Daily WHUFC News - 29th September 2013

Brady penalty sees off Hammers
WHUFC.com
West Ham United fell to a 1-0 defeat at Hull City on Saturday
28.09.2013

Hull City 1-0 West Ham United
Barclays Premier League

Robbie Brady's early penalty sent West Ham United to a 1-0 defeat at Hull
City in the Barclays Premier League on Saturday. Brady converted from the
spot with just 12 minutes on the clock after Joey O'Brien was harshly
punished for a push on the Irishman. It proved enough to secure a second
successive win for the newly-promoted Tigers, who soaked up plenty of West
Ham possession as they held on to their lead. West Ham had claims for a spot
kick of their own turned down in the second period when referee Kevin Friend
failed to spot a Jake Livermore handball and the Hammers were left with a
long journey home.
After an opening ten minutes notable only for Kevin Nolan's booking for a
rash tackle on Rosenior, Hull were handed the chance to move in front when
they were awarded a twelfth minute penalty. It looked a soft award as Friend
spotted a push on Brady by O'Brien and the Hammers players made their
feelings to the referee known. Brady did not care though, and he sent Jussi
Jaaskelainen the wrong way from the spot.

The Hammers could not have come closer to a leveller 11 minutes later when
James Tomkins got up to head Mark Noble's corner goalwards. Allan McGregor
was beaten, but not Ahmed Elmohamady, who cleared the ball off the line.
Mohamed Diame also had a header deflected behind for a corner, but Hull then
had a spell of pressure of their own, but Modibo Maiga dropping back to the
goalline to clear Curtis Davies' header off the line, before Jaaskelainen
then had to claw Elmohamady's headed effort onto the upright. Clear chances
were hard to come by at either end, although eight minutes after the break
Diame stung McGregor's palms with a rising drive from the edge of the box.

Sam Allardyce introduced Mladen Petric, Stewart Downing and Ricardo Vaz Te
from the bench as the Hammers searched for an equaliser, but Jake Livermore
almost wrapped it up for his side when he struck the base of the post with
his low drive from 25 yards. Fifteen minutes from time the Hammers had huge
claims for a spot kick turned down when Livermore appeared to knock the ball
behind for a corner with his arm. Referee Friend was unmoved, much to the
consternation of the visitors, who had another opportunity seven minutes
from the end when Vaz Te fired a free-kick too high. Despite the Hammers
enjoying a near monopoly on possession in the closing stages, they could not
find a way through on a frustrating afternoon in Yorkshire.

Hull City: McGregor; Rosenior, Faye, Davies, Figueroa; Elmohamady,
Huddlestone, Livermore, Brady (Meyler 80), Aluko (Boyd 89), Graham (Sagbo
71)
Subs: Harper, Bruce, McShane, Quinn
Goal: Brady pen 12
Booked: Graham

West Ham United: Jaaskelainen; O'Brien, Tomkins, Reid, Rat; Morrison, Noble,
Nolan; Diame (Downing 71), Maiga (Petric 59), Jarvis (Vaz Te 71)
Subs: Adrian, Taylor, Collins, Demel
Booked: Nolan, Morrison
Referee: Kevin Friend

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Allardyce left to rue penalty decisions
WHUFC.com
Big Sam believes the Hammers should have been given a late penalty in their
defeat at Hull
28.09.2013

It was a tale of two penalties for West Ham United boss Sam Allardyce at
Hull City on Saturday - one which was given for a gentle push on Robbie
Brady, and one which was not for a Jake Livermore handball. Allardyce
believes referee Kevin Friend called both incidents incorrectly, and his
decision making had a huge influence on the final 1-0 victory for the
Tigers. Nevertheless, West Ham still had more than enough opportunities to
cancel out Robbie Brady's 12th minute spot kick and Big Sam was left kicking
himself that his side departed the KC Stadium with nothing. "Brady's done a
huge job on throwing himself to the ground to win a penalty that wasn't a
penalty," he said. "If he's going to give a penalty for that then we'll have
to have 30 penalties every weekend. There was hardly a touch and the ball
was going nowhere near him, it wasn't a penalty. "The player's tried to buy
something and the referee has fallen for it. It shouldn't happen but it's
happened to us at a time when we don't want it to happen. "We created enough
chances though, so we should have got ourselves back in the game, and then
the referee should have allowed us to get back in the game by getting the
decision right [on Livermore's handball]. "If he'd got those two decisions
right we could easily be sat here with a 1-0 win and not a 1-0 loss. "But
what we're responsible for is putting the ball in the back of the net when
you create so many chances - we put over 30 crosses into the box, we had 16
attempts on goal, six on target, much more than Hull City, but Hull City
have won the game 1-0."

Allardyce said his team are lacking a composure in front of goal at the
moment, but he is convinced he has the players at his disposal to turn that
around.
He continued: "We're struggling for natural finishers at this moment in
time. We do have good natural finishers, but not at the moment - Kevin Nolan
is a natural finisher, Ravel Morrison, Vaz Te are, and of course Maiga from
his time in France. "We've had many opportunities and missed them so we know
we have our own responsibility for that, but we don't want the referee to be
taking the result away from us with a poor decision. "You only play well
when you win, for me. If you play well and you lose, you haven't played
well. "It is a bit of an oxymoron, I know, because we have dominated the
opposition and we have created good chances, but at the end of the day we've
come away with nothing. "It's a big disappointment, because trying to win
football matches is what we're paid to do. Especially in this league, when
you miss an opportunity to win when it comes along, then it gets even
tougher. "It was a big game for us to get some points out of, we played well
enough to get some points, and we didn't."

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Haycock thrilled with Lee goals
WHUFC.com
Development Squad boss Nick Haycock was delighted with Elliot Lee's
contribution against Ipswich
28.09.2013

After Elliot Lee showed no mercy in destroying Ipswich Town with four goals
in a 5-0 win at Rush Green, Development Squad coach Nick Haycock was left
full of praise for the prolific striker. Lee scored twice in each half as
the young Hammers kept their good form going with a resounding friendly win.
Pelly Ruddock also netted as the home side racked up the goals against their
demoralised opponents. The front man's return to Development Squad action
was a welcome one for Haycock who believed he could have scored even more.
He told West Ham TV: "We were just laughing about it in the tunnel because
we thought he could have had eight goals today and he probably knows that.
"Elliot's a finisher and he's the type of forward who could miss two easy
chances and still end up with a goal and that's the sign of a good striker.
"The other week against Manchester City he worked hard but didn't have any
chances and sometimes that happens but when he gets chances he takes them."

The striker's first goal came courtesy of some good fortune as his free-kick
deflected off the wall and spiralled into the goal. And Lee must have
thought it was lucky day as some lackadaisical defending allowed him to
notch his second hat-trick of the season. It was not just his goals which
impressed Haycock though, with Lee's application and attitude also catching
the boss's eye. He said: "Elliot looked like he wanted to play today and
that was the pleasing thing for me. "Sometimes you can go up with the first
team and come back down and think it's only a friendly but his attitude was
top class. "I sensed in the warm-up that he was up for it. I can look into
Elliot's eyes and know what I'm going to get from him. He's a very honest
player and he deserved his four goals today."

Haycock and his squad can now look ahead to their return to Barclays
Under-21 Premier League action when they host Norwich at Rush Green on
Friday 4 October. The coach warned that their next opponents will provide a
tough test but also warned Norwich that they will need to be on their game
to stop the Hammers. "Norwich will be a tough test they've got a good
forward line and that will be a good test for our back four which have been
playing well all season.
"Equally they'll have to cope with what we've got and the boys couldn't be
going into it in a better frame of mind. "Our form will only continue if the
standards they set everyday are maintained so next week we won't be thinking
of anything other than working on the things we need to do to become a
really top team."

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Hull 1 West Ham 0
28 September 2013
Last updated at 16:57
By Kevin Darling
BBC Sport

A controversial Robbie Brady penalty put Hull seventh in the Premier League
as West Ham's problems continued. The Irish winger slotted home after Joey
O'Brien was judged to have shoved him, although contact appeared minimal.

Hammer horrors
Since winning their opening game against Cardiff, West Ham have picked up
just two points from a possible 15. They have failed to score an away goal
this season. James Tomkins had a header cleared off the line and Razvan Rat
fired over as the visitors pushed for an equaliser. Hammers boss Sam
Allardyce was further angered when his side, still without an away goal,
were denied a late penalty for a handball. Allardyce cut an animated figure
on the touchline from the moment Brady went down under O'Brien's 11th-minute
challenge after the ball had been lofted into the penalty area - and referee
Kevin Friend stunned the Hammers by pointing to the spot. The Tigers spent
the rest of the game resolutely defending their lead to record their second
straight win.

Steve Bruce's side have 10 points from their first six matches, but Hull
fans have seen this before. After promotion in 2008, they amassed 20 Premier
League points by October before their form slumped. But there is a sense
that with Tom Huddlestone, Jake Livermore and Brady adding extra quality in
midfield, the Tigers might now be better cut out for top-flight football.
Bruce wrote in his programme notes that he and Allardyce have been "mates
for years", but there was little warmth in the West Ham manager's expression
after Brady calmly scored Hull's opener. The Hammers, who had previously
managed only eight shots on target all season, rattled off several attempts
in response but were wasteful in front of goal. Their best effort came from
Tomkins, but Ahmed Elmohamady was in the right place to clear off the line.
The Egyptian then went close himself in a rare Hull attack, but his powerful
header was tipped around the post by West Ham goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen.

The visitors continued to press after the break but found clear chances
harder to come by - and Modibo Maiga toiled without reward up front in the
absence of injured striker Andy Carroll. The Tigers almost doubled their
lead when Livermore fired against the post from the edge of the box - but
the midfielder was then fortunate to see Friend wave away West Ham's appeals
after he appeared to intercept a cross with his arm in the penalty area. The
visitors, who drew 0-0 in their two previous away games this season, chased
an equaliser and full-back Rat struck an effort over the bar. But for all
their possession, the Hammers failed to seriously test Tigers goalkeeper
Allan McGregor, and upcoming games against Tottenham and Manchester City
could deepen their troubles.

Hull manager Steve Bruce: "The big decisions have maybe gone our way but you
can't mask that we created the better chances. "I have seen the handball
from Jake Livermore four or five times and can't see if it was deliberate or
it hit him. "From where the referee was standing and the linesman, they
can't give it. "I've not seen the penalty yet. We might have got the
decisions but were still the better side on the day."

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce: "The referee has given two really poor
decisions. "Brady takes a simulation on a slight contact with Joey O'Brien
when the ball is not near him or the goal. He buys the penalty and the
referee falls for it. "Then Livermore puts his arm out and knocks the ball
for a corner but the referee doesn't see it and doesn't give us a penalty.
"So it's our responsibility for not finishing our chances and the referee's
as well for us losing the game."

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Hull City 1-0 West Ham Utd
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 28th September 2013
By: Staff Writer

Once again the referee was the main talking point after West Ham fell to an
undeserved defeat at the KC Stadium this afternoon. Kevin Friend gave the
home side one of the softest penalties you will ever see before later
denying West Ham a spot kick of their own, despite a blatant hand ball in
the box by Hull's Jake Livermore.

Sam Allardyce will no doubt be spitting feathers after witnessing yet
another inept display by a match official. Incensed after last weekend's
home defeat against Everton by the antics of Lee Mason, he will have been
left furious at today's display.

Friend constantly disrupted play, forgot to implement the 'advantage' rule
on occasions and had the audacity to book Ravel Morrison for complaining
about a dangerous challenge that only missed its intended target due to the
young midfielder's dexterity.

However that shouldn't detract from West Ham's continued and worrying
inability to score away from home. The Hammers are yet to score on the road
this season from visits to Newcastle, Southampton and now Hull - whilst
today's narrow defeat leaves Allardyce's team just one point above the
relegation zone.

That's not to say that West Ham didn't look like scoring today, as has been
the case in recent weeks. United created 18 shots on goal today - six of
which were on target - but simply couldn't find a way through.

The only goal of the game came with just 12 minutes on the clock and arrived
from the penalty spot. Joey O'Brien was stunned to be penalised for a foul
on Robbie Brady that was as soft as they come. As the Irish defender rose
for a header, Brady came across him and fell theatrically to the floor.
Friend pointed to the penalty spot and Brady rose to convert from 12 yards.

West Ham should have been awarded a penlty of their own with 15 minutes
remaining when substitute Ricardo Caz Te's cross clearly struck Livermore's
arm. Not so, according to Friend who signalled for a corner instead.

The defeat leaves West Ham 16th in the Premier League with Five points from
six games. Given the fairly easy ride the Irons have enjoyed to start the
campaign, that will be of major concern for Allardyce and his backroom team
- especially as the next two fixtures are a trip to Tottenham followed by
Manchester City at home.

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Robbie Brady's penalty gives Hull City 1-0 win over West Ham
By Graeme Bailey - Tweet me: @graemebailey. Last Updated: September 28,
2013 8:42pm
SSN

Hull City climbed up to seventh in the Premier League table as Robbie
Brady's first-half penalty gave them a 1-0 win over West Ham. The only goal
arrived after just 12 minutes when Brady went down under Joey O'Brien's
challenge. The former Manchester United man picked up the ball himself and
sent Jussi Jaaskelainen the wrong way to seal all three points for Steve
Bruce's side. Jake Livermore almost made the game safe in the second half
when his shot beat Jaaskelainen but clattered the foot of the post.

Best of the Match:

Man of the Match: A number of candidates from Hull including Huddlestone and
Brady but Abdoulaye Faye was brilliant against his former club.

Effort of the Match: Great driving effort from Jake Livermore cannoned back
off the post, and was very unlucky

Controversy of the Match: Hull's goal came via the penalty spot - and was
seemingly a generous decision.

Talk of the Match: Will West Ham get dragged into relegation trouble?

West Ham had a penalty appeal for handball against Livermore waved away -
but Allan McGregor was barely tested and he combined efforts of Modibo Maiga
and Mladen Petric in attack saw the injured Andy Carroll's stock rise
exponentially such was their toothlessness. For Bruce's Hull the battle for
top-flight survival is well ahead of schedule, with Tom Huddlestone
impressing again in the centre of the park alongside strong showings from
Livermore, Brady and Elmohamady. West Ham were almost gifted an early
opening when Rosenior's weak back pass needed swift attention from
goalkeeper McGregor, as the visitors had the better of the early exchanges.
But then the moment on which the game turned. Elmohamady floated a cross
from wide right in the direction of Brady, who was challenged unnecessarily
by O'Brien. After a moment's consideration referee Kevin Friend pointed to
the spot and Brady gathered himself before sending Jaaskelainen the wrong
way.

The Hammers were playing a more direct game than Hull, though Maiga did
little to inspire confidence. His first sight of goal came after a strong
run through the middle but he shot far too early to worry McGregor. West Ham
were close to levelling from a 23rd-minute corner though, Tomkins getting on
the end of a Matt Jarvis corner only to see his header chested off the line
by Elmohamady. Hull manager Steve Bruce admitted that his side got the run
of the green when they won 1-0 against West Ham. It was close enough for
goal-line technology to be a real benefit and it showed only a fraction of
the ball had crossed.

West Ham's breaks were becoming more frequent, Faye robbing Maiga at the
last minute and Mohamed Diame producing an air-shot from 12 yards following
Jarvis's pinpoint cut-back. But Hull hit back and will have reached
half-time amazed to be just one ahead. Sone Aluko's 34th-minute free-kick
needed an athletic save, then a pair of Brady corners had West Ham begging
for the whistle. Curtis Davies met the first, with Maiga deflecting the
effort up and on to the top of the crossbar. Brady then found Elmohamady
with the follow-up and his header was well saved by Jaaskelainen at the near
post. Sam allardyce admitted he was unhappy with the penalty decisions in
the game following West Ham's 1-0 loss to Hull. The break did not obviously
improve things for the visitors, with a linesman's flag the only thing
denying Aluko just two minutes after the restart.

Response

West Ham responded by attacking the home box with a handful of long balls,
but Faye and Davies were coping well with the aerial examination. Maiga's
afternoon was cut short just before the hour mark when Sam Allardyce sent on
Petric but Hull's own goal-shy striker, Danny Graham, remained in position.
He had a good chance to work the keeper in the 62nd minute when Brady's
free-kick was touched towards him at the far post, but his off-balance shot
was wayward. The game was beginning to open up and when Graham held up the
ball before teeing up the advancing Livermore a second goal seemed on. The
Spurs loanee took a touch before releasing a measured shot only to see it
crash back off the base of the post. Stewart Downing and Ricardo Vaz Te were
given 20 minutes to change the game for West Ham, with Yannick Sagbo offered
marginally less as Graham's replacement. The Hammers were convinced they had
a penalty in the 75th minute, with fervent appeals for a Livermore handball,
but they went in vain. West Ham went forward with plenty of urgency in the
closing minutes but with no final product.

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West Ham boss Sam Allardyce not happy with referee Kevin Friend
By Graeme Bailey - Tweet me: @graemebailey | Last Updated: September 28,
2013 8:44pm
SSN

Sam Allardyce slammed West Ham's missed chances in their 1-0 loss at Hull
City but was adamant referee Kevin Friend cost his side at the KC Stadium.
The big moment of Saturday's Premier League match came 12 minutes in when
Robbie Brady went down under Joey O'Brien's challenge and won a penalty,
which he dispatched. West Ham were denied their own spot-kick when the ball
struck Jake Livermore on the arm in the second half, and Allardyce was not
pleased. "I don't think you can create as many chances as that away from
home, but finishing off is a big problem for us today," said Allardyce. "But
I think the ultimate failing away from home is turning our chances into
goals and again that was our failing that cost us getting something out of
the game, irrespective of the referee's poor decisions. "He has given two
really poor decisions, two penalty decisions - but we should still have got
something out of the game and that is the disappointing thing. It has
happened at Newcastle, at Southampton and again here today and it is their
responsibility to be more clinical in front of goal."

Major decisions

Allardyce believes his side were denied by Friend over the two penalty
decisions and he believes Brady used 'simulation' to win the spot kick.
"They are major decisions. Brady takes a simulation on a slight contact with
Joey O'Brien when the ball is not going near him and he buys the penalty and
the referee falls for it," he continued. "And Livermore puts his arm out for
a corner but the referee doesn't see it and doesn't give us a penalty - it's
our responsibility for not finishing chances, and the referee is responsible
too for losing us the game."

Allardyce admitted he had talked to the officials, adding: "That is between
him and me, now it goes through the delegate and seeing what they think and
I will be following that up."

Allardyce insists that his side could and should have got something from the
game and he refused to blame their tactics, despite the fact they have
failed to score away from home this season. "The bottom line is not as if we
have gone away and not created chances," he said. "We have gone away and
created numerous chances, but for whatever reason at the moment, they are
not going in the back of the net."

He feels not getting something at Hull is a huge blow given their next two
games are against Tottenham and Manchester City. "We needed to get something
out of the game and pick up more points," he said. "You always try to pick
up at least one point per game and now we have fallen behind - six games,
and only five points. Two big games come now against Tottenham and
Manchester City - but none bigger than this. "If we play well today, we get
something out of it. We could play our very best in the next two games and
not get anything but we have to take it on the chin and try and get
something out of the games against Spurs and Manchester City."

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England calling-up Ravel Morrison now West Ham's former Man United bad-boy
has cleaned up his act
28 Sep 2013 22:31
The Mirror

Ravel Morrison is set to receive his reward for his rehabilitation with a
call-up to the England Under-21 team. England's emerging stars play San
Marino and Lithuania next month. After the disappointing 1-1 draw in Finland
three weeks ago, new Under-21 coach Gareth Southgate is considering adding
­Morrison's match-winning ability to his squad. The 20-year-old West Ham
midfielder was rated among the most exciting talents in the country in his
early days in the Manchester United youth team. But a series of off-field
incidents led to Sir Alex Ferguson selling him to the Hammers two years ago.
Fergie became exasperated with Morrison's off-field antics, which included a
court appearances and a £7,000 fine from the FA for a homophobic remark on
Twitter. Morrison had also admitted two counts of witness intimidation and
was convicted of criminal damage. West Ham manager Sam Allardyce decided
that Morrison was worth another chance. He paid United £650,000 for Morrison
in January 2011, and then loaned him to Birmingham last term where he played
a full season in the Championship. Morrison returned to Upton Park for
pre-season and Allardyce liked his positive attitide. He took Morrison on
the club's tour of Germany and the youngster made a good impression.
Morrison was called into first-team action against Cheltenham in the Capital
One Cup and then started in the 0-0 draw against Southampton in the league.
Allardyce stuck with him for the 3-2 defeat against Everton six days later,
but England manager Roy Hodgson was at Upton Park to see Morrison score his
first Premier League goal. Morrison did well as the playmaker of the team in
the absence of Joe Cole, and he played even better against Cardiff in a 3-2
Capital One Cup win over Cardiff last Tuesday. Hodgson looks certain to
recommend to Under-21 coach Southgate that he include Morrison for the
qualifiers next month.

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Downing eager 'to put things right'
WHUFC.com
Stewart Downing is back in action and determined to help West Ham United to
turn things around
29.09.2013

Stewart Downing says there is more than enough experience in the West Ham
United dressing room to arrest the recent slide in results. Downing returned
to action following a dead leg in Saturday's 1-0 Barclays Premier League
loss at Hull City, but could not prevent the Hammers from falling to a
controversial defeat. Hull won through Robbie Brady's disputed 12th-minute
penalty - a spot-kick awarded after the Irishman flung himself to the ground
after coming into contact with fellow countryman Joey O'Brien. West Ham's
frustration was compounded when referee Kevin Friend failed to award the
visitors a penalty when Jake Livermore handled inside the Hull box. Downing,
though, is adamant that Sam Allardyce's squad will ignore the pressure and
turn things around - starting by going for a victory at Tottenham Hotspur on
Sunday. "Especially when we're not winning games at the minute, I just
wanted to get out there and help the lads," said the No23. "We've had a few
injuries so it was just nice to be back. "I was obviously disappointed we
didn't get the result because we had plenty of chances and plenty of
opportunities to get the goal. That's just our luck at the minute, but we
have got to put things right."

The likes of Downing, captain Kevin Nolan and goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen
have amassed hundreds of Premier League games between them and the England
winger believes their experience will be invaluable in helping the Hammers
to return to the winners' enclosure. "There will be a lot of people saying
'They've lost games' and you get the media outside saying 'Look at them,
they're struggling' and looking at the negatives, but inside we have to keep
doing what we're doing, which is creating chances. "We've proved we can beat
the best and we can do again. We're just having a little sticky spell. The
pleasing thing is that we're creating chances. It would be even worse if we
weren't, but we are. "Hopefully, sooner rather than later we'll get some
more players back and we'll get some wins."

Downing and his team-mates were left frustrated and upset by the decisions
that awarded Hull a penalty and denied West Ham a spot-kick of their own.
"Especially the one we didn't get given because I was near it and I had a
great view of it and I think he (Livermore) handballed it. "I think we're
being a little bit unlucky at the minute with free-kicks going against us in
certain areas and in the penalty box. "With their penalty, I'm not sure if
it was one or not, but Joey reckons he (Brady) jumped into him. That's the
way it is at the minute but nobody is sulking and we're determined to turn
it around."

The perfect place to turn it around would be White Hart Lane, where 3,000
West Ham fans will be desperate to see the team secure victory over their
London derby rivals. With Manchester United and Manchester City both
suffering shock defeats at the weekend, Downing knows the Hammers could
easily be the next team to surprise a member of the Barclays Premier
League's top six. "It's going to be a challenge but we go there and we'll
have a go at them. Obviously, they'll expect to win with what they are
challenging for, but we're getting players back fit and we have a chance to
win it like we had chances at Hull on Saturday. "You saw what can happen in
this league with Man City losing to Cardiff, beating Manchester United and
losing at Aston Villa on Saturday. "That's the type of league it is - we
could easily go to Spurs and come away with a win."

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