'We will keep fighting' (WHU O/S)
The manager is determined his team will battle on in the hunt for
Barclays Premier League safety
Avram Grant has said West Ham United will fight on for Barclays Premier
League survival despite the disappointment of a 2-1 home defeat by Aston
Villa.
The Hammers, without Scott Parker because of his achilles tendonitis
problem, made the perfect start with Robbie Keane's second-minute goal.
However, after referee Mark Halsey waved away penalty appeals when
Carlton Cole and last man Richard Dunne collided, the tide turned slowly
but surely in the visitors' favour.
An early injury for Manu da Costa was compounded when the team failed to
clear when given the opportunity under some fierce Villa pressure on 36
minutes, and Darren Bent was able to head past Robert Green.
An edgy second half was settled by Gabriel Agbonlahor's last-gasp
winner, although Grant felt there was a shove on Danny Gabbidon - Da
Costa's replacement - in the build-up. By then, the home side were also
without Gary O'Neil, who was carried off on a stretcher after a heavy
challenge.
Grant, whose team are now two points adrift of safety, said: "We made a
very good start. We started like we wanted to. We scored one goal and
then I think it was a penalty for us [on Cole] and a red card for them.
We made a mistake which cost us and the second half was a game that both
teams could win.
"We had chances, they had chances but they scored in the last minute. I
think it was a foul on Gabbidon by Agbonlahor. We are very disappointed."
The manager admitted "it was not easy to lose a player like Parker", and
said the injuries to Da Costa and O'Neil had also affected his
intentions having also had to deal with James Tomkins picking up a knock
in training at the end of the week. He had thrown on Demba Ba and Zavon
Hines in the second half, but Villa stood firm.
"We have to see [with the injured players]. We don't have any intention
to give up. We will fight. I think we need nine points more or less to
stay in the league. It will be difficult but it is not impossible."
Having seen his team compete with the likes of a resurgent Liverpool and
Tottenham Hotspur in recent weeks, the manager refused to write off the
away matches to come at Chelsea and Manchester City.
"We have won against big teams this season so we can do it. We need to
deal with the situation. We had been on a good run since January and we
need to get back to that. We need to be strong and we will be strong."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham Utd 1 Aston Villa 2 (KUMB)
Filed: Saturday, 16th April 2011
West Ham's chances of avoiding the drop look bleak after they were
beaten 2-1 at home by fellow strugglers Aston Villa today.
With just five games of the season left to play - and with trips to
Chelsea and Manchester City next up - Avram Grant's side find themselves
second from bottom of the table after a late winner from substitute
Gabby Agbonlahor secured all three points for the visitors.
For the second successive home game, the Hammers threw away an early
lead to end up with nothing. Last time out against Manchester United a
two goal advantage was squandered; today it was just one - but the
manner in which it was lost will cause huge concern as the Hammers
simply failed to turn up.
Despite the eventual outcome, the game couldn't have begun in more
promising fashion for the Hammers. It was they who drew first blood just
two minutes in through Robbie Keane, who turned the ball home from the
edge of the six-yard box to give his side an early lead.
Villa's claims of offside were correctly waved away by stand-in referee
Mark Halsey, who noticed Ashley Young playing the Irish striker onside.
Unfortunately Halsey was rather less accurate on 16 minutes when a
Richard Dunne barge sent Carlton Cole crashing to the floor on the
perimeter of the 18-yard box.
The official opted to allow play to continue, much to the relief of
Villa centre-half Dunne who would surely have had to go otherwise, given
his position as 'last man'.
With 24 minutes played, Halsey attoned for his earlier error somewhat by
ruling out an apparently perfectly legal effort by Marcus Bent; the
former Ipswich striker being penalised for a push on Lars Jacobsen which
few other than Halsey spotted.
As the half wore on Villa began to take a stranglehold on the game and
it was therefore no surprise when the equaliser finally arrived nine
minutes from the break.
Mark Noble will no doubt have been the recipient of the proverbial
earful in the dressing room for losing the ball inside his own penalty
box courtesy of a strong challenge from the restored-to-the-team Emile
Heskey.
The resulting loose ball was duly delivered to the back stick where
danger man Bent was on hand to divert the centre into the back of Rob
Green's net.
The second half followed a similar pattern to the first with Villa
virtually in full control - a worrying spectacle for Hammers fans given
the neccesity of a professional, point-yielding performance today.
Time after time Rob Green had to be alert to deny Villa from taking the
lead - but there was nothing he could do to prevent Agbonlahor from
nodding home the winner in the first minute of added on time (the vast
majority of which was the result of an injury to Gary O'Neil, who sadly
left the field on a stretcher).
Seconds after Green was forced into yet another smart save, pushing away
a fiercely-struck Downing effort, he was picking the ball out of the net
as the substitute converted the resulting cross.
Whilst the win virtually guarantees Villa another season in the Premier
League it leaves West Ham in dire straits, two points from safety and
with just two home games left to play.
But whilst it looks as if the Hammers are heading for the Championship -
given their position and the worrying lack of effort today, in such an
important fixture - they remain within one win of safety thanks to the
remainder of today's results which largely went United's way.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Hammers feeling strain: Grant
NewsNow
Avram Grant has conceded the strain of West Ham United's ongoing
relegation battle got the better of the Hammers against Aston Villa on
Saturday.On-loan striker Robbie Kean was on hand to put the Hammers
ahead in just the second minute at Upton Park, but Villa were the better
side for much of the match and gradually worked their way to a 2-1 win.
Darren Bent restored parity in the 37th minute and substitute Gabriel
Agbonlahor snatched a last-gasp winner in stoppage time, leaving West
Ham inside the drop zone and pulling Villa seven points clear.
Grant admitted he felt his side had played themselves out of the match
after conceding Bent's equaliser.
"I think we were a bit nervous," Grant told Sky Sports.
"When you are at the bottom it can knock your confidence a bit. But I
can assure you we want to win every game. Sometimes the confidence isn't
what you want and you can get results like this."
Asked if morale at Upton Park had taken a further dent, Grant said: "I
cannot say that isn't true, but there are five games to go and we need
to look at winning those games."
"It will be difficult, but it is possible and we believe we can do it."
"We started the game very well and were winning 1-0. There was then a
penalty for us and a red card to (Richard) Dunne which wasn't given and
they scored from a big mistake from us. It was very disappointing."
Villa boss Gerard Houllier was delighted to have reached the traditional
safety target of 40 points, and praised Agbonlahor for his match-winning
turn after being brought on for Emile Heskey.
"We played well and we created chances to win it," Houllier said.
"We were resilient and right up to the end we played to win the game."
"I am pleased that the player who came on (Agbonlahor) was rewarded
because he had the right attitude and the substitution was extremely
beneficial."
"I am very proud of what we are doing at the moment. There are signs of
progress and everyone seems to be pulling in the same direction."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Agbonlahor increases anguish for Hammers
West Ham United 1 Aston Villa 2: Villa reach comfort zone but three
successive defeats leave Grant on brink
Aston Villa reached the traditional target for Premier League safety of
40 points yesterday, moving eight points clear of West Ham, whose brief
resurgence is beginning to fade into memory. Although Gabriel
Agbonlahor's winner came as the match moved into injury time, Villa were
well worth their victory. They gave away an early goal, scored by Robbie
Keane, and although they were gifted Darren Bent's equaliser after 36
minutes, they dominated the second half, forcing a series of saves from
Robert Green.
Ashley Young was almost unplayable, and his alertness was behind both
the goals that edged Villa into the top half of the table. West Ham, in
contrast, dropped a place to 19th thanks to Wigan's victory at
Blackpool, and looked bereft of all inspiration in the absence through
injury of Scott Parker. After a five-match unbeaten run in February and
March, this was West Ham's third successive defeat, and with visits to
Chelsea and Manchester City next on their schedule, it was a must-win
game that they seldom looked like winning. "It was crucial and the
players know it," Avram Grant, their manager, admitted.
They complete their fixtures with a trio of six-pointers against
Blackburn, Wigan and Sunderland, for which Parker is expected to have
recovered from an achilles problem, but by the time they begin that
sequence they could be well adrift. "We have been here since the
beginning of the season," Grant said. "We need to be strong. It will be
difficult but I still believe it's possible."
Villa have showed as much by taking seven points from three matches
since well-publicised dressing-room unrest threatened to derail their
season. "When you're in danger you can't have egos in the team, you have
to work for each other," the Villa manager Gérard Houllier said. "We
went for the win from the first minute."
Unfortunately, they were behind after only two, leaving Keane onside and
unmarked to bring down Thomas Hitzlsperger's forward header, swivel and
rifle the ball past Brad Friedel from six yards with his left foot. It
was his second goal in an injury-marred three months with the club and
his first at Upton Park.
Buoyed by their lead, West Ham started to play with confidence. Keane
slipped Carlton Cole through for a shot that was blocked, and Richard
Dunne got away with a shove on Cole that could have resulted in a red
card as both chased a bouncing pass into the Villa penalty area. But
West Ham were fortunate when Bent was ruled to have pushed Lars Jacobsen
before heading home Stewart Downing's clever cross.
Now it was Villa pressing forward with conviction, but when they
equalised it was thanks to an elementary error by West Ham's Mark Noble,
who tried to beat Emile Heskey in his own penalty area and lost the
ball. Ashley Young seized on it, fed Luke Young, and his cross from the
left found Bent, who escaped the dozing Wayne Bridge to glance his
header past Green.
The second half belonged entirely to Villa. Green blocked Bent's angled
shot, and flung himself to his left to a fingertip aside a curling shot
by Ashley Young bound for the far corner. Bent fluffed his best chance,
powder-puffing a shot into Green's hands after Kyle Walker had run
almost the length of the field and crossed low to the feet of the
England forward.
But Villa were stretching the West Ham defence close to breaking point,
playing with a swagger that made their late winner seem inevitable,
although Cole lobbed a good chance wide five minutes from time. Lack of
concentration once again cost West Ham dear. Green did well to parry a
shot from Downing, but nobody moved to prevent Young collecting the
loose ball and crossing for substitute Agbonlahor to push West Ham
substitute Danny Gabbidon out of the way and head in.
Attendance: 34,672
Referee: Mark Halsey
Man of the match: A Young
Match rating: 6/1
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment