over from four yards out.
The quality in both teams began to show after the interval and it was the visitors who broke the deadlock on 50 minutes, as Barazite hit a fierce shot past Walker and into the net. The home side set about responding straight away, defender Ashley Miller suddenly got forward down the right and hit an angled shot that Mannone managed to save. Tomkins then headed wide from a Reid corner.

Upton Park
2-2 (Spence, Stokes)
6th November 2007

Walker
Miller
Widdowson
Spence
Tomkins
Hales
Collison
Quashie (Hunt)
Jeffrey
Hines
Reid (Stokes)

But West Ham United were rewarded for their efforts on 58 minutes as they grabbed a deserved equaliser through Spence. A good move involving Quashie and Tomkins, saw the latter head down for his defensive colleague to tuck the ball beyond Mannone. Keen made a change just after the hour mark, bringing on Stokes in place of the busy Reid and soon after, Walker was forced to make a save, diving right across his goal to clear. Collison then had two close chances to put his team ahead, but it was the Gunners who got their noses back in front. Barazite crossed and Randall's run and shot went flying into the back of the net. Yet, the hosts were not to be denied and they were to equalise for a second time with the goal of the night. With time running out, substitute Stokes met Joe Widdowson's fine cross and struck a volley sweetly into the net, giving Mannone no chance in the process. A hard-working Quashie made way late on for Ben Hunt.

DERBY COUNTY : Barclays Premier League

Pride Park
5-0 (Bowyer 2, Etherington, Lewis o.g., Solano)
10th November 2007
Att: 32,440
Referee: M. Clattenburg

Greeen
Neill
Gaddidon
Upson
McCartney (Paintsil)
Bowyer (Collins)
Spector
Solano
Etherington
Boa Morte
Cole

Five-star Hammers thrash poor Derby

Derby's season reached a new low as they were torn apart by a rampant West Ham at Pride Park. Goafs from Lee Bowyer (two), Matthew Etherington, Jonathan Spector and a beautiful free-kick from Nolberto Solano gave the rampant Hammers by far our biggest win of the season. In fairness, Derby kicked off full of running and commitment, although their aggression was slightly misdirected when Gary Teale and skipper Matt Oakley unleashed tackles that had George McCartney and Bowyer writhing in agony.
West Ham were looking increasingly threatening as the half wore on; our best move of the match almost releasing Cole but still resulting in a free-kick inches outside the box. It looked too close for a direct strike but Solano did his best to prove otherwise with a delightful effort against the crossbar. With half-time approaching, the Hammers finally took the lead we deserved. Solano's cross found Cole in the box and his nod down allowed the criminally unmarked Bowyer to sweep the ball through Stephen Bywater's legs and into the net. Immediately after half-time, a Solano corner was poorly defended, with Matthew Upson allowed to smash a shot against the bar, narrowly missing out on his first goal for West Ham. However, a frantic start to the second period resulted in it being game over within eight minutes. First, Etherington and Bowyer were allowed the freedom of the area to exchange passes before the former fired home. Then, the contest was summed up by West Ham's third when a corner was partially cleared but the ball eventually fell to Spector, whose strike looked to have been blocked by Eddie Lewis, only for his fellow American to fall over the ball and send it over the line. Derby were then hit on the break, Solano feeding Cole out wide and his cross was met by Bowyer's perfectly-timed run. Soon afterwards, Solano bettered his earlier free-kick with goal five, a stunning strike across Bywater and into the top corner.

SOUTHAMPTON Under-18 (F.A. Premier Academy League)

Little Heath
2-3 (N'Gala, Blackwell)
10th November 2007

Loveday
O'Neill (Brookes)
Blackwell (Miller)
Payne
N'Gala
Harvey
Kearns
Lee (Crawley)
Hunt
Stanislas
Fry

Last-gasp goal costs U18s

West Ham United Under-18s were disappointed to end up with nothing after coming from behind only to have a point snatched from them in the last minute. Tony Carr was full of praise for the way in which his team fought back in the second half and said it was " a real kick in the teeth" when Southampton scored their third goal with virtually the last kick of the match. He said: "They scored first and we got ourselves level and played really well after the break. Even when Southampton hit back at 2-2, the point was there to take, but it was literally the last seconds of the game when they snatched the winner. It was Southampton who had most of the play in the first half, and the visitors to Little Heath on Saturday took the lead after 25 minutes. On the stroke of half-time, West Ham United were level. Bondz N'Gala getting on the action by letting fly with a sweet volley. After half-time, the home side were more dominant and were rewarded for their pressure on the Saints goal, as they went ahead through Robbie Blackwell. The young defender made no mistake as he arrived at the back post to head in. Minutes later, West Ham United were unlucky not to go further in front, but Junior Stanislas - this week put on standby for England U18's - was thwarted by the Southampton defence. The visitors hit back and drew level at 2-2 and, just as it looked like the spoils being shared between the two teams, Southampton struck the winner just before the final whistle. Carr was pleased with how 15-year-old Peter Loveday performed in goal for West Ham and was also impressed with Weymouth triallist Calum Crawley, who came on as a second-half substitute for Oliver Lee. Defender Tony Brookes also showed he is getting back on track by making his first appearance following the achilles injury picked up on a pre-season tour of the Netherlands. All in all, a disappointment in the result, but not in the effort displayed. "Southampton were a little bit bigger and stronger than us and I think that told in the end," said Carr. "We showed a lot of character, we didn't give up when they went in front and battled really well and on another day, some of the chances we had would have gone in. A little bit more experience might have helped us see the game out".

CRYSTAL PALACE Under-18 (F.A. Premier Academy League)

Little Heath
1-4 (Crawley)
17th November 2007

Stech
Brookes (O'Neill)
Spence
Payne
Miller
Harvey (N'Gala)
Kearns
Crawley
Stanislas (Lee)
Hunt
Fry

Youths undone in London derby

Two second-half penalties helped consign West Ham United to a disappointing defeat on Saturday although there were positives to be taken. Calum Crawley, on trial from Weymouth, had opened the scoring after just seven minutes and the home side were able to hold on to the lead until the hour mark, despite strong pressure from the visitors. However, a penalty conceded by Tony Brookes turned the tide in Palace's favour and within 12 minutes they had scored twice more before a second spot-kick in added time completed the scoring.
West Ham United started off brightly and broke the deadlock when left-back Ashley Miller, who would be sent-off for his part in the late penalty, burst down the wing and crossed for Crawley to head in from eight yards. Palace were a threat though and went close with a couple of good efforts, one flashing wide and one going over the crossbar.
The Eagles came out strongly in the second half, hitting the bar with a header on 55 minutes before finally equalising on 60 minutes when Brookes upended a visiting attacker in the area. Stech actually saved the spot-kick but Palace reacted quicker to the rebound to restore parity. Miller was then on hand five minutes later to clear off the line but soon afterwards Palace were in front when a strong solo run finished with a fine shot that gave Stech no chance.
Matt Fry spurned a good opportunity to bring West Ham United back into the contest after another good break by Miller but it was Palace who were to find the net again almost immediately. A ball to the back post led to a header that gave Stech no chance to save. Oliver Lee, on as substitute for the tiring Stanislas, headed wide as time ticked away but the points were on their way to south London - a fact confirmed in the second minute of added time when Miller handled on the line and Palace stepped up to convert from the spot again.

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR : Upton Park

1-1 (Cole)
25th November 2007
Att: 34,966
Referee: M. Riley

Green
Neill
McCartney
Gabbidon
Upson
Etherington
Noble (Parker)
Mullins
Solano (Spector)
Boa Morte (Ashton)
Cole

Green to the rescue with late penalty save

In a dramatic and highly entertaining game, Robert Green saved an injury-time penalty from Jermain Defoe to ensure West Ham earned a point at Upton Park.
Spurs started brightly and had a goal ruled out for offside in the fourth minute, after Green could only parry a shot from Jermaine Jenas into the path of Aaron Lennon. The England winger tucked the ball away from eight yards but was immediately flagged offside.
Tottenham continued to press and had a penalty appeal rejected in the seventh minute, when Dimitar Berbatov went down under a challenge but referee Mike Riley was unimpressed. Just three minutes later West Ham defender George McCartney almost scored an own goal when he connected with a free-kick from Jenas but, much to his relief, the ball went inches wide.
However, it was the Hammers who broke the deadlock in the 19th minute when we took full advantage of a dreadful defensive lapse by Younes Kaboul. The Frenchman's attempted clearance hit Luis Boa Morte who burst to the edge of the area before finding Nolberto Solano with a reverse pass. The Peruvian winger shaped to shoot home from an acute angle but instead cleverly laid the ball across the six-yard-box for the unmarked Cole to place into an empty net.
Just seven minutes later, West Ham were denied by a stunning save by Paul Robinson, when he kept out a shot from point-blank range by Boa Morte. Controversy followed five minutes before the break when the referee refused to award Spurs a penalty.
Robbie Keane flicked the ball over Green, who then appeared to clip the striker as he went past him. However, Riley waved away furious appeals for a penalty from Keane and a host of other Tottenham players.
After the break, Steed Malbranque went close for Spurs before the visitors grabbed an equaliser through Michael Dawson, when he headed a Jenas free-kick home in the 67th minute.
Robinson had to make more great saves, from Parker and Ashton, and Jenas cleared McCartney's header off the line, before Spurs were awarded the penalty in injury-time. Defoe stepped up but Green guessed correctly and pushed the spot-kick onto the post to ensure a share of the spoils for West Ham.

DERBY COUNTY : Premier Reserve League

Burton Albion
8-0 (Ashton 2, Stanislas 2, Ephraim, Reid, Collison, o.g.)
26th November 2007

Walker
Paintsil
Dailly (N'Gala)
Tomkins
Widdowson
Parker
Collison (Stanislas)
Quashie
Reid
Ashton
Ephraim (Jeffrey)

Scott Parker and Dean Ashton both got a valuable 90 minutes under their belt as Kevin Keen's men enjoyed a striking 8-0 win.
Ashton and Junior Stanislas each scored twice, while Hogan Ephraim, Kyel Reid and captain Jack Collison also got in on the act, along with a Derby own goal, in a Premier League Reserve match played at Burton Albion FC. While much of the focus was on Parker and Ashton, Ephraim scored in his first game back in the claret and blue after a loan at Queen's Park Rangers, Collison continued the goalscoring form seen recently with Wales U21s and Stanislas shone as a late substitute.
It is now four games unbeaten for Kevin Keen's men and it was not only the high score and quality of goals that pleased, but also the fantastic attitude shown. "The players did West Ham United football club proud tonight, said Keen. "We have come up to the Midlands on a cold Monday evening against a young Derby side who battled all the way, so it wasn't easy to start with. But the players really showed a great attitude and produced some fantastic football out there."
Among the senior players on view at the home of Burton Albion were goalkeeper Jimmy Walker, right-back John Pantsil and Christian Dailly, who was himself back after a loan spell having had two successful months at Southampton. Further forward, Nigel Quashie played alongside Parker in midfield while Ashton led the line and showed that he has lost none of hunger for goals - whatever the level of the opposition. It was Derby who actually had the first serious attempt on goal, after their captain Mitch Hansen tested Walker with a fiercely-taken free-kick on nine minutes. Reid and Pantsil then combined to set up Ashton, but the striker was just unable to get his shot on target. The deadlock was finally broken on 20 minutes when Reid burst down the left, cut inside into the penalty area and scored with a stunning effort.

A few minutes later, West Ham United increased their lead as Parker, who put in a first-class display in the middle of the park, got the ball to Ashton and he rounded home goalkeeper Ben Hinchcliffe before firing into an empty net. Ashton then doubled his tally as he headed in a Collison cross. The young midfielder then added the fourth just before half-time when he got on the end of an Ephraim cross. In the second half, the visitors carried on where they had left off, with the lively Ephraim involved again with another assist. The young striker's low cross was met by Derby's Kalluni Keane, who turned it into his own net. Ephraim finally got the goal his play deserved when he latched on to an Ashton pass and scored from close range. With an hour played, Keen sent on Stanislas and he was to have an immediate impact. The youngster collected a Reid pass before driving in a shot which crashed off the bar and into the back of the net. With some free-flowing football, West Ham United were clearly not finished and number eight was not too far away. Again it involved good build-up with Reid this time getting down the right before sending in a deep cross that allowed Stanislas to head in his second. The England youth international could have had a hat-trick at the death but Hinchcliffe was equal to his late effort.

CHELSEA : Stamford Bridge

0-1
1st December 2007
Att: 41,830
Referee: H. Webb

Green
Neill
McCartney
Gabbidon
Upson
Etherington (Ashton)
Parker (Spector)
Mullins
Solano (Ljungberg)
Boa Morte
Cole

Hammers crushed by former hero

Joe Cole's late winner against his former club West Ham allowed Chelsea to put the pressure on their Barclays Premier League title rivals in the early kick-off at Stamford Bridge. The first half was notable only for its free-kick count and referee Howard Webb booked four players, Matthew Etherington and Luis Boa Morte for the visitors and Chelsea duo Mikel John Obi and Salomon Kalou.
Fourth official Steve Tanner was also involved in an investigation when Didier Drogba left the fray midway through the half to complain about an incident that had occurred near the West Ham fans in one corner of the pitch. It seemed the Ivory Coast striker had been less than happy with a bright light being shined in his eyes from the stands, with a laser pen the most likely 'weapon'.
Free-kicks and flare-ups greatly out-numbered the moments of creative play before referee Webb brought an end to a bad-tempered first half.
Frank Lampard and Alex both fired early free-kicks into the wall and Kalou had been wasteful with a drive from outside the box.
Drogba had come close with a curling effort which just cleared Robert Green's left-hand post and it was a while before the visitors responded. Ex-Chelsea man Carlton Cole seemed harshly caught offside and there was a flare-up when home goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini fumbled a through-ball and was caught by Boa Morte.
Nolberto Solano almost caught out the home side just after the half-hour mark with a clever lob which ended on the roof of the net with Cudicini back-tracking. By then Etherington had been booked for tugging back Juliano Belletti and Mikel was then shown a yellow card for scything down West Ham's other ex-Chelsea man, Scott Parker. Indeed, the Nigerian was lucky it was not a red.
Kalou's foul on Boa Morte earned him a booking before John Terry's header from a Lampard corner forced Green into the half's only real save. There was still time before the break for Boa Morte to be booked for a late tackle on Mikel.
There was a chance for Chelsea immediately after the restart but the recalled Steve Sidwell saw his shot deflected behind off Matthew Upson. The former Reading man tried again and met a Lampard corner with a thumping header but it was far too high.
Lampard and Joe Cole were also off target with subsequent efforts but at least the game had at last taken off as a spectacle. Belletti was booked in the 55th minute for a foul on Etherington before Belletti's error let in Boa Morte. In came the shot but Terry was able to take the sting off it to help Cudicini save. At the other end Green had to palm away Joe Cole's cross and the goalkeeper was first to the loose ball as Drogba prepared to shoot.
West Ham were looking dangerous as well though and Parker sent a curled effort at Cudicini before Chelsea swapped Sidwell for Shaun Wright-Phillips in the 66th minute. Lampard was next in the book with Boa Morte again the man on the receiving end and the Hammers made a change after John Terry had fired across goal and narrowly wide, with Freddie Ljungberg replacing Solano for the last 15 minutes. Joe Cole's winner was just seconds away however with Drogba and then Kalou winning headers and the England man just avoiding stepping offside before rounding Green in style and firing high into the empty net. The Hammers sent on striker Dean Ashton in search of an equaliser but Chelsea were not to be denied.

Thomas Lemon - Postal Cover

IPSWICH TOWN Under-18 (F.A. Premier Academy League)

Away
2-0 (Stanislas 2)
1st December 2007

Stech
O'Neill
Blackwell
N'Gala
Spence
Kearns (Brookes)
Lee (Payne)
Harvey
Hines
Hunt (Barrett)
Stanislas

Stanislas shines for youths

Junior Stanislas carried on where he left off from the reserves earlier this week to score both goals in a comfortable Under-18s away win at Ipswich Town.
The young attacker, who was recently called up to the England Under-19 squad and scored twice in an 8-0 reserve win at Derby County on Monday, was outstanding. His only disappointment was to miss a penalty that would have seen him complete a hat-trick. Academy director Tony Carr said it was a deserved win, praising Stanislas for his two second-half goals and goalkeeper Marek Stech for a fine display that included a penalty save.
It was a fairly quiet first half for both sides, with the hosts just having the edge. West Ham United had a few half-chances, but it remained on level terms at the break. In the second half, the visitors pushed forward and it was not long before the referee pointed to the spot. Up stepped Stanislas, only for the 17-year-old to send his shot over the bar.
Undeterred, Carr's young team continued their pressure on the Ipswich goal and four minutes later, Stanislas made up for his penalty miss by firing in from 25 yards with a swerving shot that crashed into the net via the underside of the bar. The second goal was not long in coming. West Ham United were awarded a free-kick on the edge of the box and Stanislas was on hand to double his, and the team's, advantage.
Ipswich were handed a lifeline when a handball decision was awarded against Ryan O'Neill, but Stech guessed right and made a fantastic save. He followed that with a couple more saves as Ipswich tried their luck, but the young Czech keeper was in no mood to let the ball past him. At the other end, Zavon Hines nearly made it three, beating the last defender before shooting into the side-netting. The hosts then hit the post later on but that was to be as good as it got.

FULHAM Under-18 (F.A. Premier Academy League)

Motspur Park
1-1 (Hunt)
7th December 2007

Stech
Brookes
Miller
Payne
Spence (Blackwell)
Harvey (O'Neill)
Edgar (N'Gala)
Lee
Hunt
Sears
Stanislas

Hunt leaves it late for youths

The visitors had gone behind in the 20th minute to a deflected shot that gave Marek Stech no chance before Fulham "defended for their lives" in a bid to protect their lead. However, Carr's side refused to give in and got the goal their efforts deserved. Hunt was the hero, with the young striker pouncing on a ball into the box to fire in from 12 yards.
Another positive for the young Hammers was that Freddie Sears returned after his layoff with an ankle injury and played the entire fixture. The England youth international striker had a shot cleared off the line while Josh Payne twice saw headers saved, one in each half. It was an encouraging display against opponents who had managed to secure a 1-0 win at Little Heath on the first day of this season.
Having won 2-0 at Ipswich Town last weekend, West Ham United threatened throughout the contest against hosts who began the day ranked third in the table, two
places and four points above them. Carr said it was an impressive display of attacking football. "We had balls flashing across the box and there were two or three occasions where their goalkeeper has pulled off saves or defenders have put themselves on the line to block.
Carr, who said the corner count was 20 to 2 in the visitors' favour, added: "It was a good game and we played very well. We dominated from start to finish but just couldn't score. We should have won arguably on the chances we had. They are a good side but we played them off the park at times. I am really pleased. The performance is everything at our level and we looked very good."
On Sears, who had begun the season in good form with several goals, Carr said: "It was his first game back after two and a half months. He came close to scoring and is definitely on his way back. He played the whole 90 minutes. We were keeping an eye on him but he wanted to stay on and he did well for his first game. He is going to be a key player for us this year."

BLACKBURN ROVERS : Ewood Park

1-0 (Ashton)
9th December 2007
Att: 20,870
Referee: A. Wiley

Green
Gabbidon
Upson
Neill
McCartney
Etherington (Ashton)
Parker
Solano (Spector)
Mullins
Boa Morte
Cole (Camara)

Ashton gives West Ham
a Rovers return

Dean Ashton ensured Alan Curbishley celebrated a year in charge of West Ham with another victory over Blackburn. Interval substitute Ashton struck seven minutes into the second half as the Hammers made it four successive wins over Rovers to lift themselves into the top half of the Barclays Premier League. Mark Hughes' side had the chances to at least clinch a draw, but poor finishing and some top-class saves from Rob Green kept them out. The game was played at a typically high Premier League tempo, but the number of mis-placed passes and mistakes ruined the contest in the opening period. It was soured at the start by Rovers fans proving they are unable to forgive or forget as they booed former star Lucas Neill with his every touch of the ball. But as the opening 45 minutes wore on, those same supporters soon became bored with jeering the Hammers right-back. Unfortunately, it was not the action on the field that distracted their attention as chances were few and far between courtesy of the fragility of both teams' forward play. Too often moves broke down due to players failing to find a team-mate with an incisive pass when it was required most.
Instead, for the opening 30 minutes, all that warmed fans on a cold Blackburn evening were two long-range, yet close-shave efforts from David Dunn and Tugay. Although Blackburn had appeared the more dangerous team early on, they surrendered that advantage due to those mistakes, much to the frustration of an animated Hughes in the technical area. Scott Parker initially threatened by stroking West Ham's first chance a yard wide in the 34th minute with a dipping shot from 25 yards. Then Nolberto Solano had two bites of the cherry in one particular counter-attack, but after his first drive was blocked, he flashed his second over the bar. Blackburn swiftly responded, forcing Robert Green into the first notable save made by either goalkeeper as he turned aside a close-range strike from Morten Gamst Pedersen, with the winger in for the suspended David Bentley. The game was in desperate need of an injection of vitality, and it arrived at the interval with Hughes replacing Aaron Mokoena with Robbie Savage. That gave the midfielder his first taste of action since October 28 following a cartilage operation, but it was Hammers' substitute Ashton who made the immediate impact. The 24-year-old striker, making his third sub appearance since recently returning from an ankle injury, was left unmarked in the 52nd minute to tap home his fourth goal of the season. Solano fed George McCartney down the left wing and from the dead-ball line the left-back teased a low cross into the area where Ashton was free to score his first goal since September 26.
Mercifully, it led to the game opening up and so proving far more entertaining, with Green then pulling off a double save just five

minutes later to preserve his side's advantage. Green initially tipped away a downward header from Christopher Samba, and from the rebound he used his feet to deny Andre Ooijer at point-blank range. That was followed 10 minutes later by Pedersen rifling an angled drive into the crowd from 12 yards when he should have at least hit the target from Roque Santa Cruz's through ball.
Following Green's heroics at one end, Brad Friedel responded in the 73rd minute with a sprawling stop to a Luis Boa Morte strike into the turf after meeting a Solano cross on the volley. If West Ham should have been 2-0 up, Blackburn should definitely have drawn level soon after as Santa Cruz missed two chances in a matter of minutes. The Paraguay international first flashed a header narrowly wide after rising to meet a superb left-wing cross from Stephen Warnock.
But then after delightfully controlling a cheeky dinked ball from Tugay, he drove his 15-yard shot over the crossbar with the goal at his mercy and as Green advanced. Ashton then sidefooted over a Cole lay-off as the latter had taken advantage of an injury to Ooijer that led to the Dutch centre-back limping off and leaving Rovers down to 10 men for the last seven minutes.
Even then Blackburn came close to claiming a point, but Green brilliantly pushed over the crossbar a Tugay volley from 30 yards that had flashed through a crowd of players.

CHELSEA : Premier Reserve League

Woodside Park
0-0
10th December 2007

Walker
Miller
Tomkins
N'Gala
Widdiwson
Dailly
Collison
Stanislas
Hunt (Harvey)
Hines
Fitzgerald (Edgar)

Reserves settle for Chelsea draw

West Ham United made it five games unbeaten with a hard-fought goalless draw at home against Chelsea on Monday. On a freezing evening at Bishop's Stortford, there was little to separate the two teams with the visitors perhaps having the best of the chances while the hosts showed defensive resilience - encapsulated by a man of the match display from Bondz N'Gala. The towering centre-back was the star performer against a Chelsea side full of attacking talent. Having not lost since a 1-0 defeat of Tottenham Hotspur on 9 October, much was expected of Kevin Keen's side. But, in a cagey opening, chances were at a premium - a pattern that would persist throughout the contest. Junior Stanislas, who has made rapid progress this season, had the first real opportunity, firing in a low shot that tested Stuart Searle in the Chelsea goal on nine minutes. Within five minutes, the visitors had found their rhythm. First Miroslav Stoch - who was to pull the strings all night for Chelsea - found space to deliver in a testing cross before Jimmy Walker in goal raced off his line to smother a through-ball destined for striker Morten Nielsen. Then, Sergio Tejera Rodriguez found room to shoot on goal -but Walker was again equal to the challenge. West Ham United did not manage to make many in-roads themselves until the half-hour mark came and went - with Stanislas always looking the most likely. It was not for the want of effort though with Christian Dailly as committed as ever in a defensive midfield role. On 34 minutes, captain Collison was able to shoot at goal after a rare opening but in truth it never troubled Searle.

Chelsea could have taken the lead just before half-time when Michael Woods leapt well to head for goal but, once more, Walker was able to save. It was a similar story early in the second half as Woods again seemed destined to score before N'Gala's exquisite challenge saved the day. The West Ham United No4 repeated the trick to deny Nielsen soon afterwards. It was still a stop-start affair and Collison was cautioned on 50 minutes for a foul. His commitment was unquestioned and he was taking his cue from Dailly, who did not shirk a challenge all evening. The veteran showed his willingness for the cause soon after when hit by a fierce free-kick. The force would have downed most players but Dailly quickly composed himself, shook his head once and carried on the fight. Barely two minutes later he had produced a stunning tackle to disposses the lively Chelsea captain Liam Bridcutt and West Ham United were on the up again. Just before the hour, the best move of the match for the hosts finished with Ashley Miller finding room to the right of goal and his stinging drive was well saved by Searle. The game then reverted to type with chances at a premium. The next moment to rouse the crowd came in the 72nd minute when Stoch sent in a dipping, swerving shot that deceived Walker and rattled against the crossbar. It was the closest either side had come to a goal. N'Gala then came to the rescue twice to deny Stoch and Rodriguez as the match entered the final ten minutes with Miller also cautioned for a late challenge. For all Chelsea's superior attacking potential, they were unable to win the midfield battle with Dailly and Collison working overtime. The latter nearly snatched victory for the hosts in the 86th minute when the former flicked on. The Wales Under-21 international met the ball well but could not direct his effort on target. There was still time for N'Gala to make another timely interception or two but both sides ultimately had to settle for a point.

EVERTON : Upton Park - Carling Cup Quarter Final

1-2 (Cole)
12th December 2007
Att: 28,877
Referee: M. Halsey

Green
Gabbidon
Upson
Neill
McCartney
Parker
Ljungberg
Mullins
Boa Morte (Reid)
Ashton
Cole (Paintsil)

Late mix-up gifts Toffees a soft semi spot

Ayegbeni Yakubu pounced on a defensive howler two minutes from time to book Everton a place in their first Carling Cup semi-final since 1988. With the match seemingly heading for extra-time after a desperate second half Danny Gabbidon headed the ball past his own goalkeeper allowing the Nigerian to poke home the winner. It was Everton's only shot of the half but was enough to seal the Toffees victory over a West Ham side who started brightly but quickly ran out of ideas. The Hammers had taken an 11th-minute lead through Carlton Cole but Everton always looked more dangerous in possession during the first half and levelled through Leon Osman. Everton's win extended their unbeaten run to 11 matches in all competitions and they return to Upton Park to tackle West Ham in the league at the weekend. Dean Ashton and Freddie Ljungberg returned to the Hammers' starting line-up for the first time since October with Matthew Etherington out injured and Nolberto Solano cup-tied. After a brief scare when the lights went out 15 minutes before kick-off, Everton engineered the first chance in a cagey opening. Lee Carsley's drive was deflected wide and West Ham looked vulnerable as Mikel Arteta delivered two testing corners, the second of which Yakubu headed wide. Steven Pienaar jinked his way into the West Ham box, beating three defenders who were too concerned about conceding a free-kick to make the tackle, before he was eventually squeezed off the ball. Ashton just failed to control Hayden Mullins' angled ball towards the edge of the penalty area and the ball just skipped away from Ljungberg stealing in at the far post. But another angled ball from deep, this time from Lucas Neill, undid the Everton defence as West Ham took the lead after 11 minutes. Cole escaped his man and beat the on-rushing Tim Howard with one touch before clipping the ball in for his fourth goal of the season.

Green comfortably held a long-range drive from Tim Cahill before Ashton almost slipped Cole in again but the through-ball was just too heavy. Scott Parker, Ashton and Ljungberg combined well to tee up an effort for Luis Boa Morte on the edge of the Everton area but the Portugal international blazed his strike over the crossbar. But West Ham could not maintain the momentum as Everton assumed control. A scuffed clearance from Matthew Upson invited pressure and caused confusion in the West Ham area. Arteta missed his kick and Cahill went down hard under a fair challenge from Upson. Green tipped Pienaar's low cross away from Cahill but eventually the pressure told. With Everton camped in and around the West Ham box, Pienaar slid a neat pass to the unmarked Osman who curled his shot past the stranded Green. It was no less than Everton deserved for a concerted period of pressure. The second half was desperate with both sides managing just one shot apiece. Pienaar's theatrics found no favour with referee Mark Halsey after the midfielder let the ball run across him and went down too easily looking for a penalty. Mullins linked with Ljungberg and charged into the Everton penalty area but nudged the ball just too far ahead and could not get a strike on goal. West Ham increasingly resorted to long and ineffectual balls towards Cole and Ashton which Yobo and Jagielka dealt with comfortably and their solitary effort of the half was an instinctive volley from Cole which sailed wide. With extra-time looming, West Ham gifted Everton victory. Gabiddon allowed Jagielka's long ball to bounce and just as Green was coming out to claim the central defender headed it through the keeper's arms allowing Yakubu to pounce.

IN THE NEWS - Thursday 13th December 2007

Eggert Magnusson has stepped down as chairman of West Ham and sold his stake in the Premier League club

Magnusson, who was part of the Icelandic consortium that bought the Hammers a year ago, had already quit as executive chairman in September. "Now that I need to focus a little more on my interests overseas, I think it is the right time to stand down," he said. Owner Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson has become chairman and executive chairman and has bought Magnusson's 5% shareholding. "Eggert Magnusson has done a tremendous job as chairman, often in difficult circumstances, since our consortium bought the club 12 months ago," said Gudmundsson, who the club says has invested a further £30.5m.
"Eggert has decided to move on to new pastures and to pursue his other interests. We wish him well for the future and express our thanks for all that he has done for West Ham." Magnusson has had an eventful time with the Hammers over the last 12 months. Within weeks of taking over, manager Alan Pardew was sacked and, with Alan Curbishley at the helm, the club survived relegation by three points. Magnusson also had to deal with the long-running Carlos Tevez saga, which drew to a close when the Argentine striker completed his move to Manchester United after months of legal rows. However, Magnusson insisted: "I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here at West Ham. From the moment that Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson and I formed the consortium to bid for the club, it has been an honour to be involved. "The last 12 months have not been without their challenges but I feel that we have emerged stronger and fitter as a club. "I would also like to pay tribute to the West Ham fans who, I believe, have shown themselves to be the best in the country. "My thanks to everybody who has worked with me in my time here and I wish the club every success for the future."
Gudmundsson has expressed his determination to push ahead with a move to a new £250m, 60,000-seater stadium, with a site having been identified at an old Parcelforce depot next to West Ham tube station. "We are seeking to build some truly solid foundations for the future ambitions of West Ham," he added. "This is a great football club, with tremendous heritage and tradition and the most wonderful set of supporters. "My job as owner is to help plan for the future and create the right conditions off the field to help Alan Curbishley and the playing squad deliver success on the field. "I am particularly delighted that we have been able to take the first real step in our plans for a new stadium, which is crucial to the long-term ambitions of the club."

EVERTON : Upton Park

0-2
15th December 2007
Att: 34,430
Referee: S. Tanner

Green
Collins
Upson
Neill
McCartney
Parker
Solano (Noble)
Ljungberg
Mullins (Reid)
Cole (Camara)
Ashton

Unhappy Hammers mugged by Everton

Ayegbeni Yakubu continued his hot goal-scoring streak as Everton beat West Ham for the second time in four days. The £11.25million Nigerian pounced for his fifth goal in three matches - and 11th of the season - shortly before half-time as Everton sealed an east London double. On Wednesday night, Yakubu capitalised on a defensive mix-up to book Everton a place in the semi-finals of the Carling Cup. Today, he took advantage of some slack marking and latched onto Tim Cahill's knock-down to extend Everton's unbeaten run to 12 matches in all competitions.
Andrew Johnson scored in the last minute as West Ham chased the game and the three points moved the Toffees level with Liverpool, who face Manchester United on Sunday. West Ham, out-hustled on Wednesday night, suffered the same fate today as Everton got their reward for being hungrier off the ball and sharper on it. There was no place in the side for the unwell Danny Gabbidon, whose mix-up had gifted victory to the Toffees in midweek, and Nolberto Solano returned from being cup-tied. West Ham forced the first corner of the afternoon and Solano, whose quality at dead-ball situation was badly missed on Wednesday, tested Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard who did well to deflect the ball clear. Leon Osman linked well with Steve Pienaar but was squeezed out by the West Ham defence as ran into the box before volleying an effort wide after Mikel Arteta's neat lay off.
Freddie Ljungberg drilled a low ball into the box which ran through to Solano and then Lucas Neill at the far post, but the West Ham captain could not capitalise. Carlton Cole then worked half a yard of space down the right to whip a cross in towards Dean Ashton, who was gearing up for a near-post volley when Joseph Yobo made a timely interception. Solano was making a difference to West Ham's creative play and after a neat combination with Hayden Mullins and Scott Parker, the ball broke for Ljungberg whose first-time shot from 12 yards was well held at the second attempt by Tim Howard. Parker's determination and bravery fashioned West Ham's best chance of the half as he dived in to head the ball off Cahill's toe. Parker got a bloody nose for his trouble as the ball fell to Solano who lofted an inch-perfect ball into the box. Ashton got there ahead of Yobo but his deft volley over Howard's head drifted inches wide.

Everton began to dictate the pace and worked a neat opening down the left for the overlapping Joleon Lescott but Hammers goalkeeper Robert Green dealt comfortably with the England defender's poor low cross. Yakubu left James Collins for dust down the left wing but once again Green was able to mop up. Collins then wasted a gift for West Ham after a corner dropped to him unmarked seven yards out but the Wales international defender sliced his volley. Osman fired over from the edge of the West Ham box but the opening came for for Everton three minutes before the interval. Mikel Arteta picked out Cahill in the Hammers box, the Australian beat Matthew Upson in the air and Yakubu was unmarked to poke his shot past Green.
Parker tried to inject some urgency into the West Ham midfield after the interval with a charging run upfield but Everton were showing more urgency. Green did well to punch clear under pressure and Lee Carsley then saw his 25-yard drive deflected wide for a corner. Alan Curbishley then replaced Solano with Mark Noble as West Ham effectively switched to 4-3-3 with Ljungberg pushing forward to join Ashton and half-time arrival Henri Camara. Noble bustled his way into the Everton box but there was still no end product from West Ham who could not break down the Toffees' high-pressure defence. Green dived at Yakubu's feet to push the ball clear but West Ham continued to invite pressure on themselves as they repeatedly failed to keep posession.
Everton wasted a golden opportunity to seal the game when Osman waltzed onto a long ball from Arteta and blasted his shot high and wide with only Green to beat. Green was stretched by a header from Yakubu and then tipped another long-range drive from Carsley over the bar. Pienaar and Yakubu linked on the edge of the area to tee up another shooting opportunity for Osman, who again fired over the bar. West Ham were trying to force things but their final ball was woeful and as they threw everything forward, Everton stung them on the break. Phil Neville lumped a long ball forward and Johnson lofted his shot over the retreating Green.

PORTSMOUTH Under-18 (F.A. Premier Academy League)

Little Heath
2-1 (Hines, Fry)
15th December 2007

Youths on the up before cup

Stech
Payne
Ashman (Miller)
Blackwell
Brookes
Fitzgerald
Fry
Collison
Edgar
Kearnes
Hines

West Ham United's youngsters warmed up for Wednesday night's vital FA Youth Cup tie with a comeback home win against Portsmouth.
The Hammers welcome Bolton Wanderers to the Boleyn Ground in midweek for the third-round fixture and Tony Carr will have been delighted with Saturday's league result at Little Heath - especially as the first half saw Zavon Hines miss a penalty before Portsmouth took the lead.
Hines then made amends with the equaliser in the second half before the home side, featuring several changes including the presence of reserve-team captain Jack Collison, took the points with a wonder goal from Matt Fry. The victory means it is three games unbeaten for Carr's side after a 1-1 draw at Fulham followed a 2-0 win at Ipswich Town.

BOLTON WANDERERS (F.A. Youth Cup Third Round)

Upton Park
0-2
19 December 2007

Stech
Spence
Miller
Payne
N'Gala (Blackwell)
Harvey
Stanislas
Lee (Kearnes)
Hunt (Fry)
Sears
Edgar

Youth see cup dream dashed

West Ham United were knocked out of the FA Youth Cup tonight after a disappointing home defeat by an impressive Bolton Wanderers side. On a chilly evening at the Boleyn Ground, goals in each half from Temitope Obadeyi and Sam Sheridan ultimately proved the difference between the two sides. Freddie Sears, back in the home attack after injury and a heavy cold, had the best of the chances for Tony Carr's team but was unable to make the most of his opportunities. Bolton took the lead through England U19 striker Obadeyi in the 12th minute as he got on the end of Kevin Wolze's inswinging free-kick to score past Marek Stech. Obadeyi could have added to his tally afterwards as the visitors showed real attacking intent. Ben Hunt also had a good chance at the other end but headed over - while Sears and the lively Ashley Miller similarly had good opportunities. The visitors started strongly in the second half with Danny Ward particularly going close just before the hour mark with a mazy run. West Ham United then tried to force the issue. It looked like the equaliser had come in the 67th minute when Sears surged through the middle and appeared ready to score beyond Bolton keeper Tom Brocklehurst - only for the keeper to save with his legs. That was to be as good as it got for Carr's kids with Sheridan getting a similar chance at the other end within five minutes. He made no mistake with a confident finish that Stech could do nothing about. Bolton could have added to their tally as the hosts threw on Matty Fry and Robbie Blackwell to try and get the two goals that would mean extra time but it was to no avail. As a result, it is Bolton who will play Port Vale at home in the next round.

MIDDLESBROUGH : The Riverside Stadium

2-1 (Ashton, Parker)
22nd December 2007
Att: 26,007
Referee: M. Atkinson

Green
Spector
Upson
Neill
McCartney
Parker
Solano (noble)
Ljungberg
Mullins
Camara (Paintsil)
Ashton

Parker's late strike grabs
all three points

Dean Ashton enhanced his England credentials with a powerful first-half strike but it was Scott Parker's memorable last-minute winner which ensured West Ham picked up three fortunate points at the Riverside. Ashton, with his fifth strike of the season in all competitions, and Parker provided the only moments of real quality in a scrappy Barclays Premier League match which Middlesbrough will feel aggrieved to have lost.
David Wheater put the hosts ahead with just before half-time after a fine lay-off from Jeremie Aliadiere but, while they were sorely lacking in inspiration, their endeavour should have been enough to earn them at least a draw. The teams came into the match with contrasting fortunes, Boro having won their last three matches and West Ham reeling from consecutive defeats to Everton in the league and Carling Cup. Adam Johnson's inclusion meant Stewart Downing began on the right of midfield and twice in the opening seconds his team-mates looked to release him down the flank. But it was Tuncay Sanli, brimming with confidence after three goals in as many games, who caused the first sign of danger, jinking neatly into the penalty box before earning an early corner. Tuncay impressed again after seven minutes, dribbling past Nolberto Solano before a cheeky back-heel released Emanuel Pogatetz. His swerving cross was dealt with but the hosts were soon on the attack again, Tuncay starting the move before nice work from Downing and George Boateng set up Aliadiere. The striker failed to force a save from Robert Green but the Hammers remained well behind the pace. Parker started to drag his team into the match as the half progressed, dictating play well from the centre, but there was little flair in the final third. Downing, trying hard to make things happen, dragged the ball back onto his left and lined up a shot midway through the first half but his shot ballooned high and wide.
After 26 minutes both sides nearly found an opening. First Tuncay was denied by a clinical last-ditch tackle from Jonathan Spector before a swift counter-attack caught the home defence cold. Henri Camara hunted down the ball with a turn of pace but goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer dashed from his line to clear. Boateng was booked on the half-hour mark after bundling over Freddie Ljungberg and Parker

made an equally clumsy attempt moments later as things became scrappy. It was the unlikely figure of centre-half Jonathan Woodgate who lent proceedings a rare hint of finesse when he delicately lobbed a pass to Aliadiere, but Green was first to the ball. Woodgate's defensive partner Wheater then opened the scoring, turning the ball into an empty net after Aliadiere nodded the ball cleverly across goal from a curling free-kick. Ashton, virtually anonymous for the rest of the half, then produced a fine equaliser. The ball was lofted high and hopefully towards the Middlesbrough area when Camara stood firm to lay the ball into Ashton's path. With several red shirts in attendance, Ashton surged through to drive powerfully past Schwarzer and into the bottom-left corner. Despite the flurry of activity which ended the first period, normal service was restored after the restart with both sides losing possession carelessly.
Julio Arca, finding his feet slowly in his return to the senior side, made his first threatening run in the 50th minute, losing his marker to link up well with the advancing Luke Young. Only a well-timed slide from Ljungberg prevented the attack going further. Arca was then penalised for a foul 30 yards from goal and Schwarzer was forced to make a wonderful save as Solano looked to dip the ball under the crossbar with a trademark free-kick. Johnson showed some nice footwork as he broke down the right 10 minutes into the second half but, after he left his marker for dead with a precise turn, Spector recovered to dispatch his cross. Ashton then showed another side to his game, foregoing brawn to dummy the Boro defence with some trickery of his own. But when the ball broke to Solano he fired low and wide. Pogatetz was presented with a fine chance to secure the lead for Boro when Tuncay hooked a cross over from the right-hand side of the penalty box but his scuffed finish could not match the approach. Robert Huth, on for Woodgate - who did not appear in any discomfort - gave the hosts another option and was soon trying his luck from distance.
Both teams' forwards were looking increasingly adrift and Lucas Neill was involved in a bust-up with Johnson the pair let their frustrations boil over. Parker then won it in the finest of fashions, collecting the ball on his chest before using both feet to scythe into the danger area and curl the ball into the far corner.

READING : Upton Park

1-1 (Solano)
26th December 2007
Att: 34,277
Referee: P. Walton

Green
Spector
Upson
Neill
McCartney
Parker
Solano (Noble)
Ljungberg
Mullins
Cole (Camara)
Ashton

Hammers fail to beat
ten-man Reading

Reading held West Ham to a Boxing Day draw at Upton Park after battling for over an hour with 10 men. The Royals may still be without an away win all season - but a point was the least they deserved for their bold approach to the game after Brynjar Gunnarsson was sent off. The Icelandic midfielder was shown a straight red card after 28 minutes for a dangerous two-footed lunge on Hayden Mullins.
West Ham took advantage with a strike from Nolberto Solano just before half-time but they could not shake off a Reading side short on numbers but not on work rate or determination. Dave Kitson scored the equaliser after turning onto a neat through-ball from Nicky Shorey, a reported January target for West Ham, to beat Robert Green. West Ham threw everything forward in the closing minutes and Dean Ashton saw his header hit the post but they could not break down a resilient Reading defence. In stark contrast to recent games at Upton Park, where West Ham have struggled to break their opponents down, it was a bright encounter full of chances for both sides. Ashton slipped the ball to Mullins who charged towards the edge of the Reading box, where he tested Marcus Hahnemann with a low drive. Solano then curled a dangerous free-kick just wide of Hahnemann's near post after Ashton had been fouled by Reading centre-back Ivar Ingimarsson. Kevin Doyle had kept Green alert with an early snap-shot from 20 yards and should have done better with a header after he was picked out in the box by Kitson.
Centre-back Ibrahima Sonko was forced into a near-post clearance but when the West Ham corner fell to Lucas Neill at the far post he drilled his shot high over the bar. Spector was beaten again on the edge of the West Ham box as Doyle rose to get his head to a long-ball from Hahnemann. The flick-on fell to Kitson who linked again with Doyle to set up Bobby Convey, whose strike from six yards out was well blocked by Green at point-blank range. Spector may have been under pressure at the back but he did spark a quick West Ham move with a drilled ball down the middle to Freddie Ljungberg. George McCartney pushed forward and his cross was headed back across the area by Cole but Ashton had just crept offside.

Reading were then reduced to 10 men after Gunnarsson was given his marching orders for a nasty challenge on Mullins as both midfielders hunted a loose ball in midfield. Hammers defender Matthew Upson almost got his head to the lofted free-kick and had he done so, Hahnemann would have been horribly out of position. Scott Parker kept the pressure on as he broke into the box and picked out Ashton, who could only hook a difficult pass onto the roof of the Reading net. West Ham took the lead three minutes before the interval after Solano pounced to beat Convey's challenge with a delicate touch before lifting the ball over Hahnemman. West Ham had carved the opening well as Parker linked with full-back Neill on a diagonal run across the box. Although Carlton Cole lost his footing after receiving the lay-off, the ball fell to Solano and two deft touches later it was in the back of the net.
Shortly after the interval Ingimarsson made a hash of a long clearance from Green and the ball fell to Ashton but Sonko did well to recover and he blocked the shot. Reading were making themselves a nuisance, switching into a 4-3-3 formation when in possession and Kitson managed to knock the ball down for Hunt, whose long-range strike skewed wide. Parker did escape into the Reading box but was guilty of ignoring Cole and Ashton, who were both unmarked and in prime position, when he drilled a near-post shot straight at Hahnemann. Reading continued to stretch West Ham and their enterprise paid off just before the hour when Kitson turned onto a through-ball from Shorey and fired past Green to draw the Royals level. Upson's clearing header fell to Shorey outside the West Ham box and the England full-back worked space cleverly before lifting his pass through to Kitson. West Ham was were spurred into action and Ljungberg latched onto a through-ball from Parker but his low drive was deflected one-handed over the bar by Hahnemann. But West Ham lacked invention, particularly after Solano was replaced. As the clock ticked down Parker wasted a golden chance after working space inside the box when his weak shot was easily held by Hahnemann. Ashton rose well to meet a near-post corner but saw his header rebound off the post as Reading held on for the draw.

MANCHESTER UNITED : Upton Park

2-1 (Ferdinand, Upson)
29th December 2007
Att: 34,966
Referee: M. Dean

Green
Spector
Upson
Neill
McCartney
Parker
Noble
Solano (Paintsil)
Ljungberg (Ashton)
Mullins
Cole

Champions are beaten for
third time running

Manchester United's title hopes suffered a dent at West Ham after the home side came back from behind to win 2-1. Sir Alex Ferguson's side had been on course to go four points clear of Arsenal, whose game at Everton was the day's late kick-off, once Cristiano Ronaldo had given them a 14th-minute lead. But last season's player of the year then missed a penalty to allow the home side to mount a stirring fight-back that saw first substitute Anton Ferdinand and then fellow defender Matthew Upson head home from set-pieces. The identity of the scorers added extra spice to the occasion as Ferdinand is the younger brother of the Red Devils' ex-Hammer Rio and Upson used to play for Arsenal. Alan Curbishley's reign as Hammers boss had begun a year previously with a 1-0 victory over the same opponents at Upton Park but it was not long before the Londoners had looked doomed to the drop. The brilliance of Carlos Tevez changed that picture with some remarkable performances before the South American decamped for Old Trafford after his last-day winner there had made the Hammers safe.
No wonder therefore that the Argentinian was greeted as a returning hero with an ovation and a song, which was put into context by the polite applause for the elder Ferdinand and the cat-calls for the rest of the visiting squad. It was to prove a red herring however as the day belonged to others. Inevitably Ronaldo had received the loudest abuse but it was the away fans who were cheering after he netted his 18th goal of the season.
The home side had just squandered a gilt-edged chance when Hayden Mullins shot cannoned back off a post to the recalled Mark Noble, who was horrified to fire over from 10 yards with the goal at his mercy. The visitors made him regret that even more when they turned their first attack of note into Ronaldo's opener. Louis Saha began the move with a ball to find Ryan Giggs in space and the Portugal international out-paced George McCartney to head home the cross. Referee Mike Dean ruled that Ferdinand's challenge on Nolberto Solano on the edge of the box near a touchline had been legal to the home fans' fury but the Peruvian almost conjured up an

equaliser in the 36th minute. The ex-Newcastle man latched on to the loose ball after Freddie Ljungberg appeared to have been impeded and instinctively let fly from distance. Tomasz Kuszczak, who was continuing to deputise for the injured Edwin van der Sar, was alert to the danger however and produced an acrobatic tip-over.
The final chance of the first half also belonged to the Londoners but Carlton Cole, operating as a lone front-man after Dean Ashton was sacrificed to let Noble back in the side, headed the midfielder's pin-point cross over the bar despite having enough time and space to pick his spot. Solano, who put a free-kick just past a post, was forced off by a leg injury five minutes into the second period and was replaced by John Pantsil. Scott Parker had been hurt in the first half and was replaced in the 56th minute by Anton Ferdinand, previously absent since October because of a hamstring injury. Patrice Evra, one of three changes to the side that had demolished Sunderland 4-0 on Boxing Day, was then clattered by Pantsil, who was booked. The African then caught Nemanja Vidic with a raised boot right in front of a linesman, but was punished only by a free-kick. The away side's first change came in the 64th minute and it was Tevez who made way for Anderson and the South American, who had stormed off in a huff following one early withdrawal while a Hammer, could not have complained. He had made little impact. Mullins was booked for a foul on Ronaldo who then missed a penalty. Ex-Red Devil man Jonathan Spector was adjudged to have handled in the box under pressure from Anderson but although Ronaldo's spot-kick did not lack power it flew wide of Green's right-hand post to keep the home side in the game.
Curbishley took that as the perfect cue to send on Ashton in place of Ljungberg for the final 20 minutes and a spell of intense pressure conjured up an equaliser in the 77th minute when Anton Ferdinand rose to head a Noble corner past Kuszczak. The home side continued to attack and Upson repeated Ferdinand's trick by heading a Noble free-kick beyond the goalkeeper. Upton Park erupted as the race for the Barclays Premier League title took another dramatic twist.

ARSENAL : Emirates

0-2
1st January 2008
Att: 60,102
Referee: C. Foy

Green
Spector
Paintsil
Upson
Ferdinand
Neill
McCartney
Noble
Ljungberg (Collison)
Mullins (Camara)
Cole (Ashton)

JACK COLLISON - HAMMERS DEBUT

Eduardo deals early blow to Hammers

Barclays Premier League leaders Arsenal started 2008 as they meant to go on with a comfortable home victory over West Ham. The Hammers may have overturned Manchester United at the weekend, but there was to be no repeat this afternoon, with the Gunners grabbing an early lead through in-form Eduardo and never looking back. An amazing finish from the tightest of angles by Emmanuel Adebayor doubled the home side's advantage just when the Hammers looked to have regrouped. The game was effectively over as a contest by the interval, with Arsenal simply going through the motions during the second half and running down the clock with ease.
Further stern tests, of course, lie ahead - particularly later this month when key defender Kolo Toure will be away at the African Nations Cup. However, yet again Arsene Wenger's young Gunners have displayed more than enough character and quality to make a sustained assault on the title over the second half of the campaign. Before the match, there was a period of silence in respect of Phil O'Donnell, who died suddenly during Motherwell's Clydesdale Bank Premier League match at the weekend. When they game kicked-off, Arsenal wasted little time before they raced into the lead. Cesc Fabregas was fed the ball on the left, where the Spaniard held up possession before chipping over a lofted pass into the penalty area. The ball landed perfectly for Eduardo, who collected it on his chest before volleying a low shot into the far corner for a 10th goal of a quickly-improving season, with five in the past three games.
West Ham - the first team to win here last season - were clearly shocked by conceding inside two minutes. However, slowly the visitors regained their shape. Striker Carlton Cole caused some concern in the Arsenal box before Mark Noble saw an effort blocked by Toure and then stabbed the loose ball wide. In the 11th minute Cole got clear in the left side of the area again, this time his goalbound shot was deflected behind. From the resulting corner, Anton Ferdinand saw his close-range effort cleared off the line by Gael Clichy. Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia was too busy for manager Arsene Wenger's liking and in the 16th minute he needed to make a save at the near post to deny former Gunner Freddie Ljungberg. However, just when it seemed the hosts were on the back foot, they made it 2-0 in the 18th minute. Clichy sent a long ball up field from deep inside the Arsenal half and the bounce took it away from Ferdinand and Matthew Upson, with Adebayor galloping clear. The big Togo striker got a touch ahead of the onrushing Robert Green, and although the angle was tight almost at the byline, Adebayor somehow managed to squeeze the ball past Upson and in off the far post.
West Ham continued to press and Cole's centre into the six-yard box from the right picked out John Pantsil, who was just off target with his overhead kick. In the 37th minute, West Ham were forced into a change when Wales Under-21 captain Jack Collison replaced Ljungberg, who looked to have a hamstring problem. Arsenal felt they had a strong penalty shout when the ball appeared to strike Jonathan Spector on his outstretched arm following a cross by Eboue from the right. However, referee Chris Foy was unconvinced.
After a quiet start to the second half, Eduardo looked to have been held back at the far post by Hammers captain Lucas Neill following a deep cross from Hoyte - but again the referee remained unmoved. At the other end, defender George McCartney tried his luck with a volley, which flew just wide, from the edge of the box. With 27 minutes left, Eduardo was replaced by Theo Walcott and Arsenal remained in control, if not opening up the West Ham defence in the final third. Walcott made space for himself on the edge of the box after turning inside Neill, but his low shot lacked power. Green was out quickly to block a close-range effort from a sliding Tomas Rosicky as Arsenal pressed for a third, which ultimately they failed to find.

CHELSEA Under-18 (F.A. Premier Academy League)

(Away)
2-3 (Sears, Payne)
5th January 2008

Stech
O'Neill
Blackwell
N'Gala
Spence
Harvey
Edgar (Okus)
Lee (Barrett)
Sears
Payne
Fry

Last-gasp penalty denies United

Goals by Freddie Sears and Josh Payne were not enough to give Tony Carr's side a share of the spoils in their first outing of 2008.
The London derby was settled by a last-minute penalty, but the match showed little of the five-goal thriller it was to become in a first half of few chances. After the break, the home side took the lead when French Under-17 international midfielder Gael Kakuta scored from 25 yards out.
West Ham United were level on 68 minutes when striker Sears showed he was back to his best with a headed equaliser from a fine Bondz N'Gala cross. Parity did not last long, however, with Kakuta forcing Chelsea back in front before Payne replied with another quickfire goal - heading in a free-kick to level it at 2-2. With time ticking away, Chelsea won a penalty and Nana Ofori-Twumasi converted, much to the disappointment of the visitors.

MANCHESTER CITY : Upton Park

0-0
5th January 2008
Att: 33,806
Referee: R. Styles

Green
Paintsil
Upson
Ferdinand
Neill (Spector)
McCartney
Etherington (Reid)
Noble
Mullins (Bowyer)
Cole
Ashton

Hart keeps Hammers at bay for replay at City

Sven-Goran Eriksson's first taste of the FA Cup ended with Manchester City and West Ham sharing a goalless draw at Upton Park. City created the best opportunities with Stephen Ireland twice denied by Hammers goalkeeper Robert Green and only a last-ditch challenge from Anton Ferdinand stopped Nery Castillo scoring on his debut. City also had strong shouts for a first-half penalty after the dangerous Martin Petrov went down under a challenge from Ferdinand. West Ham created chances of their own but generally lacked any cutting edge up front, where Dean Ashton was disappointing alongside Carlton Cole. Matthew Etherington forced Joe Hart into a low save in the first half but otherwise West Ham hardly tested the City goalkeeper.

The replay is at the City of Manchester Stadium a week on Wednesday. While Eriksson never took England past a quarter-final, he has an impressive cup record at domestic level having won silverware with IFK Gothenburg, Benfica, Roma, Sampdoria and Lazio. City, who had beaten West Ham on the last three occasions, gave a debut to Mexican striker Castillo. Both sides concentrated their attacks down the respective left flanks, with Etherington and Petrov heavily involved in an open first period. Etherington was back in side for the first time in a month after recovering from a groin injury and he caused City some early troubles as West Ham twice looked to hit them on the counter-attack. John Pantsil slipped the ball to Etherington who burst down the left flank and looked to pick out Hayden Mullins in the box, forcing Micah Richards into a last-ditch clearance. City full-back Michael Ball evaded two challenges to break into the box but Matthew Upson was on hand to clear and West Ham launched another counter-attack. Carlton Cole's flick fell to Etherington on the edge of the City area but his left-footed volley was shanked wide.
With all the attacking, open football on offer a goal seemed inevitable and City increasingly appeared likely to make the breakthrough. Mark Noble conceded possession carelessly in the West Ham half and Vedran Corluka chipped the ball towards midfielder Stephen Ireland in the box. Ireland opted to take his shot first time on the turn and could only hook his volley over the bar. Play swung again down West Ham's end again as Ferdinand allowed a long ball to bounce and Darius Vassell stole in to snatch possession. Petrov steamed past Lucas Neill into the box and went down under a challenge from Ferdinand but referee Rob Styles waved away strong appeals for a penalty. City were then denied by a point-blank save from Green from Ireland latched onto Petrov's deep cross with a driven volley, which the Hammers goalkeeper touched over the bar.
West Ham were creating opportunities themselves. They lacked the clinical final ball to really test City but Joe Hart was called on to produce an excellent near-post save from Etherington's low drive. Ashton was making himself busy around the City area and won two free-kicks in dangerous positions but first George McCartney and then Noble failed to capitalise. Meanwhile, Petrov continued to be a constant threat down the left and he whipped another dangerous low ball towards Castillo. If Ferdinand had been lucky to escape censure for his early challenge on Petrov, he earned that good fortune with a magnificent last-ditch interception to deny the Mexican just six yards out.
West Ham began the second half on the counter-attack again, earning another free-kick within striking distance but Ashton's drive was blocked easily by the City wall. Green was alert to race off his line and dive at Corluka's feet as the Croatian burst into the box. And the West Ham goalkeeper was forced to produce another athletic block to deny a fierce Ireland volley for the second time. West Ham upped their tempo when City captain Richard Dunne left the field for treatment on a facial injury but they could not take advantage as Mullins' strike flew wide. City replaced Castillo with Gelson Fernandes and switched to five in midfield, and in the closing stages and West Ham looked to press home the initiative. Cole saw a volley disappear wide and when the ball fell to Spector in the box from a corner his first-time shot was lifted over the bar. Ashton got the ball caught under his feet inside the City area but then latched onto a cross from Kyel Reid and forced Hart to tip his header over the bar. Dunne scrambled back to get ahead of Ashton and clear Reid's cross for an injury-time corner which West Ham could not capitalise from. Cole challenged for the ball and West Ham appealed for handball and a penalty but there was no dramatic finish.

ASTON VILLA : Premier Reserve League

Walsall - Bescot Stadium
1-2
7th January 2008

Wright
Tomkins (Spence)
Collins
Davenport
Widdowson
Faubert (Hines)
Dailly
Collison
Reid
Boa Morte (Sears)
Jeffrey

Positive signs despite reserve loss

Julien Faubert took just 39 seconds to score on his return for West Ham United as the reserves went down to two late goals. The France winger was making his first appearance since suffering a serious achilles injury on 17th July. After an intensive rehabilitation programme, he returned to the staring eleven and made an instant impact. As well his goal, he was a lively presence throughout the first 45 minutes but was substituted at half-time.
Villa kept going and earned a deserved equaliser in the 87th minute when substitute Barry Barman - on for former Hammers striker Marlon Harewood, shot low beyond Richard Wright. Then, as the visitors looked like making it six games unbeaten at this level against the league leaders, Tobias Mikaelsson scored from close range in the dying seconds.
Along with Faubert, Luis Boa Morte got more than an hour of action up front, while at the back Calum Davenport and James Collins were a solid pairing with both coming through the full 90 minutes. James Tomkins played at right-back and, other than feeling the impact of a couple of hefty challenges, showed up well - particularly in support of Faubert in the first half. Further forward, Christian Dailly played a holding midfield role alongside Collison who was his usual industrious self.

FULHAM : Upton Park

2-1 (Ashton, Ferdinand)
12th January 2008
Att: 34,947
Referee: M. Riley

Green
Spector
Ferdinand
McCartney
Upson
Etherington (Bowyer)
Noble
Mullins
Ljungberg (Faubert)
Cole (Boa Morte)
Ashton

Ferdinand strike seals
points for Hammers

Fulham's search for their first away win of the season goes on despite the best efforts of goalkeeper Antti Niemi after Dean Ashton and Anton Ferdinand helped West Ham come from a goal to win 2-1 at Upton Park. Simon Davies had put Fulham ahead when his eighth-minute free-kick evaded everyone in the West Ham box and crept inside the far post. Ashton headed the Hammers level but was then twice denied by acrobatic saves from Niemi, who brilliantly deflected one close-range strike onto the bar and then dived to palm away another. But there was nothing the Finnish keeper could do to stop Ferdinand's first-time shot into the roof of the net which sealed a valuable home win for West Ham.
There was a welcome return to football for Jimmy Bullard, who was included on the Fulham bench for the first time in 16 months after recovering from a horrific knee injury. Bullard came on late in the day and saw an injury-time strike deflected wide but it was almost enough for the Fulham fans just to see him back in action. It had all started so brightly at Upton Park after Davies curled in a wicked free-kick from the left flank which flew in at the back post - only Fulham's seventh goal on their league travels all season. Fulham had to replace Carlos Bocanegra with Aaron Hughes after the American suffered a clash of heads with Freddie Ljungberg but they were making life difficult for West Ham, squeezing them for time and space. But when Ljungberg found half a yard outside Paul Konchesky, on his return to Upton Park following a summer move to Fulham, West Ham found the telling breakthrough. Ljungberg's pinpoint delivery picked out Ashton, who had escaped Hughes on an angled run towards the near post and the England prospect glanced his header past Niemi.
The goal injected some confidence into the West Ham side and after Carlton Cole escaped the Fulham defence to earn a corner Niemi needed to be alert to hold onto Ferdinand's header. West Ham had their tails up and controlled the last 15 minutes of the first half - but found Niemi in inspirational form. The Finn produced a spectacular save from Ashton, whose left-foot volley from 15-yards seemed a

certain goal until it was deflected up and onto the bar. Cole's flick then found Ashton who checked, cut back inside and curled a left-foot strike which forced Niemi into an acrobatic one-handed stop. Cole worked a golden chance for himself, holding off Hughes to find himself one-on-one with Niemi but only managed to poke his shot straight at the keeper.
West Ham started the second half with verve as Ashton latched onto Ljungberg's clipped ball into the box but could only divert it wide. Davies embarked on a determined run forward as Fulham looked for an attacking spark but he was checked by Mark Noble and West Ham counter-attacked, with Ljungberg almost picking out Cole with another dangerous cross. West Ham came again. Matthew Etherington cut in from the left and teed up Noble, whose fierce drive collected a Fulham defender on the way and deflected wide. Clint Dempsey came close to re-establishing the lead for Fulham with a low drive which had Green stretching but fizzed just wide of the near post. Fulham then had Konchesky to thank for a goal-line clearance after Cole had risen to meet Etherington's corner from the left with a powerful header. Ljungberg, in easily his best game since moving to West Ham, set up a chance for Luis Boa Morte moments after the Portuguese forward came off the bench and then won a corner with another testing cross. Noble's initial delivery was cleared - but he cut back a low ball to Ferdinand whose first time strike into the roof of the net earned West Ham the lead. Fulham upped the tempo in search of an equaliser and Chris Baird missed a golden opportunity to level after Upson had fouled Healy on the edge of the West Ham box. He escaped Ashton to meet Danny Murphy's free-kick but, unmarked and just six yards out, his header flew over the bar.

MILLWALL Under-18 (F.A. Premier Academy League)

Little Heath
2-0 (Sears 2)
12th January 2008

Stech
O'Neill
Brown
Ashman
Spence
Kearns
Edgar
Lee (Barrett)
Sears
Payne (Okus)
Fry

Sears cannot stop scoring

Freddie Sears was the hero with two goals in the space of five second-half minutes to give the Academy side a deserved home win against Millwall.
The striker - who hit a hat-trick in the 7-3 away win against the same opponents back in October - is firmly back to his best after suffering a broken foot towards the end of 2007. His first at Little Heath came in the 70th minute when he pounced on a weak defensive clearance to tuck a shot into the corner of the net. With a quarter-of-an hour to play he doubled the Hammers' advantage. Fellow forward Ben Hunt was unlucky not to score with a high shot that struck the woodwork, and again Sears was in the right place at the right time.
According to youth academy director Tony Carr, Sears is not too far off gaining the attention of first-team manager Alan Curbishley. "I think Freddie has got what it takes to do what Jack [Collison] has done and force himself into reckoning with the first team. You can never determine these things for sure, nothing is guaranteed, but on Freddie's goals and performances, hopefully he will have caught the eye. The manager is aware of his talents and has seen him in games and in training."

MANCHESTER CITY : City of Manchester Stadium - FA Cup Third Round Replay

0-1
16th January 2008
Att: 27,809
Refreee: M. Clattenburg

Green
Upson
Ferdinand
Neill
McCartney
Etherington
Bowyer
Noble
Ljungberg (Faubert)
Boa Morte (Cole)
Ashton

Brazilian magician Elano dispensed with the silky skills and resorted to English-style bravery to earn Manchester City an FA Cup trip to Sheffield United. After a superb start to his City career, Elano has suffered a noticeable dip in form recently, not helped by a niggling injury which has proved difficult to shake off. But after substitute Rolando Bianchi saw his header bounce off a post, Elano dived in where it hurts, netting a goal Alan Shearer would have been proud of as he nodded home amid a mass of raised boots. It was only the former Shakhtar Donetsk man's second goal since October but could prove very timely as it sent 2006 finalists West Ham out of the competition and retained City's hopes of ending a 32-year trophy drought. Yet the man who gained most from the contest was City goalkeeper Joe Hart, who edged out Matthew Upson and Micah Richards as the best Englishman on view and certainly came out on top in his battle with Dean Ashton. Although Fabio Capello was not present, he did despatch trusted advisor Franco Baldini to the north-west. And, with Richards virtually guaranteed a start in the first game of England's new era against Switzerland on February 6, Baldini was presumably focussing more on Ashton than any of the other 10 English-qualified starters.
Injury has twice wrecked Ashton's hopes of making a much-anticipated international debut and with Capello's options in attack fairly limited, if the former Norwich man is fit, he must have a chance of being in the squad for the Swiss encounter, which is due to be named at the beginning of next month. Yet any objective analysis by Baldini at the end of a largely forgettable first-half would have offered Hart high praise indeed. Capello has pledged to work closely with Stuart Pearce, who sat next to Baldini in a near 30,000 crowd, so he probably already knows plenty about the youngster as it was the England Under-21 boss who signed Hart from Shrewsbury when he was still City manager. Hart is still capable of the odd mistake, as his failure to make any connection with his attempt to punch Freddie Ljungberg's free-kick clear late in the opening period showed, but he has already done enough to persuade Sven-Goran Eriksson to

dump Sweden's World Cup keeper Andreas Isaksson and the Swede feels he could follow in the footsteps of David Seaman and Peter Shilton as a world-class England number one.
A talented cricketer in his youth, Hart stood as strong as an opening batsmen facing a fast-ball battery when Luis Boa Morte picked out Ashton with an astute cross from the right. Although he was at full stretch, Ashton got plenty of power behind his volley but it just bounced off Hart, who made a similar, if slightly less difficult save from Boa Morte himself not long after the break. If anything, Hart was even braver in stoppage-time as he confronted Ashton in a body-to-body duel when Richard Dunne looped an attempted clearance into his own box. Yet again, it was the keeper who came out on top, both in winning the ball and the clash of bodies which inevitably followed. The loss of loan signing Nery Castillo with a dislocated shoulder after barely half an hour hardly aided City's cause. But, after a slow start to the second period, Sven-Goran Eriksson's men began to get into their stride with Martin Petrov leading the offensive. The Bulgarian has been in top form recently and after substitute Bianchi bundled one low cross wide, Upson, another Englishman to impress, was at full stretch to prevent Petrov picking out the same man, who had found a much better position.
There was to be no reprieve for the Hammers when Petrov drove past Lucas Neill 17 minutes from time. This time, Bianchi met the far-post cross with a firm header, which crashed back off a post, only for Elano to dive in and get his head on the ball between a mass of raised boots. City needed to survive a couple of late scares as West Ham had a penalty claim against Dunne turned down before Richards nodded a dangerous Lee Bowyer cross out from underneath his own crossbar. But, in the end, they are the ones who can start planning for a Roses battle at Bramall Lane.

MANCHESTER CITY : City of Manchester Stadium

1-1 (Cole)
20th January 2008
At: 39,042
Referee: P. Dowd

Green
Upson
Ferdinand
Neill
McCartney
Bowyer (Spector)
Noble
Ljungberg
Mullins
Boa Morte (Faubert)
Cole

Cole's overhead is worth more than just a point

Sven-Goran Eriksson was left frustrated as Manchester City surrendered further ground in the race for a coveted European berth after being held at home by a severely-depleted West Ham side. Carlton Cole produced a delightful overhead kick to put the Hammers ahead after eight minutes before Darius Vassell poked home a controversial equaliser eight minutes later. But West Ham always looked more likely to snatch the points and promising young goalkeeper Joe Hart was forced to make smart saves to deny Mark Noble and then Cole in the closing stages. A chronic lack of firepower seriously undermined City's efforts and although a UEFA Cup spot remains a distinct possibility - this point lifted them to fifth in the Barclays Premier League - dreams of the Champions League are fading fast.
Eriksson's men won their first nine home league games this season but have now taken just three points from their last three outings at the City of Manchester Stadium. West Ham deserve credit for producing a spirited response after limping out of the FA Cup at Eastlands four days earlier. That they did so without Dean Ashton and Matthew Etherington - ruled out due to back and knee injuries respectively - hinted at the depth and quality of their squad as the Londoners continue their own push for Europe. The Hammers were already without the services of Nolberto Solano, Craig Bellamy, Scott Parker, Bobby Zamora and Kieron Dyer through injury. But they were threatening throughout and Cole's eighth-minute strike was just reward for their early enterprise. That it came from a defensive error from City skipper Richard Dunne - whose standards have rarely dipped below exemplary this season - raised eyebrows. The Irishman surrendered possession from inside his own 18-yard box with a dreadful pass straight to Noble and he swiftly fed Freddie Ljungberg on the right flank. The Swede whipped in a dangerous cross into the six-yard box where Cole lurked menacingly. In one sublime sequence, the towering forward controlled the ball and displayed formidable strength to hold off Vedran Corluka before dispatching a brilliant overhead volley past Hart. It was the former Chelsea striker's fifth goal of the season and gave West Ham a platform on which to build. Ljungberg gave Michael Ball several uneasy moments down the right flank but City, to their credit, gradually gained a foothold on proceedings and drew level in the 16th minute. It stemmed from a corner from Martin Petrov that West Ham failed to deal with and the ball

was recycled back to the Bulgarian out wide on the right flank. Petrov's vicious cross flashed past defenders and found its way to Vassell who stabbed home his third goal of the season from three yards out. Vassell looked suspiciously offside when Petrov delivered the cross but the goal stood and City were level.
The game became rather scrappy as the half wore on and West Ham skipper Lucas Neill was shown a yellow card in the 26th minute for a cynical foul on the elusive Petrov. Dunne followed him into the book seven minutes late for chopping down Luis Boa Morte but it was the visitors who looked the more threatening in attack. Cole might have claimed his second six minutes before the break had he gambled on Neill's teasing low cross which forced Hart to dive full length to collect possession. Noble's clever pass released Cole three minutes before the break but Micah Richards' pace allowed him to make a vital touch to avert the danger. West Ham continued to threaten after the break and a neat array of inter-passing between Neill and Ljungberg gave Noble the space to hit a shot over the crossbar from 16 yards. Boa Morte was then booked for a ill-judged lunge on Vassell and shortly before the hour mark Eriksson replaced the former Aston Villa striker with Gelson Fernandes.
West Ham, however, continued to probe and Mullins drew a smart save from Hart with a low 20-yard shot and then fired over from the same distance. Bianchi, who struggled to make any impact, then fired straight at a virtually unemployed Robert Green with a 20-yard volley in the 67th minute. West Ham thought they had scored a second in the 73rd minute when substitute Julian Faubert bundled the ball home but the strike was disallowed following a push by Bowyer on Dunne. They should have claimed a winner with 13 minutes remaining, however, when Faubert and Cole combined to give Noble a shooting chance from 12 yards which drew a fine save from Hart, who then tipped over a header from Cole with just seconds remaining.

CHARLTON ATHLETIC Under-18 (F.A. Premier Academy League)

Little Heath
3-3 (Lee, Harvey, Sears)
26th January 2008

Sears continues scoring run

Street
O'Neill
Ashman
Spence
Blackwell (Brown)
Stanislas (Edgar)
Harvey (Okus)
Lee
Kearns
Sears
Hunt

Freddie Sears underlined his burgeoning potential with yet another crucial goal for Tony Carr's youth side. The 18-year-old striker has had quite a week. He travelled with the first team to Manchester City last Sunday, started in attack alongside Craig Bellamy in the reserves on Wednesday and then struck a deserved equaliser to earn a 3-3 draw for the Academy side at home against Charlton Athletic. The Hammers had led 2-0 at one point but were pegged back by a spirited performance by their London rivals.
On a fresh morning at Little Heath, it was an even contest before West Ham United struck twice inside 20 minutes to take a commanding lead. First, Oliver Lee - son of former Hammers and Charlton midfielder Robert - headed in from a Daniel Reams' cross before an outstanding passing move saw Tom Harvey finish it off with a curling shot into the far corner. "It was a great goal, in terms of the movement and passing," said Carr.
However, just as it looked the home side would build on their lead, Charlton pulled one back after poor marking at a free-kick allowed a headed goal for Yado Mambo. Then, a mistake by Junior Stanislas - playing his first game since suffering a bruised foot in December - allowed them to break down the flank. A decent cross into the box, led to good control and a fine finish by Danny Uchechi to ensure it was honours even at the break.
After the interval, "the worst possible thing happened" as Charlton again capitalised on poor decision-making to go 3-2 up through Scott Wagstaff. However, Carr was pleased by the conviction his team showed at that point. "It was one of those where you think we are going to go one of two ways here - we either going to get beat 4-2, 5-2 or we are going to roll our sleeves up and fight our way back into the game and we did just that fortunately. We got back into the game and started to create chances."

PORTSMOUTH : Premier Reserve League

Havant & Waterlooville
1-0 (o.g.)
23rd January 2008

Stech
Dailly
Gabbidon (Spence)
Collins (Fitzgerald)
Tomkins
Hines
Stokes
Collison
Reid
Sears
Bellamy (Jeffery)

Bellamy back as reserves win

A lively Craig Bellamy returned to action on Wednesday night but the away win was marred by James Collins being carried off with a first-half knee injury.
Bellamy was making his first competitive appearance since the 0-0 draw away to Portsmouth's first team in Premier League action at Fratton Park back on 27 October. It was the fit-again striker's perpetual pace that made the only goal in the 50th minute as he raced away on the right before a low cross forced home defender Jean Francois Christophe to put through his own net.
On a chilly evening, young right-winger Zavon Hines had the first chance, coming off the flank to meet a cross from James Tomkins, who had begun in an unfamiliar left-back role, but he could not direct the ball on target. Bellamy then combined well with 18-year-old strike partner Freddie Sears to set captain Jack Collison away but the offside flag denied him a clear run on goal. The assistant referee was to be a busy man throughout the half with several stoppages as West Ham United, with Danny Gabbidon also back after injury, looked to play on the break. Chances were at a premium at the home of FA Cup giantkillers Havant and Waterlooville though with Joe Collins flashing Portsmouth's first real chance wide. Collison was next to go for goal but Asmir Begovic easily saved before Tomkins headed over.
In the 17th minute, Bellamy hit the post with a low drive from Reid's cross but had already been flagged offside. Four minutes later, Adda Djezeri hit the woodwork at the other end after Gabbidon lost his footing. Pompey were on top at this point and first Joe Collins forced Marek Stech to save before Danijel Subotic flicked a header just wide. On the half-hour mark, Tony Stokes won possession before stinging Begovic's hands.

West Ham United were brighter after the interval and, within five minutes, the visitors were in front. Bellamy raced away down the right flank and his low cross forced Christophe to divert past Begovic. Bellamy had moved up a gear and was giving the home defence plenty to think about with some lively runs - ably supported by the driving runs of Collison and Stokes.
As the game entered its closing stages, Bellamy had perhaps his best effort of the match, meeting a Hines cross and firing in a shot that just curled over the crossbar. His international team-mate Gabbidon then went off in the 76th minute to be replaced by Jordan Spence. Portsmouth also made a change two minutes later with Jordan Hughes on for Djeziri. Sears nearly made it two for the Hammers soon afterwards, racing away before unleashing a shot that Begovic did well to stop at his near post.
There was another scare in the final minutes as Tomkins limped to the sidelines, but it appeared to be nothing more than a case of cramp. With three minutes remaining, Bellamy walked off to generous applause from the 200 spectators as Jack Jeffery came on to partner Sears. Songo'o was cautioned for pulling back Hines and, from the resulting free-kick, Reid forced Begovic to save. One goal was to prove enough for Kevin Keen's men though, who were joined on the team bus back to London by Collins, who had walked away on crutches awaiting further tests on his right knee.

LIVERPOOL : Upton Park

1-0 (Noble pen)
30th January 2008
Att: 34,977
Referee: A. Wiley

Green
Ferdinand
Neill
McCartney
Upson
Noble
Mullins
Bowyer (Ashton)
Ljungberg
Boa Morte (Etherington)
Cole (Spector)

Noble keeps a cool head for last minute penalty

Liverpool's hopes of getting back in the Premier League title race took another blow after Mark Noble grabbed a stoppage-time winner for West Ham at Upton Park. With better finishing from Luis Boa Morte, the Hammers would have had their first win over Liverpool since 1999 sealed before Noble struck from the spot. But Boa Morte wasted two sitters either side of half-time before home fans cruelly cheered him off when he was substituted. Even a draw would have left Rafael Benitez's men still well off the pace for the title and they remain without a win in the league since Boxing Day.
It was billed as a match between two teams with contrasting styles of ownership - Alan Curbishley is left to get on with it by his Icelandic bosses, while the Americans at Anfield have created a stir since taking over. On the pitch, only Noble's penalty was to choose between them. West Ham knew victory or defeat would not have moved them from 10th, yet their display suggested they were trying to prove they could rub shoulders with those chasing Europe. Benayoun, Steve Finnan and Sami Hyypia were the only survivors from the nervous victory over Havant and Waterlooville at the weekend - and it was Benayoun who had the first chance when he almost took advantage of a mishap from Robert Green. The goalkeeper's slice was worked to Dirk Kuyt and then Benayoun, but his chip drifted over the crossbar. From a relatively promising start, with Kuyt seeing the ball playing just off Fernando Torres, it was the hosts who then gathered momentum as the first half unravelled. Curbishley used Carlton Cole as the focal point of his attack, and the striker almost embarrassed Jose Reina early on when the goalkeeper dwelt on the ball. Cole helped create West Ham's first genuine opening, midway through the opening half. The striker flicked on George McCartney's long throw, Liverpool were seized by panic as Lee Bowyer tussled but Boa Morte rushed his shot and blazed over when the ball fell to him.
The hosts got even closer in the 26th minute when a free-kick was awarded on the left flank for Jamie Carragher's foul on Cole. Noble took the set-piece, which was glanced by Finnan and cannoned off the crossbar. Noble and Steven Gerrard battled in the middle of

the park - England central midfielder against his under-21 counterpart - and the senior man was fortunate to escape a booking for one of his challenges. Fabio Aurelio, though, picked up a caution for his foul on Freddie Ljungberg. Cole had a sight of goal in stoppage-time in the opening period but Benayoun slid in to block and Liverpool went into the break level.
They were marginally brighter in the second half. Kuyt created the first chance, three minutes in, when he found room on the right flank and drove a cross into the danger area, but Harry Kewell could not wrap his foot around the ball to finish. Matthew Upson then flashed a backpass right across Green's goal, which the goalkeeper had to watch drift wide. Torres also ran at pace into the penalty box but was outnumbered when he looked to find a team-mate. At the other end, Boa Morte fluffed his finish when Noble's free-kick was headed into his path. Then came the ironic cheers for Boa Morte's departure, with Bowyer also coming off for Matthew Etherington and Dean Ashton, both back from injury. Liverpool midfielder Lucas came on for Kewell and he was just wide with his finish after releasing Torres down the right and getting on the end of the cross. Lucas also went wide when he got on the end of a driving run from Gerrard. Torres, who was booked for dissent, was denied by Green at the near post from Ryan Babel's cross, while Lucas Neill flashed wide for West Ham before the end. With injury-time just about over, Carragher brought down Ljungberg in the penalty area. Noble converted the spot-kick.

WIGAN ATHLETIC : JJB Stadium

0-1
2nd February 2008
Att: 20,525
Referee: M. Atkinson

Green
Upson
Ferdinand
Neill
McCartney
Etherington (Solano)
Noble (Bowyer)
Ljungberg
Mullins
Ashton
Cole (Bellamy)

Curbishley gripes about pitch as Wigan prosper

Kevin Kilbane lifted Wigan out of the bottom three of the Barclays Premier League with a rare strike for the Latics. Kilbane scored his second goal in 60 appearances for the club on the stroke of half-time to temper West Ham's enthusiasm regarding a potential challenge for a European place for next season. The scoreline should have been greater as Michael Brown, Antonio Valencia and Marcus Bent all went close after the interval. Fortunately, they were not made to rue the missed chances from a game in which the only bright spot for the Hammers was Craig Bellamy's return from a long-term abdominal injury. But for 47 minutes of the first half there was little to commend this game, until out of the blue Kilbane popped up with his first goal for almost 10 months. Prior to that, the most entertaining moment saw Robert Green respond to taunts from the Wigan supporters over the fact he had not been included in Fabio Capello's first England squad. Green's retort was to point to the ground with both hands, as if to say 'you're going down'. Either side of that, it was a relatively ugly half as both sides struggled to find a rhythm on a now infamous uncompromising pitch. Fredrik Ljungberg did pull a fine low save early on out of Chris Kirkland, who will join up with the rest of the England squad that takes on Switzerland at Wembley on Wednesday. There was then a spell of sustained Hammers pressure as they looked the team more likely to make the breakthrough, and there were times when the Wigan defence creaked. But credit to the Latics, even with Emmerson Boyce replacing the benched Titus Bramble, they just managed to hold firm prior to mounting a riposte. Ryan Taylor was their architect in chief with his whipped-in dead-ball deliveries often causing the West Ham rearguard problems. The first sign of that arrived in the 23rd minute when a swerving free-kick to the far post resulted in a Taylor corner from which Green missed his take, but with no Wigan player on hand to take advantage of the mistake. When Matthew Upson climbed over Marlon King - on his home debut - soon after to clear a forward ball from Kilbane, up stepped Taylor to curl a 25-yarder inches wide of the left-hand post. Taylor, a right-back by trade but playing on the left wing, then planted the ball onto Emile Heskey's head with a right-wing free-kick that led to the England striker glancing his effort through the six-yard box. You would have figured the Hammers to have been extra vigilant as the game wore on to Taylor's tactics, but all the warnings went unheeded as Wigan struck deep into first-half injury time. Perhaps West Ham figured there was little threat when Taylor stood on the

edge of the centre circle just inside the Hammers half. But he struck a powerful ball into the area for an unmarked Kilbane to loop an angled header over a stranded Green for what proved to be the winner. Arguably, Brown should have made it 2-0 six minutes after the break after Wigan had countered down the left with King. Slipping the ball inside to Brown, the midfielder scuffed his first effort, but with a second bite of the cherry forced in a shot that was saved by the outstretched left leg of Green. It was then the case that both defences continued to dominate, or the ball never ran kindly enough for a chance to materialise. That was until the 71st minute when only cruel luck denied Valencia as he unleashed a powerful low drive that comfortably beat Green. Needless to say the Hammers goalkeeper was counting his blessings a split second later as the ball somehow rebounded into his arms off both posts. Then came the moment Hammers fans have long waited for with the return of Bellamy, whose first incident involved an exchange of views with Ljungberg 30 seconds after his arrival over a delayed pass that caught him offside. But he did almost rifle home the equaliser, only to shave the bar with a rising drive that proved to be the last chance of the game for the visitors. Bent then cleared the bar with only Green to beat after the sub for Heskey early in the second half had sprung the offside trap. It proved irrelevant as Wigan stopped the rot of three successive defeats to rekindle their survival hopes.

ARSENAL Under-18 (F.A. Premier Academy League)

London Colney
2-0 (Kearns, Sears)
2nd February 2008

Street, Spence, Widdowson, N'Gala, Payne, Lee (Harvey), Stanislas (O'Neill), Edgar, Jeffery, Sears, Kearns (Hunt)

Kearns and Sears down Arsenal

Goals from Daniel Kearns and Freddie Sears helped West Ham United to record an impressive away victory against a strong Arsenal side on Saturday morning. Tony Carr's Academy team were out to avenge a 6-1 home defeat in the previous meeting of the two clubs earlier this campaign, and showed their progress with a solid display from start to finish. Arsenal had Luke Freeman, their new £200,000 signing from Gillingham, in attack - but the visiting defence held firm at London Colney. After a slow start from both sides in the first 20 minutes, West Ham United broke the deadlock through Kearns. The young Northern Irishman cut inside from the left flank before scoring with a fierce low shot that was deflected past the home goalkeeper. Buoyed by the goal, the Hammers kept going and Kearns found himself well-placed with another opportunity - only for the keeper to save with his legs. Ollie Lee then had a good shot deflected wide for a corner as Carr's side finished the half strongly. The second half was barely a minute old when West Ham United carved their way through the middle. Jack Jeffery burst into the box only to be brought down. With the visitors appealing for a penalty, the quick-thinking Sears pounced to tuck the ball into the net as the referee played the advantage. At that point, those involved would have been forgiven for thinking of the previous week's 3-3 home draw against Charlton Athletic when West Ham United let a two-goal lead slip. There was to be no repeat this time around as the resolute Hammers rearguard kept the home side at bay, limiting them to long-range efforts that never really troubled Adam Street, fully fit again after his collarbone injury. Carr said: "It was a great result. It certainly avenges the disappointment somewhat of the way we lost the game earlier in the season. I was really pleased with our performance and thought we thoroughly deserved it. I was particularly pleased with how we approached the game and the way we played. We finished the game worthy winners. "Two-nil up can be a dangerous scoreline because a goal the other way can turn the game in a minute. We were determined not to let that happen this week and so it proved. Bondz N'Gala and Josh Payne kept Freeman very quiet. He had a decent game but we limited his attempts on goal to shots from distance." N'Gala was playing his first game back at the club since finishing a temporary spell with Weymouth after a change of management at the non-league club.

BIRMINGHAM CITY : Upton Park

1-1 (Ljungberg)
9th February 2008
Att: 34,884
Referee: M. Clattenburg

Green
Upson
Ferdinand
Neill
McCartney
Etherington (Camara)
Bowyer
Ljungberg
Mullins
Cole (Faubert)
Ashton (Spector)

Ljungberg's first goal but
it's not enough

Birmingham battled to secure what could prove to be a crucial point in their relegation fight as they moved out of the bottom three after a 1-1 draw at 10-man West Ham. Freddie Ljungberg gave the Hammers an early lead when he netted from close range. However, the Blues were level on 16 minutes when James McFadden converted from the penalty spot after he had been fouled by Lucas Neill. From then on, the visitors did enough to frustrate the home side and earn a share of the spoils with a determined second-half performance as Hammers midfielder Lee Bowyer was dismissed late on for his challenge on Damien Johnson. West Ham had been involved in a relegation scrap themselves last season, but have found more consistency under Alan Curbishley and sit in relative mid-table security. It was a bright start by the hosts, with Dean Ashton looking lively and keen to impress watching England manager Fabio Capello. West Ham took the lead in the seventh minute when from a long throw in, Carlton Cole headed the ball across goal towards the right-hand post, where Ljungberg arrived to stab home from close range. The Hammers were in full flow now, and a well-worked move found Bowyer with the space to shoot from the edge of the area - but his low effort was just wide. Birmingham were forced to quickly regroup, or face being over-run, although West Ham continued to press forwards. Ljungberg fed Hayden Mullins just outside the penalty area, and his chip found Cole. However, the former England Under-21 man dragged his volley wide. The Blues were handed a life-line after 16 minutes when referee Mark Clattenburg pointed to the spot following a needless foul by Hammers captain Neill on McFadden. The Scot got up to take the penalty himself, and made no mistake from 12 yards, beating Robert Green with a low strike into the left corner. West Ham - who have beaten both Manchester United and Liverpool at home - were soon back on the offensive. However, despite plenty of positive build-up, Curbishley's men were unable to find a decisive pass in the final third - much to the frustration of the home faithful. Birmingham were breaking down the play well, and then pressing themselves. However, with only Mikael Forssell up front, the visitors needed to get more men in support. As the half-hour mark approached, Matthew Etherington got away down the left, and cut the ball back towards the penalty spot. However, Bowyer had to stretch and his shot lacked pace, as Taylor got down to make the save. At the other end, Forssell headed straight at Green when he was picked out in the middle by McFadden. West Ham then worked the ball along the line, through Ashton and out to Etherington on the left. His strike was well saved at the near post by Maik Taylor. Mullins flashed in a low drive after the ball dropped to him 20 yards out, but it was straight at the busy Blues keeper. When West Ham did make some progress in the second half, the choice of final delivery was poor. The atmosphere, unsurprisingly, inside Upton Park became somewhat subdued. Birmingham - who had not won in seven straight games - continued to frustrate the home side, yet without creating too much themselves. However, on 56 minutes, a low drive from Gary McSheffrey almost sneaked into the bottom right corner, but was deflected behind. Ashton - who did not feature in Capello's squad for the friendly against Switzerland - blasted a loose ball over from 20 yards, which just about summed up the game. The former Norwich striker then had another chance to grab the headlines when he weaved into space on the edge of the area, but dragged a low shot wide. West Ham continued to have the better of possession, but were unable to create a decent opening around the Birmingham penalty area. Etherington sent over a free-kick from the left, which Matthew Upson headed down, but the England defender was denied by a good reaction save from Taylor. At the other end, Forssell flashed a low effort across goal, before he was replaced by Cameron Jerome for the final 14 minutes. West Ham were reduced to 10 men when Bowyer was dismissed late on for his challenge on Johnson.

NORWICH CITY Under-18 (F.A. Premier Academy League)

Little Heath
4-1 (Sears 3, Edgar)
9th February 2008

Street
Brookes
Spence
Payne
Miller
Stanislas (Okus)
Lee
Edgar
Kearns (Barrett)
Hunt (Harvey)
Sears

Sears the hat-trick hero

Freddie Sears hit a hat-trick and made the other goal as West Ham United continued their fine form at Under-18 level at home against Norwich City.
The 18-year-old striker is in prolific form for Tony Carr's Academy side and his treble strike, and assist for Anthony Edgar, capped a tremendous week. On Tuesday he returned to the England Under-19 fold and cemented his place in the squad ahead of some vital European U19 Championship qualifiers in May with a superb substitute display in a 2-0 friendly win against Croatia.
At Little Heath on Saturday, Sears finally broke the deadlock after a fairly even first 30 minutes of football. It came from the spot and unsurprisingly it was Sears himself who won the spot-kick, as he was brought down by the visiting goalkeeper Declan Rudd. Sears brushed himself down and stepped up to score the opening goal.
Edgar made it two soon afterwards, pouncing to score with a low drive from a central position after good work by Sears on the right. Norwich refused to give in though and were able to pull one back three minutes before the interval when Tom Miller pounced
to score from a corner. Although the Canaries were back in the contest, Sears restored the two-goal lead seven minutes after the interval.
The striker displayed his usual predatory instincts when Junior Stanislas's curling free-kick from distance was spilled by Rudd. Before anyone else could react, Sears had taken advantage and the ball was in the back of the

net. It was all West Ham United from that point and Jordan Spence and Ben Hunt both had good chances to get on the scoresheet while Sears also missed a great opportunity.
It did not matter as his hat-trick finally came in the closing stages, after schoolboy midfielders Conor Okus and Nick Barrett had entered the fray as late substitutes. Tony Brookes burst out of defence and played a neat pass through the middle that set Sears away. He outpaced the defence, rounded Rudd and finished with aplomb despite the tight angle to cap a superb display. Sears has now scored eight goals in five matches since the turn of the year.

BIRMINGHAM CITY : Premier Reserve League

Upton Park
4-1 (Zamora 3, Collison)
12th February 2008

Walker
Spence
Tomkins
N'Gala
Spector
Faubert
Stokes
Collison
Reid
Zamora
Hines (Stanislas) (Hales)

Zamora proves the hat-trick hero

Bobby Zamora scored a hat-trick as West Ham United came from behind to record an emphatic victory at the Boleyn Ground on Tuesday night. Having notched a goal in a friendly game against Queen's Park Rangers last week, Zamora showed he is getting back towards full fitness with a finely-taken treble in an all-action performance over 90 minutes. All three goals came in the final half-hour ot the contest after reserve-team captain Jack Collison had cancelled out Stefan Milojevic's opener just before half-time. The first half was a cagey affair on a bitterly cold evening, with Zamora showing up well alongside young forward Zavon Hines. It was Birmingham who had the early efforts, however, with both De Ridder and Zarate testing Walker early on. In the 14th minute, inventive play from Zamora saw Faubert cut in from the right only to be denied by a last-ditch block as he made inroads.
The home side's first real effort came on 18 minutes when Spector found himself unmarked in the centre of goal, only for his header to go straight at Colin Doyle. It was the 26th minute before Zamora first tried his luck. His dipping half-volley from 30 yards had the crowd willing it goalwards but it sailed just past Doyle's left-hand post at the last moment. Both teams continued to press forward with Zarate and Zamora the focal points for their respective sides. That said, Birmingham's best chance of the half came from the unlikely source of defender Jared Wilson, who had nipped in behind the Hammers defence. His shot was saved well by Walker although the resulting corner was to prove costly. From it, Milojevic was allowed to head goalwards and his effort crashed against the post and beyond Walker, who had little chance from close

range. Collison soon drew the hosts level two minutes before half-time. A sweeping move involving Zamora and Faubert finished with the France winger sliding in Collison to fire low under Doyle's body from a tight angle. With Hines off for Junior Stanislas in the second half, it was all West Ham United from then on with Keen switching the formation to a 4-5-1 that featured Zamora in the lone striker's role.
First, Faubert hit the post after Stanislas saw virtually his first touch force a great save from Doyle. Then Collison headed over from right-back Jordan Spence's fine cross. After that James Tomkins, impressive alongside Bondz N'Gala, tried his luck with a header and then Spector tricked his way into the penalty area and unleashed a shot that was blocked at the last moment. A second goal was coming and, in the 58th minute, Zamora did well to hold off two defenders before swivelling on the spot and firing firmly beyond Doyle.
He had his second seven minutes later, thanks to Faubert's second assist of the night. The 24-year-old sped along the right and sent in a whipped cross to the near post that Zamora flicked with great skill beyond Doyle. Aside from an 82nd-minute rasping shot from Schmitz, the home team were able to defend with relative comfort after taking the two-goal initiative but the crowd were willing Zamora to get his hat-trick.
It duly came in added time. Faubert, who was outstanding along with captain Collison, made it a hat-trick of assists with another superb cross from the right. This time he lofted it for Zamora to rise and power a header beyond the despairing Doyle. His third goal earned the biggest cheer of the night and suggested that the fans' favourite is not too far away from a first-team return.

SOUTHAMPTON Under-18 (F.A. Premier Academy League)

Stapleford
1-0 (Stanislas)
16th February 2008

Stanislas sees off Southampton

Street
Brookes
N'Gala
Payne
Miller
Harvey
Stanislas
Edgar
Kearns (Lee)
Hines
Sears

Junior Stanislas struck the only goal of the game to give West Ham United a precious away victory against league leaders Southampton. The talented midfielder, impressive for the reserves in midweek, had earlier missed a penalty but kept going to score with a fine finish in the 75th minute. The three points mean Tony Carr's side, who have won four of their last five games and drawn the other, are now just a point behind Southampton in Group A of the Premier Academy League. To underline the Saints' youth pedigree, they have been divisional champions for the past four years. It was a cagey contest at Stapleford with Carr's young charges perhaps showing the effects of a 6am start in order to make it to the south coast for an 1 lam kick-off. Southampton dominated the first half but the visitors picked up the pace before the interval and were able to turn around with the score goalless.
West Ham United were a different proposition after the break and carved out a couple of opportunities, notably through Stanislas's header and a shot from Anthony Edgar. Then, on the hour, Zavon Hines surged into the box only to be fouled. The referee pointed to the spot and Stanislas stepped up to take it. However, home goalkeeper Andrey Pernecky dived to his right to make a good save. Undeterred, the visitors kept going and finally broke the deadlock when Tony Brookes surged forward from right-back. He crossed into the area and Pernecky collided with one of his team-mates as he tried to claim possession. The ball dropped free and Stanislas was on hand to drive the ball into the net from a slight angle on the half-volley.
Southampton, as their league position suggests, were not about to give up and kept going in the closing stages. That spell included their best opportunity of the match when an effort crashed against the post but Adam Street was able to keep a clean sheet for the second consecutive away game after the 2-0 win at Arsenal which preceded last weekend's 4-1 home success against Norwich City.

NORWICH CITY : Premier Reserve League

Woodside Park
2-0 (Sears, Hines)
20th February 2008

Wright
Spence
Tomkins
N'Gala
Miller
Stanislas
Stokes
Collison
Jeffery (Hines)
Zamora
Sears

Sears and Hines on song

West Ham United reserves maintained their fine run of form with an excellent home victory against Fulham at Bishop's Stortford.
Goals from Freddie Sears and Zavon Hines in the last seven minutes made it three straight wins for Kevin Keen's men and moved them up to second in the Barclays Premier Reserve League South. The club, who also owed a debt to fit-again Bobby Zamora's classy contribution in his second full game inside eight days, are four points behind Aston Villa, although the leaders do have two games in hand. In freezing conditions, West Ham United were the first to show with Junior Stanislas
and Tony Stokes firing in efforts on goal in four minutes. It was to be a night of long-range shooting with Wright and Ricardo Baptista in the Fulham goal largely equal to everything that came their way. The next opportunities saw home forward Jack Jeffery and then visting defender Nathan Ashton both clear the crossbar when well placed. Johnson was offering plenty of good movement for Fulham, as would be expected of a 23-year-old with 31 caps for the United States while Sears showed frequent bursts of electric pace and good crossing ability from his first-half role on the right wing. Fulham thought they had scored in the 21st minute when Michael Timlin curled a free-kick up and over the wall but Wright produced a superb one-handed save.
Timlin was soon to go into the book for a late challenge, and was followed by Ismael Ehui as Fulham underlined their determination to leapfrog West Ham United in the table, having began the day one point and one place behind. Ehui's 41st-minute caution came just moments after he had seen a header crash against the post - it was

the closest either side had come to a first-half goal. Stanislas also had a good effort saved by Baptista just before the break, thanks to clever play from Zamora.
Encouragingly, the No9 grew in stature after the break - as he did in scoring a second-half hat-trick in last week's 4-1 reserves win against Birmingham City. On 50 minutes, he showed fantastic ability to trap a ball travelling out of the sky at speed before two minutes later, he beat substitute keeper Neil Etheridge to the ball only to see his goalbound header cleared off the line. Reserve-team regulars Tomkins and captain Jack! Collison also began to dominate with some crunching challenges. Keen made a change on the hour bringing on Hines for Jeffery and it was to pay dividends. The young replacement showed great attacking verve and in turn his arrival allowed Sears to assume his more natural position through the middle - alongside Zamora. Soon afterwards, Johnson made way for Fulham - taking with it their best attacking threat as West Ham United went close through Zamora, after he was picked out by Hines' precise pass. Either side of that attempt, Fulham's Ashton and Tomkins both went into the referee's notebook with both sides showing full commitment - although largely the tackles were firm but fair. Against the run of play, Kallio thought he had opened the scoring in the 79th minute only for Tomkins to fling himself in the way. Two minutes later, Sears was set free superbly by Zamora and the young striker - who has 20 goals in 16 Under-18 games this campaign - raced away from Ian Pearce, only to be brought down in the box.
There was no doubt in Sears' mind that he would take the kick and he sent Etheridge the wrong way with a composed finish. Fulham tried to fight back with a period of sustained pressure but the hosts' rearguard stood firm and Hines always looked dangerous at the other end. Sears then set up Ashley Miller, only for the left-back to fire over and then also clear the bar with another speculative shot. No matter, in added time, Hines showed great persistence to force an initial chance and then slotted into the net after a mix-up in the Fulham defence. It sealed an excellent night's work all round.

FULHAM : Craven Cottage

1-0 (Solano)
23rd February 2008
Att: 25,280
Referee: H. Webb

Green
Neill
Ferdinand
Etherington
McCartney
Ljungberg (Spector)
Mullins
Faubert (Solano)
Noble
Boa Morte
Cole (Ashton)

Late Solano goal seals points for Hammers

Nolberto Solano grabbed a controversial late winner for West Ham against Fulham on the day Bobby Moore was honoured by his former clubs at Craven Cottage. It is the 15th anniversary this weekend of Moore passing away and supporters stood for a minute's applause as a tribute ahead of the Barclays Premier League clash, which was settled by Solano's 87th-minute winner that appeared to come off his arm after challenging goalkeeper Antti Niemi. Prior to that, it was not a fitting match to honour England's World Cup hero. The fixture list somehow put Moore's two teams together and another statistic was that West Ham had not lost in a league match at Fulham since 1966, the year Moore lifted the World Cup.
They did not look likely to lose their record against their London rivals either, shading a match low on quality. It leaves Fulham in deep relegation trouble, while West Ham can look towards European qualification.
Fulham boss Roy Hodgson was able to welcome skipper Brian McBride back for his first start after a serious knee injury, but the American striker looked off the pace. It was Carlton Cole, the lone striker for West Ham, that looked most threatening early on. He met Mark Noble's cross with a first-time volley in the opening exchanges but Niemi saved the effort. The former Chelsea striker also skimmed the crossbar with a volley from the edge of the area after latching onto a flick by Julien Faubert, the Frenchman who was making his first start for West Ham.
Danny Murphy had been snapping away in midfield and eventually earned a yellow card from Howard Webb when he caught Fredrik Ljungberg late and from behind. Brede Hangeland also earned a caution for his high tackle on Luis Boa Morte - but only after advantage was played and Cole raced through, with Konchesky back to clear. The Hammers should have taken the lead when Boa Morte was given a free header yards from goal in the 27th minute. He was granted enough time to control the ball but looped his effort onto the crossbar instead. Leon Andreasen also earned a booking from Webb as Fulham struggled to impose themselves on the game. McBride did fire a volley straight at Green, but clear-cut chances for the hosts were proving difficult to create. There was a slight

improvement from the hosts at the start of the second half and they had a couple of penalty shouts turned down for handball. The first came when Diomansy Kamara took advantage of a dummy from Bullard and cannoned his shot off Anton Ferdinand, the second was a more hopeful shout when Bullard's effort struck Ljungberg. From the corner, Hangeland lobbed a header onto the roof of the net.
West Ham looked to have weathered the hosts' lively start to the second period and Noble side-footed wide from the edge of the area after exchanging passes with Faubert. Faubert was then taken off for Solano. Aaron Hughes also had to be alert to block Cole when he was found by Noble and headed towards goal, while Clint Dempsey struck straight at Green at the other end when sent through. Green dropped a free-kick with 20 minutes remaining but he and Lucas Neill were down sharply to block McBride's rebound. Cole had a free header for the visitors but put it straight at Niemi. Niemi was almost embarrassed before the end when Hughes surprised him with a back pass - but the winner came in the 87th minute. Solano raced through and appeared to kick the ball out of Niemi's hands, with the ball ricocheting off the winger's arm and going in. Andreasen was dismissed following his complaints.

CRYSTAL PALACE Under-18 (F.A. Premier Academy League)

Away
2-0 (Harvey, Sears)
23rd February 2008

Street, O'Neill, Spence, Brookes, Fitzgerald (Miller), Edgar, Harvey, Payne, Lee, Stanislas (Kearns), Hunt (Sears)

Youngsters keep winning habit

Tony Carr's Academy side made it five wins from six unbeaten games as they ran out worthy winners at Crystal Palace thanks to Tom Harvey and Freddie Sears. A polished defensive performance in front of Adam Street helped frustrate the home side before the visitors won it with two late goals. Harvey struck with 15 minutes left following a good cross from Anthony Edgar and the result was never in doubt from that point. Sears made the game safe five minutes from time with a superb finish barely eight minutes after coming on as substitute.
Carr was thrilled with his team's performance, particularly as he rested centre-back Bondz N'Gala completely and left Sears on the bench until late in the game after both performed well for the reserves on Wednesday. He was also aware that Kevin Keen's team have another game on Monday night at Tottenham Hotspur and that several of his squad may get another chance to shine at that level. The first half saw West Ham United limit their hosts to few opportunities to test Street, who had come into the game feeling unwell but was able to complete the 90 minutes.
The Hammers had a few half-chances of their own in a match that was also affected by blustery conditions. After the break, the visitors - who have won 2-0 and 1-0 at Arsenal and Southampton respectively in their last two away games - stepped up a gear. They finally got the breakthrough they deserved when midfielder Harvey hit his second goal in five matches. Then it was all about Sears. The prolific forward had been on for eight minutes when Josh Payne, playing in midfield rather than his usual centre-back position, slid the ball through. That set Sears away and he quickly brushed aside the defender in his way before getting through one on one with the goalkeeper. With little difficulty, Sears rounded him and shot into the net for his 21st goal of the season at U18 level from just 17 matches.

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR : Premier Reserve League

Matchroom Stadium - Leyton Orient
3-1 (Sears 2, Ashton)
25th Febraury 2008

Walker
Pantsil
Tomkins (Spence)
Miller (Fitzgerald)
Spector
Sears
Stokes
Collison
Reid
Ashton
Zamora (Hines)

Sears rampant for reserves

Freddie Sears maintained his scoring streak to earn West Ham United a hard-fought victory against a youthful Tottenham Hotspur side. The 18-year-old forward, who this season now has three goals at this level from six appearances along with 21 in 17 games for the Under-18s, struck on the stroke of half-time to cancel out Troy Archibald-Henville's opener for Tottenham. He wrapped up the win with a superb run and shot 17 minutes from time. In between, he found time to set up Dean Ashton for a close-range finish.
Sears had begun the contest on the right wing but moved into attack when Bobby Zamora made way on half-time. It was an experienced side throughout with Jimmy Walker in goal behind Jonathan Spector and John Pantsil. The victory moves West Ham United three points clear of third-placed Reading in the southern section of the Barclays Premier Reserve League and just two points behind leaders Aston Villa -although both have two games in hand after a 1-1 draw on the same evening.
At a chilly Brisbane Road, Tottenham were the brighter of the two sides in a first half which was most noticeable for a number of challenges that underlined how these derby matches are taken seriously at any level. Walker, who had Ludek Miklosko as his replacement on the bench after the late withdrawal of Adam Street, and David Button in the Spurs goal were largely spectators in the opening stages as a number of moves broke down.
After a couple of fine tackles by young left-back Ashley Miller to stop the visitors in their tracks, West

Ham United's first real opportunity came in the 17th minute. Pantsil picked out Ashton in a good central position. It seemed the No9 would open the scoring but he was just unable to make a clean connection and his glancing header flew wide. Six minutes later, Zamora did well to fashion an opening but the ball would not sit kindly and his effort looped over the bar. A minute later, Jack Collison had the chance to head for goal from the middle of the penalty area after fine work by Ashton but again Button watched it fly safely behind. Tottenham picked up after that and looked the most likely with Danny Rose and Simon Dawkins looking particularly menacing.
"Spurs finally broke the deadlock in the 34th minute when Troy Archibald-Henville glanced in a Rose free-kick. Walker had no chance with that but did well soon after the restart to save at point-blank range from David Hutton. Tomkins then had to be alert to stop another potential Tottenham attack and it seemed if any side was going to strike before half-time it would be the hosts. However, good play by Ashton on the right saw him pick out Kyel Reid on the edge of the area. His shot was miscued into the path of Sears, who turned quickly and flashed a shot beyond Button. It was almost the last action of the half and proved pivotal as Keen's side were always in command after the break. Zavon Hines came on to replace Zamora which in turn allowed Sears to link up through the middle with Ashton.
Within ten minutes, both forwards had made space for a couple of good efforts on goal and looked an effective partnership. With Tottenham making a couple of changes on the hour, the contest was beginning to open up and a second West Ham United goal seemed on the cards. It duly came in the 68th minute as Hines slipped Sears away and he raced through to the byline. From there, he looked up and picked out Ashton who had no trouble converting from close range.
Sears was not finished. Five minutes later, he struck a sensational second to put his side two goals clear. Ashton set him away with a neat pass and the young forward did the rest, racing beyond three defenders before confronting Button in the Spurs goal. Before the keeper could react, Sears fired into the far corner and victory was assured.

CHELSEA : Upton Park

0-4
1st March 2008
Att: 34,969
Referee: P. Walton

Green
Neill
Ferdinand
Upson
McCartney
Faubert (Solano)
Noble
Mullins
Ljungberg
Boa Morte (Ashton)
Cole (Zamora)

Lampard and Chelsea prove their points

Ten-man Chelsea bounced back from their Carling Cup final defeat with a four-goal destruction of woeful West Ham at Upton Park. Even a first-half red card for midfielder Frank Lampard failed to take the shine off a classy Chelsea performance which keeps them in touch with the leaders at the top of the Premier League. The Blues smashed three goals in five first-half minutes before Lampard was given his marching orders for pushing Luis Boa Morte in the face in the 34th minute. The England midfielder had given Chelsea the lead from the penalty spot in the 16th minute and Joe Cole made it two three minutes later. Michael Ballack added a third in the 21st minute to effectively kill off the game as a contest and defender Ashley Cole completed the rout in the second half. Chelsea signalled their intent as early as the second minute when they had a Nicolas Anelka goal ruled out for offside. West Ham found themselves under siege immediately but former Chelsea striker Carlton Cole alleviated some of the pressure with a 25-yard effort which fizzed over the crossbar. Chelsea's early pressure earned them a penalty in the 15th minute when Salomon Kalou was brought down by Anton Ferdinand. Former West Ham midfielder Lampard converted the resulting spot-kick to put Avram Grant's side into the lead. Four minutes later another West Ham old boy made it 2-0 to the visitors when Anelka got away from the home defence and supplied Joe Cole on the edge of the penalty. Cole, who missed out on a place in Chelsea's starting line-up for the Carling Cup final, drilled a low angled shot into the far corner to put the Blues in total command.
Chelsea looked dangerous with every attack and Ballack made it three in the 22nd minute. Anelka and Lampard combined on the left flank before the England midfielder crossed for Ballack to hit the ball into the corner on the half volley. West Ham were stunned and it was the perfect response from a Chelsea side heavily criticised for alleged unrest in the dressing room since their Carling Cup defeat. Chelsea almost made it four in the 27th minute when Anelka's flicked header was collected under the bar by West Ham goalkeeper Robert Green. West Ham were clearly shell-shocked by Chelsea's three-goal salvo but Boa Morte and Carlton Cole got little joy against John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho. However, Mark Noble brought a fine flying save out of Petr Cech in the 31st minute when he let fly with a 20-yard rising drive. But the game erupted into controversy in the 34th minute when Lampard was sent off by referee Peter Walton. The Chelsea midfielder tangled with Boa Morte on the ground and appeared to push the West Ham player in the face as he attempted to get up.

Walton's decision appeared a harsh decision to say the least and it sparked a confrontation which culminated in a booking for Ballack. Lampard's straight red will now rule him out of their FA Cup clash with Barnsley and the league games against Sunderland and Tottenham. Grant resisted the temptation to make changes at half-time to compensate for the loss of Lampard but West Ham replaced Boa Morte with Dean Ashton. Chelsea's resolve to defend their three-goal advantage was clearly evident from the restart with Paulo Ferreira having to go off for attention to a blow in the face. Lampard's dismissal had probably saved West Ham from defeat by a much bigger margin as Chelsea began the second half in a much more defensive frame of mind. The Blues were content to sit back and soak up what pressure the home side could muster. Ashton's introduction gave the Hammers more height in attack but Terry and Carvalho continued to comfortably deal with any threat. But in the 58th minute Chelsea's determination was underlined when Terry raced back to clear a lob from Carlton Cole off the goal-line. The Chelsea captain hooked the ball out from underneath the crossbar when a goal looked certain. West Ham continued to press for a way back into the game but Chelsea are masters at last-ditch defending and they doggedly kept the home side at bay.
Ten-man Chelsea made it four in the 63rd minute when Joe Cole's shot was superbly saved by Green only for Ashley Cole to pass the ball into the net from an acute angle. West Ham's response was to replace Carlton Cole with Bobby Zamora and Julien Faubert with Nobby Solano. Joe Cole was substituted in the 68th minute to a rousing send-off from Chelsea fans and Michael Essien replaced him. West Ham had no answer to Chelsea's dominance and Essien was unlucky to add a fifth with 10 minutes remaining when his long-range effort flew just too high. In the end West Ham ran out of ideas and Chelsea, even with a man down, ran out comfortable winners.

IPSWICH TOWN Under-18 (F.A. Premier Academy League)

Little Heath
2-0 (Payne, Sears)
1st March 2008

Street
Brookes
Miller
Spence
N'Gala
Payne
Stanislas (Lee)
Edgar
Hines (Harvey)
Sears
Kearns (Hunt)

Payne and Sears on target

Goals from Josh Payne and Freddie Sears made it six wins in seven unbeaten games for Tony Carr's table-topping Academy side.
The Under-18s were playing at Chadwell Heath rather than their usual Little Heath base but were quickly up and running. Both goals came inside the first five minutes from Junior Stanislas assists. Payne, playing again in midfield rather than his usual defensive position, broke the deadlock with a spectacular overhead kick from a free-kick and Sears then converted a right-wing cross from close range to make it 25 goals from 24 matches at U18 and reserve-team level.
Tony Carr's team are not in action again until Friday 14th March when they go to Bristol City for a 1pm fixture. The club have moved five points clear of Southampton at the top of the table with both teams having played 24 games after Saints were beaten 2-0 at home by Crystal Palace. Arsenal are the biggest threat to holding on to first place but they were frustrated 0-0 at Norwich City and as a result are eight points adrift with four games in hand.

LIVERPOOL : Anfield

0-4
5th March 2008
Att: 42,954
Referee: S. Bennett

Green
Neill
Ferdinand
Upson (Spector)
McCartney
Solano (Zamora)
Noble
Mullins
Ljungberg
Boa Morte
Cole (Ashton)

Hammers are blown away by 'El Nino'

Fernando Torres swept Liverpool back into the top four of the Premier League, on a night when the Kop made it clear they wanted the club's American owners to leave Anfield. Torres, the shining light of Liverpool's season, became only the fourth player in the club's history to score hat-tricks in successive home matches. Before and at half-time fans all around the ground sung and chanted their anger at the American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett.
Liverpool were on the attack from the start, with West Ham prepared to concede space and leave Carlton Cole on his own up front.
The visitors had a half chance when Robert Green's clearance was nodded down by Cole and only half-hit at Jose Reina by Mark Noble. But Liverpool were more decisive and Torres put them ahead after eight minutes, having already sent a header just over from Dirk Kuyt's knock-down. The Reds took the lead when Kuyt's low cross from the right was volleyed fiercely past Green by Torres from 12 yards. West Ham should have equalised after 13 minutes when Luis Boa Morte was played in on the left, but from a tight angle his shot was hooked over his own bar by Arbeloa. Liverpool were always a threat out wide, and West Ham struggled to deal with the resulting crosses. The same applied to corners and after 29 minutes Steven Gerrard fired one in from the left which Martin Skrtel, arriving fast at the near post, headed onto the roof of the net. Seven minutes later Ryan Babel fashioned a cross from the left and Gerrard's close-range effort was superbly turned round a post by Green at full-stretch.
Cole was booked after 39 minutes when his flaying elbow caught Xabi Alonso on the head, while West Ham survived at the back until the break. The Hammers continued to live dangerously after the break and only a fine save from Green stopped Babel after Gerrard had

cleverly played the Dutchman into the box. The hosts got their second goal on the hour - with Kuyt again the provider. The Dutchman's chipped cross from the left enabled Torres to neatly lift a header into the top corner from six yards. West Ham's own fans started to chant for an extra striker, declared their own side "boring" and subjected Alan Curbishley's men to chants of: "It's just like watching Charlton." Liverpool sent on Yossi Benayoun for Kuyt after 62 minutes, with West Ham replacing the injured Matthew Upson with Jonathan Spector.Torres saw a diving header hit a post, with Green scrambling to pick up the ball as it rolled across the six-yard box. The visiting fans finally got their two strikers when Bobby Zamora and Dean Ashton replaced Solano and Cole - but it was too late. Torres completed his hat-trick after 80 minutes when he took a knockdown from Riise to sidestep his way into the six-yard box before rolling the ball past Green. Gerrard capped the win two minutes later, blasting home the fourth goal with a blistering drive from outside the box, as Liverpool eased back above Everton in the table.

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR : White Hart Lane

0-4
9th March 2008
Att: 36,062
Referee: C. Foy

Green
Neill
Ferdinand
Spector
McCartney
Ljungberg (Pantsil)
Parker (Noble)
Mullins
Boa Morte
Ashton (Cole)
Zamora

Third 4-0 in-a-row is a new low for Curbishley

Dimitar Berbatov's two headers helped Tottenham towards victory at White Hart Lane as West Ham boss Alan Curbishley suffered his third consecutive 4-0 defeat. Berbatov netted both of his goals early in the first half of the Barclays Premier League clash, with hopes of a Hammers comeback virtually ending when Luis Boa Morte was dismissed just before the break. Gilberto came off the bench and added a third before Darren Bent headed a fourth. Spurs head coach Juande Ramos has now completed a London treble this season, defeating Arsenal and Chelsea in the Carling Cup and now bitter rivals West Ham. But West Ham's slump continued, following 4-0 defeats to Chelsea and Liverpool last week. Their poor run saw Curbishley wake up to reports of his job being insecure. His response was to pick an attacking formation that fans have been craving this season. Dean Ashton and Bobby Zamora were paired up front but, despite the latter being unfortunate with an early chance, they made little impact throughout. Zamora took advantage of a Paul Robinson fumble but saw his finish loop over off team-mate Boa Morte. Going into the clash in 10th and 11th, both teams knew they would not move up or down the table with victory or defeat. With the Carling Cup securing European football next season, Spurs have been accused of neglecting league matters. "It is a matter of us showing professionalism," said Ramos in his programme notes. The Spaniard emphasised his point by picking a strong side, with just Ledley King rested and Jermaine Jenas out with a twisted ankle. They were ahead after eight minutes, although Curbishley was protesting to fourth official Uriah Rennie near the tunnel and missed Berbatov's opener. The Hammers boss was furious that Jonathan Spector, in place of injured Matthew Upson, had been penalised for a foul on Berbatov. Tom Huddlestone swung over a free-kick from the right flank and Berbatov's header on the penalty spot skidded past Robert Green into the far corner. The Spurs pair combined again three minutes later from the opposite flank with the same outcome. Berbatov's header this time beating Green at the near post.
It was too much for Freddie Ljungberg, who threw a water bottle to the touchline in disgust, while Alan Hutton was on the receiving end of

a spiteful late tackle. Huddlestone, creator of the first two, then almost added to the scoring when he got on the end of Aaron Lennon's cross, but his header was too high. Boa Morte picked up his first booking after persistent fouling, and he was constantly battling with Hutton and Robbie Keane. Keane, in turn, angered Hammers fans with a gesture towards his own supporters acknowledging the recent Carling Cup triumph. Steed Malbranque was the next to try his luck but his angled drive went wide of Green's post. Green also saved a Berbatov volley when another Huddlestone set-piece caused problems. Boa Morte received his second yellow card a minute from half-time for a foul on Lennon. There did not appear to be any complaints from the West Ham bench but Curbishley had words with referee Chris Foy in the tunnel at half-time, protesting about the foul leading up to the opener. Huddlestone's effort went just wide early in the second half, while Ashton went over at the other end with a shot from the edge of the penalty area and Lucas Neill tested Robinson from a similar distance. "We've only got 10 men," chanted the West Ham fans. Despite the visitors applying pressure, Spurs could have added a third through Keane and Lennon when they broke. Gilberto was brought on for Malbranque just before the hour mark for his Premier League debut, and Bent was given a run in place of Keane. The third came when Gilberto scored with a shot on the turn with six minutes remaining, after Lennon had dummied a Pascal Chimbonda pass. Bent then added the fourth with a stoppage-time header to complete the rout.

BRISTOL CITY Under-18 (F.A. Premier Academy League)

Watsons Field, Abbots Leigh
0-2
14th March 2008

Street
O'Neill (Okus)
Brookes
N'Gala
Miller
Harvey (Montano)
Kearns (Fry)
Payne
Spence
Stanislas
Edgar

Academy fall short in Bristol

Tony Carr's table-topping side saw their run of six wins from seven unbeaten matches come to an end in disappointing fashion on Friday afternoon. The Hammers went down to a goal in each half but the situation was complicated by the sending off just before half-time of Josh Payne, while Carr also was without the ill Oliver Lee and in-form striker Freddie Sears. In a scrappy first half, played on a difficult pitch, City were able to take the lead as the interval approached following a defensive mix-up involving Ryan O'Neill, Daniel Kearns and Tony Brookes. That allowed a cross into the box which was converted by the home side. To make matters worse, Payne got his marching orders soon afterwards following a strong challenge.
Despite that misfortune, West Ham United were a different proposition in the second half and should really have levelled matters. Matthew Fry had two good chances to score as did England Under-19 international Junior Stanislas, with one of them seeing him through with just the goalkeeper to beat only to come off second best. The visitors were committing everything forward and were undone by a close-range header that gave City a two-goal advantage. The closing stages saw Carr introduce schoolboy winger Christian Montano, who can play up front as well, while another youngster Conor Okus also had an extended run.
The defeat was a surprising one, given that Carr's side had kept a clean sheet in four of their last five fixtures but there was little that Adam Street in goal could do about either strike. "It was a bad day all round," said Carr. "It was the first defeat for a long time but inevitably good runs come to an end. We had to play the game without a recognised striker - we had other players unavailable and Freddie Sears is with the first-team squad, although that is fantastic for the Academy."

BLACKBURN ROVERS : Upton Park

2-1 (Ashton, Sears)
15th March 2008
Att: 34,006
Referee: M. Atkinson

Green
Neill
Ferdinand
Spector
McCartney
Solano (Noble)
Parker (Sears)
Mullins
Ljungberg (Pantsil)
Ashton
Zamora

Sears steers Curbishley out of his crisis

Freddie Sears was the hero on his debut as West Ham ended their run of 4-0 defeats with victory over Blackburn Rovers. The teenager came off the bench with a quarter of an hour left and made his mark six minutes later, finishing with a diving header after Brad Friedel had saved his first shot. Roque Santa Cruz had given Rovers the lead in the 19th minute but Dean Ashton levelled before the break. With both sides looking for European qualification, the game opened up a little in the second half but the lack of goalmouth action explained why finishing in mid-table looks likely. It took the introduction of a fearless youngster to change the game, with the Romford lad immediately sparking excitement from home fans every time he received the ball. Avoiding defeat also lifts some of the pressure on Alan Curbishley. Two years ago he was an England candidate, a year ago he masterminded West Ham's amazing escape from relegation but this week the speculation about his position led to a vote of confidence from the board. Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham had all scored four against Curbishley's men in their previous three games, and the early signs against Rovers were not good. Morten Gamst Pedersen drove in a dangerous early corner that fizzed across Robert Green's goal, and the winger also headed wide after a sweeping move down the right when David Bentley and Brett Emerton combined. Christopher Samba should have given Mark Hughes' men the lead in the 18th minute when Bentley's corner found him in the six-yard area and the defender put his header over the crossbar. But they were not to be denied with their next attack. Bentley spread the ball wide to Pedersen, who had plenty of room down the left flank. Santa Cruz was unmarked in the penalty area and headed past Green when Pedersen found him for his 16th of the season.
The goal woke West Ham up and they tried for an immediate reply, with Friedel needed to tip an Ashton header around the post when Bobby Zamora found his strike partner with a cross from the left. Friedel also tipped over the crossbar from Nolberto Solano's 30-yard free-kick before the break. Although Bentley, who was booked for a trip on Scott Parker, threatened with a dipping cross and a speculative shot, the hosts were rewarded for their efforts six minute before the interval. Green helped set up the equaliser with a long

free-kick. Zamora flicked on with his head, Ashton spun around Samba before lofting his finish over Friedel and in. In desperate need of a goal to kick-start his season, Ashton had scored the winner against Blackburn before Christmas but only netted twice before beating Friedel again. It gave him the lift he needed and before the break he was flicking on headers and causing Rovers problems with his mobility. Hughes took off Emerton at the break for Zurab Khizanishvili, with the second half starting like the first - Pedersen driving over a dangerous free-kick. Friedel was almost embarrassed at the other end when he sliced a backpass, but he had less trouble with a shot from Zamora that drifted wide. Green was not tested either when Pedersen fired wildly over from close range when Jason Roberts' low cross found its way to him just before the hour mark. Friedel was forced into action when Ashton tried his luck from long range and the American was down well to stop the striker's effort. David Dunn, who had been booked earlier, was taken off for Matt Derbyshire as Blackburn changed shape. Curbishley then brought on Sears for his debut, with the home fans giving the exciting youngster a huge welcome. His goal came nine minutes from the end after Ashton had backheeled. Friedel saved Sears' first shot but he dived in to head home the rebound.

READING : Premier Reserve League

Woodside Park
2-1 (Collison, o.g.)
18th March 2008

Street
Spence
Tomkins
N'Gala
Widdowson
Stanislas (Payne)
Stokes (Hales)
Collison
Reid
Boa Morte
Hines

Reserves too strong for Reading

A tremendous display by West Ham United reserves saw Kevin Keen's men defeat Reading on Tuesday night and take top spot in the southern section of the Premier Reserve League.
A superb strike from Jack Collison and an Ibrahima Sonko own goal put the home side in a commanding position before the interval.
The home side were quickly on the offensive at Woodside Park with Kyel Reid seeing plenty of the ball on the left-hand side. The first shot was fired in on five minutes, with Collison just seeing his effort miss the post. Reading were always going to be a threat though with Kitson showing his class with some neat touches and good runs along the channels. One such moment of skill saw the striker work an opening on ten minutes before Tomkins, as he was to do all night, intervened with a couple of solid blocks.
United should have taken the lead on 16 minutes when Joe Widdowson, back from a successful loan at Rotherham United, fired in a superb cross from the left and picked out Boa Morte. The Portuguese attacker connected with the ball but could not direct his effort on target. Reading then had a series of corners and free-kicks with which to apply pressure but Keen's youngsters were alive to the danger and Adam Street, a late replacement for the ill Richard Wright, was a calming influence in goal.
The deadlock was finally broken just before the half-hour mark when Collison played a neat one-two with Boa Morte. As the Reading defenders looked to pounce, the captain curled an exquisite shot into the far corner of the net beyond the outstretched arm of Federici. The goal typified Collison's attacking instincts but

he was sharp in defensive positions as well, putting in some timely tackles and setting the tone for a disciplined team display. The second came five minutes before the interval with Sonko, under pressure from Hines, overhitting a back pass that raced past Federici and into the net. Reading raised their game after half-time and some keen challenges were being put in by both sides. Duberry was penalised for one of them, joining Widdowson, who had his name taken in the first half, in the book. There were warning signs for the home side though as Reading's determination saw Jimmy Kebe getting a sight of goal on 55 mintues only for him to shoot over. That was followed by Tony Stokes picking up head injury that left him dazed and ultimately to be replaced by Lee Hales.
Tomkins and Bondz N'Gala were in imperious mood to the end and the former summed that up by continuing unhindered despite a weighty collision with Sonko that had left him slightly shaken. An inspired piece of defending in the 86th minute saw Tomkins win a header even though he was lying on the ground after a coming together with Kitson. Reading made a late change with Gylfi Sigurdsson arriving for Cisse and the young substitute was to prove a real threat in the closing stages.

EVERTON : Goodison Park

1-1 (Ashton)
22nd March 2008
Att: 37,430
Referee: M. Halsey

Green
Neill
Ferdinand
Tomkins
McCartney
Ljungberg (Solano)
Parker (Spector)
Mullins
Noble
Boa Morte (Sears)
Ashton

Youngsters denied by the woodwork at Everton

Everton's Champions League dreams were seriously damaged by Dean Ashton's equaliser for West Ham in a 1-1 draw at Goodison Park. But it could have been even worse for the Toffees. In the dying minutes, 18 year-old Freddie Sears saw his stabbed shot hit a post and bounce along the line ... and that is how close West Ham came to a deserved victory. Everton had started with power and pace, Ayegbeni Yakubu scoring his 19th goal of the season early on. West Ham were poor at that stage, and it seemed Everton would cruise it. But West Ham, who had hit the bar through debutant James Tomkins, were the better side after the break. Everton find themselves two points behind fourth-placed Liverpool, who can have no greater spur to win at Manchester United than this misfortune to their neighbours. West Ham have responded well to three 4-0 defeats in a week - with decent results against two sides above them in the table, beating Blackburn last week and now a point at Goodison. The Hammers gave centre-back Tomkins his first start, and it was something of a baptism of fire against the power of Yakubu - even if the England Under-19s international could have scored inside five minutes. For Everton, Tim Cahill returned after a hip injury - while teenager Victor Anichebe had also recovered from a similar injury to make only his ninth start of the campaign in place of hamstring victim Andrew Johnson. Leighton Baines played on the left of midfield in the absence of Steven Pienaar, out with a muscle problem. But it was Basildon-born Tomkins who almost made it a dream debut. He met Mark Noble's corner 12 yards out, and his looping header clattered against the bar. But three minutes later, after Anton Ferdinand had lost out in the air to Anichebe, Tomkins was equally at fault when he was out-muscled by Yakubu midway inside West Ham's half. The big Nigerian surged away and scored past Robert Green. Cahill lasted just two more minutes, before suffering a recurrence of his injury. Manuel Fernandes replaced him. Everton were searching for the second against a tepid, uncertain West Ham - and Yakubu was wrongly adjudged offside when he scored from just inside the box, the final pass actually coming off West Ham midfielder Scott Parker.
Everton had plenty of the ball and had West Ham on the back foot, with Anichebe and Yakubu causing problems. But the Hammers had

their chances. Noble's low cross was mis-kicked by Mikel Arteta; the ball fell invitingly for Ashton on the six-yard line, but his shot went agonisingly the wrong side of Tim Howard's right-hand post. Green made a brave save at the feet of Anichebe, when Yakubu had played him through four minutes from the break - but again West Ham could have equalised soon afterwards. Ashton struck a low free-kick from 20 yards - and even though it deflected wickedly off Joleon Lescott, Howard made a remarkable save with his legs while going the wrong way. Five minutes into the second period, Sears came on for Luis Boa Morte and was soon scampering around and unsettling defenders. Everton still looked the most likely to get the next goal, though - and when Baines produced a run and cross, it took a fine Green save to halt Yakubu. Ashton drove wide, and then Noble struck a free-kick over the bar.
Lee Carsley responded with a 25-yarder, when given too much space, but the effort flashed over. Then Green saved at Baines' feet after 65 minutes. But three minutes later, West Ham got the goal. Lucas Neill fired over a cross from the right, and Ashton rose above Phil Jagielka to send his header in off a post. Freddie Ljungberg's pass then sent Sears in behind Lescott, but his shot from a tight angle was held by Howard. After 80 minutes West Ham sent on Nolberto Solano for Ljungberg; then Spector replaced Parker.
When Sears robbed Jagielka on the edge of the box the teenager was on his way round Howard before the American goalkeeper just grabbed the ball. Noble drove inches over the bar as West Ham put a fine passing move together; then Sears got away from Jagielka again, and this time saw his stabbed shot hit a post.

SUNDERLAND : Stadium of Light

1-2 (Ljungberg)
29th March 2008
Att: 45,690
Referee: A. Marriner

Green
Neill
Ferdinand
Spector
McCartney (Pantsil) (Tomkins)
Ljungberg
Parker
Mullins
Noble
Cole (Solano)
Ashton

Image courtesy of Paul Sturton

Postal Cover courtesy of Thomas Lemon

Ten men Hammers hit by last-gasp winner

Andy Reid chose the perfect moment to open his Sunderland account with an injury-time winner which fired Sunderland to within touching distance of Barclays Premier League safety with a 2-1 win over West Ham. The Irishman struck in the sixth minute of injury time as the Black Cats finally made the pressure tell with the game seemingly heading for a draw. Kenwyne Jones had earlier ended his personal goal drought with a 28th-minute equaliser, his first goal in 11 games, to cancel out Freddie Ljungberg's deflected opener.
But it was Reid who claimed the headlines when he volleyed home in time added on for injuries to John Pantsil and Ljungberg as the visitors finished the game with 10 men having used all their substitutes. Daryl Murphy in particular will have been delighted to see his compatriot's shot hit the back of the net after passing up a golden opportunity to win it nine minutes from time. But manager Roy Keane and the bulk of a crowd of 45,690 headed home knowing the road to survival is nearing its end with the prospect of another season of Premier League football within their grasp. Keane was stunned to discover in the run-up to the game that his side had not won consecutive Barclays Premier League fixtures since they defeated Everton and Blackburn in December 2001, a situation he was desperate to address at the earliest opportunity. The Black Cats' surprise 1-0 win at Aston Villa last week meant injury-hit West Ham's trip

to the Stadium of Light handed them the chance to put that right, although the visitors were not prepared to stick to the script. They might have taken the lead with just 10 minutes gone when former Newcastle skipper Scott Parker turned up on the left edge of the penalty area to square the ball to Dean Ashton. The striker needed no second invitation as he deftly side-footed the ball past Craig Gordon, only to see it come back off the upright. Sunderland's respite, however, was only temporary, and they fell behind eight minutes later, largely as a result of their inability to clear their lines.
Carlton Cole made the most of hesitation in the Wearsiders' defence to lay the ball off for Ljungberg, whose firm shot struck Nyron Nosworthy on its way into the bottom corner. But Keane's men responded swiftly and having previously wasted a series of good openings with poor final balls, they eventually made the pressure tell. Kieran Richardson found space on the left to drill a low cross in towards the near post, where Murphy flicked on for Jones to score from point-blank range. The Hammers could not believe an offside flag did not put a stop to the Trinidad and Tobago international's celebrations, but replays showed the officials got a close call just about right. Michael Chopra and Reid both tested Robert Green as Sunderland took control, but it was Gordon who had to pull off a vital fingertip save eight minutes before the break to keep out Cole's curling effort. Danny Collins headed a 43rd-minute Reid cross wide, but the home side were grateful for referee Andre Marriner's lenience on the stroke of half-time when Parker went down under Nosworthy's challenge inside the box and the official waved play on. Sunderland, and Murphy in particular, emerged for the second half in determined fashion with the Irishman forcing a smart save from Green seconds before defender Jonathan Spector hurriedly hacked his cross away at the near post. Lucas Neill, who had moved to left-back to accommodate the arrival of half-time substitute Pantsil on the right, was in the right place at the right time when he hacked Collins' 54th-minute header off the line. Chopra only just failed to make a telling contact with Murphy's cross as he dived to meet it on the hour, and Alan Curbishley made a further change when he sent on former Newcastle midfielder Nolberto Solano for Cole to a predictably hostile welcome. Keane made a double change with 19 minutes remaining when he replaced Richardson and Chopra with Carlos Edwards and Grant Leadbitter, but it was Murphy who should have won it 10 minutes later. Jones muscled his way into the penalty area to cross for his strike partner 10 yards out, but he fired high over as the Hammers escaped. Ljungberg's afternoon ended in agony when he was stretchered off with a hamstring injury which left his side to play out the closing stages with 10 men. But then substitute Edwards' 88th-minute cross flew across goal, where fellow replacement James Tomkins got a crucial touch to deny Jones a winner. However, there was nothing Tomkins or anyone else could do to deny Reid when he raced on to Anton Ferdinand's header and blasted a shot past Green.

READING Under-18 (F.A. Premier Academy League)

Little Heath
4-0 (Abdulla, Edgar, Lee, Stanislas)
24th March 2008

Youth rampant against Reading

Street
Brookes
Spence
N'Gala (Ashman)
Miller
Harvey (Okus)
Kearns
Lee
Edgar
Stanislas (Montano)
Abdulla

A dynamic first-half display from Tony Carr's youngsters saw them return to winning ways on Saturday with all four goals coming in the first half. Goals from schoolboy triallist Ahmed Abdulla, Anftony Edgar, Oliver Lee and England Under-19 international Junior Stanislas in a 20-minute spell before half-time did the damage.
The advantage was soon doubled when Edgar tried his luck from the edge of the penalty area with a low drilled effort that sped into the goal. The third was not long in coming either. This time, dead-ball specialist Stanislas - fresh from a run-out with the Young Lions in midweek - picked out Lee with a corner and the midfielder flicked into the net. By then the game was won, but the best was yet to come.
As the interval approached, the sublime Stanislas strode forward and, after beating a couple of players, looked up to see the visiting goalkeeper just off his line. He took a touch and then curled a lofted effort up and over his head and into the back of the net. He continued to cause problems in the second half and both he and Ahmed Abdulla had further opportunities to add to their tallies.
The match was also noticeable for the strong defensive display with 16-year-old Adam Street continuing the fine form that he showed on his reserve-team debut earlier this month - incidentally also against Reading in a 2-0 victory. With two games to play, Carr's side are still in the hunt for the Group A title although Arsenal are the favourites. The Gunners also won well on Saturday with a 6-0 victory in their game against Group B visitors Cardiff City and have two games in hand on United who only have two games left to play.

CHELSEA : Premier Reserve League

Griffin Park
0-3
31st March 2008

Walker
Miller (O'Neill)
Spence
N'Gala
Widdowson
Stanislas
Hales
Collison
Kearns (Edgar)
Stokes (Lee)
Camara

Winning run ends for reserves

West Ham United reserves' winning run came to a halt at Chelsea on Monday night as the home team's superior strength told in a difficult derby.
Claudio Pizarro, Fabio Ferreira and Jack Saville did the damage for the hosts but the likes of Jordan Spence and Junior Stanislas can take heart from lively displays. The defeat means Aston Villa, who won 1-0 at home against Birmingham City, have now taken top spot in the southern section of the Barclays Premier Reserve League and they still have four games left compared to United's two.
With James Tomkins and Freddie Sears promoted to the first team and only Jimmy Walker and Henri Camara possessing any senior experience, it was always going to be a tough ask for Kevin Keen's men at Griffin Park. While Chelsea had no Under-18s on view and other big names like Branislav Ivanovic and Steve Sidwell in their ranks, the visitors had to play five youngsters who had featured in the Academy's 4-0 win against Reading just two days previously. Furthermore regulars Kyel Reid and Zavon Hines
Jack Collison stated United's intent on 34 seconds with a fierce shot that just missed the goal before Camara, on his first appearance since getting a late run-out for the first team against Birmingham City on 9 February, had a similar effort with six minutes gone. Within a minute, though, Chelsea were in front. A long clearance by goalkeeper Stuart Searle was knocked on by Franco Di Santo into the path of Pizarro. The Peru striker made no mistake to the left of goal, rolling his shot beyond the helpless Walker.
Pizarro went close again on 12 minutes while Walker also had to be alert on another occasion to deny the towering Di Santo, the 18-year-old sensation newly arrived from Argentinian football. On 20 minutes, the

United keeper did brilliantly with two saves in quick succession, one from Jimmy Smith and the second from Ivanovic, the 24-year-old Serbia defender who is tipped for big things after his January switch from Lokomotiv Moscow.
For all of Chelsea's pressure, Lee Hales very nearly equalised on the half-hour mark after good work by Stanislas. A delightful chip looked a certain goal until Searle managed to stretch and tip the ball behind to safety. Di Santo then went close on 36 minutes with a free header but contrived to miss the target from close range. Keen's men finished the half as they had begun it but the home side remained in front at the interval.
Within four minutes of the restart, Ferreira made it two with a low shot that gave Walker no chance. The attacker set himself well to wrongfoot Bondz N'Gala before lashing into the corner of the net and the strike all but ended the away side's hopes of getting something from the game. With Sidwell beginning to pull the strings despite the best efforts of captain Collison, Chelsea were able to remain a threat. That said, Northern Irish youth international Daniel Kearns got a valuable hour at this level while Stanislas did really well midway through the half to work an opening before firing just wide.
Chelsea finally made it 3-0 on 75 minutes with Saville heading in with his very first touch -just 12 seconds after entering the fray. The remaining minutes saw only half-chances for both teams from distance on a heavy pitch that had begun to take its toll on the young legs. The likes of Spence, with a couple of good late challenges, will have learned much from a difficult defeat that, taken in context, will do much for their future development.

LEICESTER CITY Under-18 (F.A. Premier Academy League)

Belvoir Drive
0-2
5th April 2008

Street, O'Neill (Brookes), N'Gala, Spence, Widdowson, Harvey, Lee (Okus), Kearns (Montano), Edgar, Stanislas, Abdulla

Youths fall short at Leicester

West Ham United lost control of pole position in Group A when they were beaten 2-0 at Leicester City in their penultimate Premier Academy League fixture on Saturday. The hosts, who play in Group B, won it through first-half goals from Ryan Beswick and Ricky Sappleton although Tony Carr's side can feel harshly done by in a competitive encounter that saw both teams show attacking intent. With Arsenal winning 3-0 at Milton Keynes Dons, the north London rivals moved one point clear at the top of the table and still have three games to play. In contrast, Carr's side conclude their season at home to Birmingham City next Saturday.
Sappleton and Lee Cox both had their moments for Leicester in the early stages while Tom Harvey saw his firm header just cleared off the line and Oliver Lee also came close to breaking the deadlock. It was the Foxes though who went in front on 15 minutes, with Craig King seemingly in an offside position when he received the ball before squaring to Beswick, who was able to score beyond Street. Carr's team kept going though in the half and saw Junior Stanislas twice fire in efforts that just went wide.
The next goal was always going to prove decisive - especially with Leicester making the most of their physical superiority and playing a more direct game than the team from east London. Leicester doubled their advantage on the stroke of half-time when Street's miscued clearance went straight to Robbie Burns. He in turn found Sappelton and he made no mistake. The second half saw United try their best to get back into the contest - with Lee spurning a header when picked out superbly by Stanislas - but the home side were able to see out the contest.

PORTSMOUTH : Upton Park

0-1
8th April 2008
Att: 33,629
Referee: L. Probert

Green
Neill
Spector
Ferdinand
McCartney
Solano (Pantsil)
Mullins (Cole)
Parker
Boa Morte
Ashton
Zamora (Sears)

Ashton struggles in Harry's happy return

Niko Kranjcar drilled in a 61st-minute winner to maintain Portsmouth's momentum at the expense of Harry Redknapp's former club West Ham. It was the FA Cup finalists' ninth win in their last 11 games and their 21st clean sheet of the season. Pompey have never lost to the Hammers since promotion to the Premier League in 2002 and their victory condemned their Upton Park hosts to a fifth loss in their last seven. It also took Redknapp's team within four points of fifth-placed Everton and they could still grab a UEFA Cup place without having to rely on beating Cardiff at Wembley. The omens for that did not look too bright at the start, though, and the first half will not live long in the memory. Portsmouth, starting without Kanu, Jermain Defoe and Milan Baros, showed little in attack until the closing minutes of the first 45 minutes as David Nugent toiled against Anton Ferdinand and Jonathan Spector. They were also short in midfield, with artful French playmaker Lassana Diarra out resting a sore hamstring, and their lack of craft allowed West Ham to constantly feed Dean Ashton and the returning Bobby Zamora. Luis Boa Morte, appearing in place of bright new youngster Freddie Sears, lost Sylvain Distin on the edge of the area early on and fired West ham's first on-target shot into the grateful arms of David James. Zamora wasted a great opening in the ninth minute when he ran clear down the left but failed to find a team-mate with his low pull-back, giving Hermann Hreidarsson the chance to clear. But he and Ashton continued to cause Portsmouth problems. James had to race out of goal and head the ball away from Ashton just outside the penalty area and then dive bravely at Zamora's feet a few seconds later. Pompey's defending looked fairly desperate in the opening 20 minutes and it needed another last-ditch tackle by Distin to stop Ashton when the blond forward moved in for Zamora's unselfish ball across the face of the area. In a rare Pompey raid their fans at the far end of the ground thought Nugent had scored his first Premier League goal with a right-foot snap-shot in the 24th minute but he was just off-target. But then James twice had to punch clear at the other end as Hammers piled on pressure. Kranjcar and Papa Bouba Diop briefly replied with shots and Hammers goalkeeper Robert Green struggled to hold onto a Pedro Mendes blast from distance. Just before the break James had to turn Ashton's fierce 30-yarder

around a post and then was beaten by a double deflection off Nolberto Solano's free-kick but the ball dropped just wide for a corner. A strange lethargy seemed to overtake West Ham early in the second half after a couple of through-passes failed to find their marks.
Pompey sensed the frustration creeping in and Kranjcar almost put them ahead after 54 minutes when Nugent's square pass set him up for a strike from 20 yards which sizzled just over the bar. But the Croat's shoot-on-sight policy paid off just after the hour with a classic strike, by which time West Ham had brought on Sears for the tiring Zamora. Sears scored a fine winner against Blackburn last month but this time it was Kranjcar who hit the spectacular with an unerring low effort from just outside the area. West Ham also took off Hayden Mullins - to a cruel roar of approval from the fans - and brought on a third striker in Carlton Cole for the last 18 minutes. Pompey replaced Nugent with FA Cup semi-final hero Kanu late on and there never looked the remotest danger of the Hammers hitting back.

DERBY COUNTY : Premier Reserve League

Woodside Park
2-1 (Stokes - pen, Stanislas)
9th April 2008

Walker
O'Neill (Brookes)
Spence
N'Gala
Widdowson
Faubert (Kearns)
Harvey
Hales
Stanislas
Edgar
Stokes

Stanislas settles reserves contest

Having lost 3-0 to a strong Chelsea team in their last outing, there was a real determination to get back to winning ways at the home of Bishop's Stortford. West Ham United reserves made it eight home consecutive games unbeaten at Woodside Park with a solid performance that featured a run-out for Julien Faubert.
As planned before kick-off, Faubert got a valuable 45 minutes under his belt as he recovers from a calf muscle injury although it remains to be seen if he will return to first-team duty this campaign. The France midfielder added strength to a home side missing the rested Jack Collison, although in truth Derby were equally inexperienced and have not won a game at this level all season. Stand-in captain Tony Stokes, from the spot, and Junior Stanislas struck either side of a Paris Simmons stunner to seal the victory in the first half.
In truth, the second half was a largely uneventful affair with the referee's whistle producing cards for Derby duo Jack Booth and Greg Mills, while Stokes' all-action display also saw him cautioned for what looked an innocuous challenge. Before that Stokes had a dipping volley from distance, Harvey rattled one in from range and Stanislas twice made Hinchliffe save well in the run up to the hour mark.
Derby attacks were few and far between but Mills had a good go on 69 minutes, just before the away side had the ball in the net only to be penalised for a definite shove on Walker as substitute Tyron Amory's free-kick flew into the area. Faubert's half-time replacement Daniel Kearns could have made it 3-1 with six minutes to play after a delightful team move finished with him playing a one-two and then slotting goal wards. The ball seemed in, until diverting on to the post at the last second. Stokes followed up the rebound but was in an offside position.
Lee Hales also had a fine chance two minutes later after setting himself well for a strike from outside the penalty area before a last-ditch block got in the way. Into added time, Stanislas and Stokes underlined their superior fitness with a bright move as around them others tired. The former found room on the left before whipping in a precise cross that the latter did well to rise and meet but failed to direct on target. It did not matter in the end, as the final whistle soon followed.

BOLTON WANDERERS : Reebok Stadium

0-1
12th April 2008
Att: 23,043
Referee: P. Walton

Green
Spector
Upson
Ferdinand (Pantsil)
McCartney
Parker
Collison (Cole)
Mullins
Ashton
Zamora (Sears)
Boa Morte

Hammers slump to poor Bolton defeat

Bolton kick-started their Premier League survival bid with a hard-fought victory over West Ham at the Reebok Stadium. Kevin Davies' close-range finish after 46 minutes secured Wanderers' first win in nine league matches and the result really should have been more emphatic. Davies had two headers cleared off the line in the first half, while El-Hadji Diouf and Kevin Nolan both had goals disallowed for offside. Bolton captain Nolan returned from suspension to boost struggling Wanderers. Defender Jlloyd Samuel and midfielder Ivan Campo were the other faces drafted in by manager Gary Megson following last weekend's 4-0 hammering by Aston Villa. West Ham's team showed two changes from the one which lost to Portsmouth in midweek, defender Matthew Upson returning from an ankle injury and midfielder Jack Collison making his first senior start as Nolberto Solano and Lucas Neill sat out. Prior to the match, a small but vocal group of fans outside the ground expressed their dissatisfaction with Megson and chairman Phil Gartside and chanted the name of former boss Sam Allardyce - the man who brought success to the Reebok Stadium.
In the second minute, Diouf won a corner off Anton Ferdinand but the centre-back immediately went down holding his left hamstring. He was unable to continue and was replaced by John Pantsil, who went to right-back, as West Ham successfully defended the corner. Bolton almost took the lead in the sixth minute when a hanging cross from the left was nodded back towards goal by Davies at the far post and Jonathan Spector, now in the centre of defence, headed out from under the crossbar. Collison's first action was to foul Diouf wide on the left but Robert Green punched Matthew Taylor's inswinging free-kick clear. Bobby Zamora won a 10th-minute corner off Samuel but Dean Ashton's near-post shot was weak and wide. A well-worked move between Samuel and Taylor down the left saw the former given a sight of goal but his shot lacked power and was straight at Green. Upson's wild sliced clearance gave Bolton a corner on the left but Diouf's delivery was too long and beat everyone. Davies' deflected 25-yard shot earned Bolton a 30th-minute left-wing corner and from Diouf's

delivery, the striker nodded powerfully down to the far post where George McCartney headed over. Andy O'Brien then headed Gretar Steinsson's cross straight at Green as Bolton dominated the aerial battle without taking advantage. West Ham's first effort at goal came in the 38th minute when Ashton broke from midfield only to clip a left-footed shot straight into the arms of Ali Al Habsi. Pantsil was booked for a foul on Davies and Campo's free-kick was flicked on to the far post by Davies where Diouf side-footed home only to be flagged offside. In the first minute after the interval, another Davies header forced Green to turn the ball for a corner from which Wanderers took the lead. Spector failed to deal with Taylor's inswinging delivery inside the six-yard area and Davies pounced to fire home only his fourth goal of the season and the 100th of his career. West Ham's best chance came in the 55th minute when Al Habsi flapped at Zamora's cross and Luis Boa Morte shot at goal only for Gary Cahill to clear off the line. Al Habsi then atoned for his error by superbly tipping over Ashton's overhead kick from the follow-up. Nolan thought he had made it 2-0 in the 65th minute when he scored from close range after Green could only parry Diouf's shot, but he was offside. Nolan was booked for a foul on Pantsil late on as Bolton scrapped to hang on to their lead and Al Habsi made a good low save from Scott Parker to secure victory.

BIRMINGHAM CITY Under-18 (F.A. Premier Academy League)

Little Heath
5-0 (Abdulla 2, Okus, Miller, Harvey)
12th April 2008

Youths sign off in style

West Ham United signed off in terrific fashion for the season with a 5-0 victory at home against Birmingham City - although it was not enough to secure the title.
Triallist Ahmed Abdulla scored twice, schoolboy Conor Okus, Ashley Miller and Tom Harvey were all on target on a day when three players who have featured for the U18s this season were involved in the matchday 16 for the first team up at Bolton Wanderers. While James Tomkins, Jack Collison and Freddie Sears were otherwise engaged, Tony Carr's team ensured a tremendous campaign finished on a high note at Little Heath.
Abdulla opened the scoring with a low shot before Okus opened his U18 account with an outstanding effort. Despite usually being involved with the U16s, he showed great power to surge forward past a defender and then smash in beyond the visiting keeper. Abdulla, who is hoping to impress after leaving Arsenal, then got his second with his head to make it 3-0 at half-time. In the second half, Miller sparked enthusiastic
celebrations when he shot in for his first goal of the season before the in-form Harvey, capped by England at U16 level, rounded out the scoring.
Arsenal's 1-0 win at home against Bristol City means they have been crowned champions of Group A of the Premier Academy Reserve League - and they will now go forward to play Group B winners Aston Villa in the play-offs. The Gunners, with one game left, are on 55 points while United, without that key trio for the run-in, have finished on a very creditable 51 points from their 28 games.

DERBY COUNTY : Upton Park

2-1 (Zamora, Cole)
19th April 2008
Att: 34,612
Referee: S. Tanner

Green
Pantsil
Tomkins
Neill
McCartney
Faubert (Solano)
Noble
Parker
Ljungberg (Boa Morte)
Sears (Cole)
Zamora

Boo-Boys Hammer Curbishley

Substitute Carlton Cole scored a late winner as West Ham made hard work of beating relegated Derby at Upton Park. Bobby Zamora had given the hosts a 20th-minute lead when he headed home George McCartney's free-kick from six yards but Tyrone Mears levelled for the rock-bottom Rams in the 64th minute. But substitute Cole finished off a run and cross from Freddie Ljungberg in the 77th minute to give Alan Curbishley's side all three points. But the home fans were less than impressed and a chorus of boos rang out when referee Steve Tanner blew the final whistle. West Ham had the first real effort of the game when a 25-yard free-kick from Mark Noble was hit straight at Roy Carroll in the ninth minute. Derby found themselves on the receiving end of West Ham's early pressure but the home side failed to take advantage of their possession. Midfielder Scott Parker tried his luck with a 20-yard effort in the 12th minute but his effort was both high and wide. West Ham had made seven changes from the team which lost at Bolton and the new faces were taking time to settle down. But they finally gelled well enough to open the scoring through striker Zamora. Derby defender Alan Stubbs had been penalised for a foul on the edge of the penalty area and when George McCartney sent the free-kick into the six-yard box, Zamora outjumped Dean Leacock to head beyond the stranded Carroll. Derby, hit for six the previous week against Aston Villa, were desperately poor. They had little idea going forward and their defensive display bordered on the woeful with Leacock looking a real liability. West Ham's young striker, Freddie Sears, making his first start for the club, continued to give Leacock a difficult time with several clever runs into the penalty area. Derby did not possess the quality to match West Ham and as such their forays into the home half were rare. West Ham should have done better when Sears and Ljungberg combined neatly in the 33rd minute but the Swede's final ball to the youngster was far from the quality expected. Derby had a scare moments later when veteran defender Stubbs required lengthy treatment on a leg injury before being allowed to carry on. In the 37th minute, Zamora had a second goal ruled out for offside after the West Ham striker had managed to elude the Derby defence. But it required an acrobatic save from Robert Green in the 38th minute to preserve West Ham's lead. A cross from the left by

David Jones was heading goalwards by Robbie Savage only for Green to tip the ball over the crossbar. Ljungberg was guilty of being over-elaborate moments later when a quick break caused panic in the Derby defence. The Swedish midfielder tried to thread the ball through to Zamora instead of having a shot but Stubbs read the danger well and cut out his intended pass. Derby's most dangerous play was provided down the left flank by Eddie Lewis and a number of his crosses caused the home side mild consternation before being cleared. West Ham were quickly into their stride in the second half and Noble put Sears away on the left flank only for the young striker's cross to elude the outstretched boot of Ljungberg in the six-yard box. In the 50th minute Ljungberg and Parker combined on the edge of the penalty area but the latter's final shot flashed wide of Carroll's left-hand upright. Derby began to enjoy their best spell of the game but the final ball into the penalty area often let them down. West Ham required the help of goalkeeper Green again in the 62nd minute when Tyrone Mears burst into the penalty area. The Derby midfielder shaped to lift the ball over the advancing Green but the West Ham 'keeper dived at his feet to collect the ball just in time. But in the 64th minute Mears made no mistake when Hossam Ghaly put him clean through with just Green to beat. This time the Derby midfielder kept his cool and sent a right-foot drive into the net. The goal was heralded with a chorus of boos from the home fans who had slowly watched County get on top as the half wore on. West Ham hit back immediately but got nothing when Savage pulled back Ljungberg on the edge of the penalty area. Manager Alan Curbishley was verbally abused in the 75th minute when he replaced Sears with Carlton Cole. His decision was greeted with a chorus of 'you don't know what you're doing' as Sears left the field. But Curbishley was vindicated two minutes later when Cole finished off a run and cross by Ljungberg to give West Ham all three points.

Tony Gale's "Sky" Gantry pass

ARSENAL : Premier Reserve League

Underhill
0-2
21st April 2008

Stech
Spence
Payne (Ashman)
N'Gala
Miller
Stanislas (Lee)
Harvey (Edgar)
Collison
Kearns
Jeffery
Stokes

Reserves go down at Arsenal

West Ham United saw their 2007/08 campaign end on a low note as they went down 2-0 at Arsenal but Kevin Keen's men can hold their heads high after a strong campaign.
The visitors were undone by first-half goals from Rui Fonte and Jack Wilshere, with the latter sealing a man of the match display with his stunning strike from 20 yards that gave Marek Stech little chance. The United goalkeeper was back in Keen s lineup tor The first time since 23 January and produced several fine stops to keep the home side at bay while Tony Stokes had the best of the chances for the visitors when he smashed a shot against the post midway through the second half.
With Aston Villa drawing 1-1 at home against Chelsea, the result at Barnet's Underbill home this evening was largely academic. Villa moved three points clear of United and still have one more match to play - against Arsenal next Tuesday. The only other challengers for the Barclays Premier Reserve League southern section title are Reading, who are five points adrift and have two games left themselves.
United's attacking options were increased before the game when Jack Jeffery returned from Cambridge United, having scored and made one in a 2-0 win for the Football League promotion hopefuls at the end of his loan spell last Saturday. Jeffery played alongside Tony Stokes, again operating in an advanced position. Although both worked hard, they were up against an imposing defence and most of the visitors' attacking intent came on the left flank via the right-footed Junior Stanislas - who gave Armand Traore plenty to think about.
Stanislas had a succession of first-half corners to pile on the pressure but was more effective from open play. Arsenal always had the edge though and were the first to strike for goal when Nacer Barazite fired in on

Stech on five minutes but missed the target. Five minutes later, Fonte was shaking his head in disbelief after a wonder save by Stech when an Arsenal free-kick fell into his path just eight yards out. It was to be the 19th minute before United's first real chance, Stanislas firing in a piledriver that was just deflected wide. Arsenal soon stepped up a gear though. Wilshere split the United central defence of Josh Payne - back after a three-match suspension - and Bondz N'Gala with a fine pass. Fonte ran on to it and smashed beyond Stech. A quarter-of-an-hour later the home side doubled their advantage when Wilshere ran at Ashley Miller before unleashing a curling effort that again gave Stech no chance to save. Unsurprisingly, the 16-year-old midfielder's goal had the watching Arsene Wenger smiling. United had some moments before half-time, notably when Jeffery's shot was blocked just as it looked set to trouble Vito Mannone in the home goal but Nacer Barazite and substitute Gilles Sunu, just on for Abou Diaby, also had their moments. The visitors were a different proposition after the break, with Stanislas and Stokes firing in on goal only to be denied. Jack Collison, back as reserve-team captain after a spell with the first team, was also getting on the ball more.
Just before the hour, Stokes hit the post after Stanislas's corner had Mannone in all sorts of bother but the ball rebounded safely into the keeper's grasp. Stanislas underlined his superb performance on 62 minutes with a lovely piece of control before firing in a shot that Mannone did well to stop. The final 20 minutes saw both teams make their final changes and create few chances on goal. Regardless of the result, Keen's young team can be proud of their efforts over the whole season.

NEWCASTLE UNITED : Upton Park

2-2 (Noble, Ashton)
26th April 2008
Att: 34,980
Referee: U. Rennie

Green
Pantsil
Tomkins
Neill
McCartney
Faubert (Solano)
Parker
Noble
Ljungberg (Boa Morte)
Zamora (Cole)
Ashton

Ljungberg injured as Magpies battle back

West Ham had to be content with a point from their 500th Premier League fixture as Newcastle came back from two goals down to leave Upton Park with a 2-2 draw. The Hammers had appeared to be coasting to an easy victory after Mark Noble and Dean Ashton converted intense pressure into a goal each before the game was 25 minutes old. But the first half had a surprise ending as the previously dormant visitors hit back with two goals in as many minutes from Obafemi Martins and Geremi. The home side had managed to get themselves booed off by their own fans the previous week despite actually winning but this time the fans greeted the final whistle with applause. With full-back George McCartney marauding down the left, West Ham attacked relentlessly from the off and an inexperienced Newcastle back line that featured Steven Taylor and David Edgar was nowhere in the 10th minute when midfielder Noble arrived to send a left-footed effort past goalkeeper Steve Harper from McCartney's cross. There was a setback for the Hammers when Freddie Ljungberg was hurt in the Newcastle box and had to be carried off on a stretcher but the loss of the Sweden international in the 22nd-minute did not diminish his side's momentum as Ashton made it 2-0 less than a minute later with a shot on the turn after Bobby Zamora had headed on a long ball. Newcastle had offered zero in return with their three-man strike force of Michael Owen, Mark Viduka and Martins failing to make any headway against a home defence that also included a rookie in the shape of James Tomkins. But when Tomkins failed to cut out a ball over the top Martins put his side back in the game with a smart finish past the exposed Robert Green, who must have been as startled as anyone to be picking the ball out of the net again two minutes later in stoppage time. Martins was involved again, firing in only his side's third shot of the afternoon from the edge of the box. Exactly where it would have ended up is anyone's guess but it took a deflection off the head of Geremi to fly into the net. Newcastle were far more adventurous after the restart but were relieved when Luis Boa Morte, Ljungberg's replacement, fired narrowly wide after Ashton and Noble had seen drives blocked by brave defending.

The second period was more bad-tempered too with Habib Beye of Newcastle followed into the book by Hammers Julien Faubert and John Pantsil. Nicky Butt was also shown a yellow card for his part in the recriminations that followed Pantsil's indiscretion and Martins was then booked for fouling the West Ham defender following a tussle in the box. Zamora was replaced by Carlton Cole with 22 minutes left on the clock but the chances had long since begun to dry up and there was to be no repeat of the replacement's winner last week. Ashton, back in the side following yet another injury, sent a volley spinning across goal and wide and then saw Steve Harper pull off a fine tip-over after Cole had teed him up. Referee Uriah Rennie might have provided the last word by penalising Owen in his own box but although Faubert's cross clearly hit the Newcastle skipper on an arm, the official ruled it had been accidental.

MANCHESTER UNITED : Old Trafford

1-4 (Ashton)
3rd May 2008
Att: 76,013
Referee: M. Riley

Green
Pantsil
Tomkins
Neill
McCartney
Noble
Parker
Mullins (Sears)
Boa Morte (Solano)
Ashton (Cole)
Zamora

Ex-Hammers line-up to score for champs

Ten-man Manchester United powered towards the Premier League title with a clinical destruction of West Ham at Old Trafford. Victory at Wigan next Sunday will confirm Sir Alex Ferguson's men as champions but the coronation may come even earlier as Chelsea now need to get something - and almost certainly win - at Newcastle to fight on until the final day. Not even the first-half dismissal of Nani could shake United from their stride as Cristiano Ronaldo's double took his tally for the campaign to 40, quickly followed by a Carlos Tevez thunderbolt. Michael Carrick wrapped up victory after the interval to keep United on course for the double and place all the pressure on Champions League final opponents Chelsea, who are now three points adrift, with a far worse goal difference and two matches to do something about it. A veteran of nine successful title quests - and a few failures as well - Ferguson would have known what benefit an early goal would bring. After seeing his team reach the Champions League final on Tuesday, then cheer his beloved Rangers into the UEFA Cup final two days later, Ferguson might have wondered if enough wishes had been granted for one week. Yet, within three minutes the Red Devils were ahead. The familiar frame of Ronaldo would have been capable of causing some damage anyway as he collected Nani's flick. But Lucas Neill's ill-timed slip merely allowed the double Footballer of the Year to charge into the box and unleash a shot which flicked off George McCartney and flew in. There was no sense of nerves around the ground but any remaining apprehension was dispelled as United assumed total control and 20 minutes later they had a second. In amassing 40 goals this season, Ronaldo has scored some amazing efforts. His latest was not among them as Owen Hargreaves swung a left-footed cross to the far post which the entire Hammers defence failed to cut out. It still needed scoring though and a quick swivel of the hips ensured the ball bounced past Robert Green. Ronaldo has not been overshadowed very often this season but Tevez did exactly that as he picked up his young team-mate's lay-off, then blasted a 30-yard rocket into the roof of Green's net, the West Ham goalkeeper powerless to resist. On this ground last season, the Hammers fans hailed Tevez a hero and they still revere the Argentinian now for keeping them up. Yet instead of applause, the visiting

contingent could only wonder what fate lay ahead as their team threatened to be submerged, even against a side lacking Wayne Rooney, whose hip problem has been reported in some quarters as a far more worrying hernia complaint. The Hammers need not have worried. For, after Dean Ashton's smart overhead kick completed a remarkable spell of three goals in six minutes, Nani lost his head. Lucas Neill hardly reacted in the most calm manner after Nani had tried and failed to connect with an ambitious overhead kick but the Portugal winger had no excuse for responding the way he did by butting Neill and dismissal was automatic. The red card threw unnecessary doubt over United's charge towards the title, although they received assistance from West Ham's woeful attempt to make the extra man count. It was not lack of desire which kept them from toppling their hosts, who Hammers boss Alan Curbishley feels deserve the win the title, more a lack of ability. Carrick was offered more room to run into than he could believe before firing home his second goal of the campaign, with Neill again providing the accidental deflection. The unconnected arrival of Ryan Giggs and departure of Ronaldo were significant in that it took the Welshman to within one game of equalling Sir Bobby Charlton's revised appearance record of 758 and also suggested some element of doubt over Rooney returning as it offered United's major attacking force a rest even though he remained on a hat-trick and apparently full of energy. Ronaldo's replacement, Darren Fletcher, struck a post with his precise shot, although by then it hardly mattered. United thanked their supporters for a season of effort with a lap of the pitch at the end. In eight days' time they could be celebrating for real.

ASTON VILLA : Upton Park

2-2 (Solano, Ashton)
11th May 2008
Att: 34,969
Referee: M. Dean

Green
Neill
Tomkins
Ferdinand
McCartney (Pantsil)
Solano
Noble (Sears)
Parker
Boa Morte
Zamora (Cole)
Ashton

Ashton's fierce strike is fitting end to season

Aston Villa's last-ditch push to secure a UEFA Cup place ended in failure as they concluded their season with a 2-2 draw at Upton Park. Skipper Gareth Barry appeared to have fired a second-half winner when he expertly finished a move he started but Hammers striker Dean Ashton struck a late equaliser to earn his side a point they scarcely deserved. But ultimately Villa's efforts to secure European qualification were rendered meaningless by Everton's victory over Newcastle which took the matter out of their hands. O'Neill could have asked little more of his players as they dominated a feeble West Ham side which was often shambolic in defence, despite the return of Anton Ferdinand from a hamstring injury. A curling free-kick from Nolberto Solano gave the Hammers a dream start but the impressive Ashley Young's brilliant finish cancelled out the goal. Villa were nearly caught by an early counter initiated by Nigel Reo-Coker who picked out Gabriel Agbonlahor with a superb pass. Agbonlahor dashed forward and slipped the ball to Ashley Young only for his shot to strike the left post. Villa were left to rue the missed chance as West Ham edged ahead in the eighth minute. Ashton was felled on the edge of the area and referee Mike Dean immediately signalled for a free-kick. Solano stepped up and curled the ball into the top-right corner with goalkeeper Scott Carson getting a fingertip to the effort. Six minutes later Villa were back on level terms with Reo-Coker once again doing the initial damage. The former Hammers midfielder found Young, who took advantage of slack marking to rifle home a superb goal from 12 yards out. Villa threatened again through Stiliyan Petrov, who sped down the right wing and crossed for John Carew but he just failed to connect with the ball. The lively Young was proving a handful and one threaded pass opened up a static Hammers' defence, but once again Carew could not get on the end of it. A neat jink and turn from Bobby Zamora caused a few worrying moments at the other end but his shot was blocked and the danger passed. Mark Noble blasted wide of the target as West Ham continued to create a series of half chances, while Villa looked threatening on the counter. Zamora pulled the trigger on the brink of half time but his shot sailed narrowly wide and there was still time for Agbonlahor to have a shot cleared off the line by Carson. Portuguese winger Luis Boa Morte, forced a

fine save from Carson as West Ham made a bright start to the second half. Villa should have gone ahead five minutes after the interval when Agbonlahor squared to Carew who only had Green to beat from close range, but the Hammers' keeper showed smart reflexes. The ball squirted out to Petrov who tumbled over as Green came out to claim the ball but Dean was unconvinced by the theatrics and booked the Bulgarian. Carew then had an attempt cleared off the line as Villa, perhaps spurred on by news of Newcastle's equaliser, poured forward. And their reward came in the 58th minute when Barry, spotting acres of space before him, went marauding through midfield to the edge of the box. He executed a perfect one-two with Reo-Coker that he concluded by smashing the ball home past Green from close range. Zamora almost levelled a heartbeat later but was denied but the woodwork while at the other end Young broke free down the left only to send his effort narrowly wide. Ashton could have levelled in the 82nd minute but he rushed his shot and Carson did not have to intervene. Ashton could not be denied two minutes from time, however, as he produced a stunning equaliser to grab an unexpected late point for West Ham.

Piczo