Daily WHUFC News - 24th August 2017

West Ham United safely negotiate Cheltenham trip
WHUFC.com

West Ham United safely negotiated their first hurdle of their Carabao Cup
quest by overcoming Cheltenham Town 2-0 in the second round on Wednesday
evening.
The Hammers rode a steady race in the town which hosts the annual National
Hunt festival, hitting the front just before the halfway mark and keeping
their noses comfortably in front in the final furlongs. Diafra Sakho and
Andre Ayew were the goalscorers at Whaddon Road, each netting within the
space of three minutes just before half-time with identikit finishes into
the bottom left-hand corner. As you might have predicted, League Two
Cheltenham were full of energy and purpose in the opening half-hour, winning
a number of corners and pumping dangerous high balls into the West Ham
penalty area. With birthday boy James Collins imperious on his 200th
appearance for the Club, though, the Robins were unable to seriously
threaten Adrian's goal. On the half-hour mark, West Ham finally began to
take control of proceedings, with Angelo Ogbonna seeing his header cleared
off the line by home captain Kyle Storer, before Sakho's first-time shot
from Ayew's low cross was well saved by Jonathan Flatt. Ten minutes later,
it was 1-0 to the Hammers as Mark Noble found Sakho just inside the penalty
area, the No15 span and sent an accurate left-foot shot across Flatt and
into the corner of the net. And within 180 seconds it was 2-0 West Ham as
Sakho turned provider for Ghana star Ayew, who latched onto his through ball
and smartly placed his shot across the advancing Flatt.

West Ham were comfortable in the early part of the second half and could
have extended their lead through Sakho's deflected shot, Collins' header or
Arthur Masuaku's mazy run, but Cheltenham held firm and began to create
chances of their own. Leading scorer Mohamed Eisa saw a shot blocked by
Collins before substitute Kevin Dawson fired straight at Adrian, then the
Robins went within inches of halving their deficit when Jamie Grimes' low
cross somehow eluded the sliding Dan Holman at the far post. Amid the
Cheltenham resurgence, Slaven Bilic sent on two replacements himself in
Chicharito and Cheikhou Kouyate, with the latter making his first appearance
of the season after recovering from a long-standing wrist injury. West Ham
did create a couple of half-chances in the closing stages through Sam
Byram's shot and Pedro Obiang's wayward header but, by then, the race was
all but run. There was still time for Bilic to introduce Portuguese
17-year-old Domingos Quina for his first senior appearance since August 2016
– and first in domestic competition. The Hammers will now eagerly await the
third round draw, which will take place in China at the inconvenient hour of
4.15am on Thursday morning!

Cheltenham Town: Flatt, Grimes, Cranston, Atangana, Storer ©, Pell, Wright
(Graham 64), Winchester, Boyle (Dawson 46), Eisa (Holman 71), Forster
Subs not used: Lovett (GK), O'Shaughnessy, Bower, Thomas

West Ham United: Adrian, Byram, Collins, Ogbonna, Masuaku, Obiang, Rice,
Noble © (Kouyate 73), Fernandes (Quina 88), Ayew, Sakho (Chicharito 64)
Subs not used: Hart (GK), Cresswell, Fonte, Haksabanovic

Goals: Sakho 40, Ayew 43

Attendance: 6,259 (1,094 from West Ham United)
Referee: Oliver Langford

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Bilic: Carabao Cup victory with give Hammers confidence
WHUFC.com

Slaven Bilic says West Ham United's 2-0 Carabao Cup second round win over
Cheltenham Town will give his squad confidence for Premier League challenges
ahead. The Hammers boss named a strong team at Whaddon Road on Wednesday,
with all eleven starters having Premier League experience and full
internationals Cheikhou Kouyate and Chicharito being introduced from the
substitutes' bench. After an even opening half-hour, it was West Ham's two
strikers who settled matters, with Diafra Sakho and Andre Ayew netting
within three minutes just before half-time. In the second half, the League
Two side briefly threatened, but the Premier Leaguers were full value for
their victory. "It wasn't easy but we didn't expect it to be easy," Bilic
said, before explaining that the win would give his squad a boost after
losing their opening two top-flight fixtures. "It doesn't matter which team
you are playing, it affects your confidence and the atmosphere on the
training ground and in the dressing room if you lose, so it's always nice to
win. "Nothing can give you confidence like a win. We won 2-0 and had a good
game by a team and a lot of individuals, we kept a clean sheet and are
through to the next round. "Like every defeat harms your confidence a little
bit, this one will help us in our preparation for our game against
Newcastle. "Our goals were well-taken, definitely, and that's the difference
in the class. We had a couple of chances at the end of the first half and
that's about the strikers taking their chances."

While some Premier League managers opted to rest senior players and paid the
price, including Saturday's opponents Newcastle United, who lost at home to
Nottingham Forest on Wednesday, Bilic was rewarded for taking the Carabao
Cup seriously. Now, with the first hurdle safely negotiated in the town
which hosts an annual National Hunt festival, the Croatian is taking aim at
a long run in the tournament. "It's not a cliché but we are really big-time
serious about this competition, which is why we put a strong team out," he
confirmed. "The only player who we were resting who was 100 per cent fit was
Pablo Zabaleta, but only because Sam Byram is also a regular player for us.
"We put a strong team out and we treated this game and this competition as
one we really must win. We wanted to progress and we want to go very, very
far, if possible to the end."

If West Ham are to flourish, both in the Carabao Cup and in the Premier
League, then the fit-again Sakho's goals could prove very important. "We
know Diafra Sakho's strengths and all that, and it wasn't that he did not
score last season, but rather that he did not play [due to a back injury],"
said the manager. "We know his problem last season was that he played only
four games so hopefully he's going to stay long-term fit and that would be a
big, big boost for us."

The Carabao Cup third-round draw will take place at 4.15am on Thursday 24
August, with coverage appearing on whufc.com and across the Club's official
social media channels.

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WED, 23 AUG 2017EFL CUP
Cheltenham Town 0-2 West Ham United
Sakho (40' minutes), A Ayew (43' minutes)
By Tom Garry
BBC Sport at LCI Rail Stadium


West Ham earned their first win of the season as they saw off Cheltenham
Town in the EFL Cup second round. After the League Two side's bright start,
two quick goals from Diafra Sakho and Andre Ayew gave the Premier League
side control before half-time. Sakho slotted in his first goal since
November from Sam Byram's pass, before Ayew tucked into the same bottom
corner moments later. The hosts went close via Harry Pell's volley and
Jordon Forster's header. James Collins and Byram both could have added
further goals for the visitors, who made seven changes following top-flight
losses at Manchester United and Southampton. The best moment for Cheltenham,
who were unchanged from Saturday's 3-0 league defeat by Carlisle, came with
Pell's low volley across goal, but onrushing substitute Dan Holman could not
quite get the required touch as he slid in at the far post. The two sides'
only previous meeting came at the same stage of this competition four years
ago, resulting in a narrow 2-1 win for Hammers at their old home Upton Park.
The fourth-tier side performed respectfully again on Wednesday, but did not
sufficiently test Hammers goalkeeper Adrian. Slaven Bilic's side could have
won by a greater margin, but Robins captain Kyle Storer cleared Angelo
Ogbonna's fierce header off the line in the first half and, moments later,
keeper Jonathan Flatt did well to stop Sakho turning in Ayew's low cross.

Cheltenham's exit ended League Two's representation in the EFL Cup before
Thursday's third-round draw.

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Cheltenham Town 0-2 West Ham United
KUMB.com
Filed: Wednesday, 23rd August 2017
By: Staff Writer #3

United are through to the third round of the EFL Cup following a 2-0 away
win at Cheltenham. Goals from Diafra Sakho and Andre Ayew in a three minute
spell just prior to the break were enough to ensure The Irons' presence in
the next round. There were question marks over the goalkeeping for both
goals as Robins' custodian Flett appeared to go down too slowly to keep out
Sakho's slightly scuffed effort, whilst the 'keeper showed too much of the
goal to Ayew who had latched on to Sakho's pass, enabling the Hammers' no.20
to pass the ball into the far corner.
The home side had their moments in the second period and had a good shout
for a penalty when Eisa nutmegged Masuaku on the edge of the box. There was
some debate as to whether contact had been made inside or outside the box
but the location of the incident proved academic as referee Langford waved
play on.
Man of the match and birthday boy James Collins almost crowned his 34th
birthday with a header that was deflected over, whilst Ayew and Byram also
went close for the visitors.
However, the closest either side went to adding to the goal tally came with
15 minutes to go when Pell's shot-cum-cross across the face of the goal just
eluded Holman's desperate slide in at the far post. That was about as good
as it got for a Robins side who, for all their hard work probably just
lacked the quality in the final third that might have seen them gain some
reward for their efforts. So it's United who now await news of the draw for
the third round, which for unfathomable reasons best known to the
authorities will be taking place in Beijing at 4:15am UK time.

We'll bring news of the draw later in the morning.

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Cheltenham 0-2 West Ham: Hammers strikers the difference
By Will Unwin
Last Updated: 23/08/17 10:26pm
SSN

Goals from Diafra Sakho and Andre Ayew were enough to send West Ham through
to the Carabao Cup third round with a 2-0 win at Cheltenham on Wednesday.
The Sky Bet League Two side had plenty of the ball in the opening exchanges
but were made to suffer when West Ham found their feet thanks to two quick
goals just before the break. Sakho opened the scoring with a scuffed shot
from the edge of the area, before Ayew doubled the lead a couple of minutes
later as he calmly slotted the ball into the corner from a tight angle. The
hosts had a shout for a penalty turned down in the second half when Mo Eisa
was bundled over by Arthur Masuaku, but West Ham were otherwise untroubled
as they progressed to the next round. Cheltenham held their own for long
periods of the first half but were unable to make their attacks count, as
James Collins and Angelo Ogbonna repelled the plethora of long balls sent
into the final third, denying the hosts any clear-cut chances. Collins,
celebrating his 34th birthday, was the rock that ensured West Ham would not
succumb to a shock at Whaddon Road as he nullified all the threats
Cheltenham could muster. After an underwhelming start to the game, West Ham
went ahead in the 40th minute. A neat pass from Mark Noble found its way to
Sakho on the edge of the area, allowing the striker to spin into the area
and scuff a shot beyond a despairing Jonathan Flatt who could only watch the
ball trickle into the corner. Having opened the scoring, West Ham lost their
nervous aura, and doubled their lead three minutes later as Sakho turned
provider by laying the ball off to Ayew in the box, with the Ghanaian taking
advantage of Flatt's poor positioning to send the ball across the goalkeeper
into the bottom corner.

Player ratings
Cheltenham: Flatt (5), Grimes (6), Cranston (7), Storer (7), Atangana (6),
Pell (70, Wright (6), Winchester (6), Boyle (6), Eisa (7), Foster (6)
Subs: Dawson (6), Graham (6), Holman (6)

West Ham: Adrian (6), Byram (6), Ogbonna (7), Collins (8), Masuaka (6),
Noble (7), Rice (7), Obiang (7), Fernandes (7), Ayew (7), Sakho (7)
Subs: Hernandez (6), Kouyate (6), Quina (6)

Man of the match: James Collins

Cheltenham will feel hard done by, as they did not get awarded a penalty
when the lively Mo Eisa was pushed over in the area by Arthur Masuaku, which
could have turned the tide. The hosts kept going to end but could not
provide the penetration required to get back into the game, as West Ham saw
out the closing stages with minimal fuss.

Team news

West Ham made a number of changes from the weekend's loss to Southampton,
bringing in Adrian in goal for Joe Hart, after he received criticism for his
performance at Southampton. Sam Byram was also given a chance to show what
he can do in place of the experienced Pablo Zabaleta. Diafra Sakho was given
an outing, too.

Man of the Match: James Collins
The Welsh centre-back celebrated his 200th Hammers appearance with an
impressive display at the back. Up against the robust Danny Wright, the West
Ham defender dealt with everything sent his way, as Cheltenham hit a number
of high balls into the box, but none troubled Collins. If it wasn't for the
experience of Collins, things could have been far worse for the visitors, as
he controlled the back four and refused to be bullied by the opposing
forwards, who had their moments, especially Eisa as he caused a few problems
with his cunning and pace.

What next?

Cheltenham have another home game at the weekend when they host Exeter in
Sky Bet League Two.

West Ham travel to Newcastle in the hope they can pick up their first points
of the season when they face Rafa Benitez's side, who are also pointless in
the Premier League.

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