WHUFC.com
The U18s were beaten 6-1 in the FA Premier Academy League at Little Heath on
Saturday
17.03.2012
Academy Director Tony Carr admitted West Ham United Under-18s had not been
good enough after they suffered a 6-1 FA Premier Academy League defeat by
Reading on Saturday. The Royals scored five second-half goals as the young
Hammers were soundly beaten at Little Heath, with only Kieran Sadlier's late
goal providing any sort of consolation. West Ham were still in the game at
half-time, when they trailed 1-0, but Carr admitted defensive errors and a
lack of application had cost the team dear after the break. "It's a long
time since a West Ham youth team has been beaten 6-1 and I hope it will be a
long time until it happens again," said Carr. "The bottom line is that our
performance was just unacceptable. "It was a bit of a disaster, to be
honest. We started the game quite brightly and Elliot Lee hit the post with
a free-kick but they broke off us a short time later and took the lead. We
were 1-0 down at half-time and I thought we'd had the same amount of chances
as them, if not more. "We started quite well again after the break, but as
soon as they got their second goal, we threw the towel in. They scored three
quick goals in a 15-minute spell and then added a sixth. We stopped playing
and, defensively, we made too many errors. "Kieran did score a good goal for
us late on with a great shot, but we ended up being soundly beaten and we're
not proud of it. We're very disappointed because we don't like losing. It
was one of those games where the wheels came off, if you like."
Carr and U18s coach Nick Haycock called upon a relatively inexperienced
side, with first-year scholars Sadlier, Sam Baxter, Josh Siafa, Frazer Shaw,
Leo Chambers and Elliot Lee being joined in the starting XI by schoolboys
Amos Nasha and Kieran Bywater. "Some of the older lads may have earned their
professional contracts, but this result proves 100 per cent that there is
still plenty of work to be done," said the Academy Director. "They were
older than us and physically stronger and that showed in the end."
West Ham United U18s: Baxter, Siafa, Shaw, Chambers (Boakye-Yiadom), Nasha,
Hurley, Powell (Turgott), Bywater, Sadlier, Fanimo, E.Lee (Miles)
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Late leveller pleases Big Sam
WHUFC.com
Danny Collins late goal sealed a creditable draw away at Leeds United on
Saturday
17.03.2012
West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce praised his side's character after
Danny Collins' late header rescued a point at Leeds United on Saturday
afternoon. The central defender marked his full debut with the equaliser in
a 1-1 draw as the Hammers extended their unbeaten run to eight npower
Championship games. The home side had taken the lead with just seven to go
when Luciano Becchio reacted quickest to scramble a rebound over the line
from three yards. The Hammers hit back, though, when Collins planted a firm
header into the net from a Mark Noble corner with 90 minutes on the clock.
Big Sam's side were supported superbly throughout by 5,000 travelling fans,
who more than contributed to a fantastic atmosphere inside a sell-out Elland
Road. "Our fans matched a full house from Leeds. It spurred us on and we
have retrieved a point in the dying embers of the game," Big Sam said.
"We've earned the right to play in a difficult arena with fantastic support
from both sets of fans. "We did get a good goal back but it only got us back
to a draw. We had missed out on scoring a goal before half-time when we had
three good corners. We weren't putting ourselves in the position that we
should have done before the goal we scored. Abdoulaye Faye had a similar one
in the second half so I was a bit disappointed."
The Hammers had a good shout for a penalty for handball against Michael
Brown turned down in the first half and several other half-chances were
passed up during the match. Carlton Cole headed over and Nicky Maynard was
only marginally beaten to a Matt Taylor through-ball by Leeds goalkeeper
Andy Lonergan.
"For the penalty decision, the referee thought it was accidental but when a
player runs at the ball with his hands up and it hits his arms then it's
intentional. When you're running to close the ball down you should have your
hands by your side and of course we have to wait for the referee to get one
that goes for us. "It's not a clear-cut chance but we did have some really
good chances. Gary O'Neil's had a chance at the far post, Carlton Cole's
header goes just over and then Nicky Maynard was through one-on-one as well,
the keeper comes out and instead of the rebound dropping to us, it drops to
them."
West Ham will now have to quickly move their thoughts to Tuesday night's
home game with Middlesbrough. James Tomkins' forced substitution at half
time with a calf injury is likely to mean Big Sam may have to delve yet
further into his squad, with Ravel Morrison, who made his debut at Elland
Road, in the running to come in.
"When the game goes into the final few minutes after they had managed to
score, you're obviously looking at defeat which you don't deserve. We came
back to score which gets us the point that we richly deserved. "In terms of
the other chances we created, we couldn't find the finish to get us in
front. If we'd done that then we might have won. We were in danger of losing
it but we didn't. It was another draw but let's go and look at Tuesday
night's game and get three points from there and get back to winning ways."
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Danny delighted with debut goal
WHUFC.com
Danny Collins was all smiles after marking his full debut with a late
equaliser at Leeds United
18.03.2012
It did not take Danny Collins long to win hero status with West Ham United's
supporters. The on-loan Stoke City defender marked his full debut by
powering home a 90th-minute header to earn the Hammers a share of the spoils
from Saturday's 1-1 npower Championship draw at Leeds United. Collins'
intervention from Mark Noble's left-wing corner came just seven minutes
after Luciano Becchio had nodded Leeds into the lead and seemingly condemn
the Hammers to their first defeat in eight matches. "I'm obviously delighted
with the goal to get us back to level terms after it looked like we would
lose the game when they scored so late on themselves," the No25 told West
Ham TV. "Overall, I thought we coped pretty well with them. Myself and Abby
[Abdoulaye Faye] did pretty well and they didn't have too many chances.
"Their goal was a bit of a scruffy one because Greeny has made a good save
and pushed it away, their lad has headed it against the bar and it's dropped
down [to Becchio]. "We battled on and got the ball down the other end and I
managed to pop up with a scruffy goal of my own with a header that I think
bounced in off my shoulder!"
Collins said he has settled in quickly at West Ham, helped by the fact he
played alongside former Stoke team-mate Faye on his full debut at Elland
Road. The only negative aspect from the weekend was the fact both leaders
Southampton and second-place Reading won on the road at Millwall and
Barnsley respectively.
"West Ham are up the top of the league and they've played some good football
from the games I have seen on the telly and stuff. "I've come in and the
lads like to get it down and play some good football. Although we didn't
create too many chances on Saturday, we did have some good possession at
times. We've just got to try to create a bit more. "We'll take a point
because Leeds is a difficult place to come and they were coming off a great
result [a 2-0 victory] up at Middlesbrough. Overall, we've got to be pretty
pleased with a point, even though the two teams above us picked up three
points. "I've played with Abby before up at Stoke and he's a big tank, isn't
he! He wins everything in the air and reads the game well and is a good lad
to play alongside."
Collins was also quick to praise the support given to the Hammers by the
3,500 travelling fans who made their way from all corners of the UK, and
further afield, to Elland Road. "There was a full house from what I could
see and there was a great atmosphere. I think a few battles in the second
half set the place up. "Our fans brought a great following and got behind
us. Although we haven't played as well as we have in previous weeks, we have
battled and come away with a point."
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Leeds United 1 West Ham 1
17 March 2012
BBC.co.uk
Danny Collins scored a last-minute equaliser as West Ham salvaged a point in
a frantic finale at Leeds. The Whites broke the deadlock in a dour game
through Luciano Becchio's close-range header seven minutes from time. But
on-loan defender Collins, making his first start since joining from Stoke,
nodded home Mark Noble's corner. The late strike extends West Ham's unbeaten
run to eight matches but Sam Allardyce's side lose ground on the
Championship top two. Results elsewhere meant neither manager at Elland Road
could be especially pleased with the result of a much-hyped contest that
failed to live up to expectations. Victories for Southampton and Reading
leave West Ham three points below the automatic promotion places, while
Leeds stay 10th with only an outside chance of making the play-offs. Elland
Road's first full house of the season was the arena for a tantalising clash
between the division's two biggest sides, but the game failed to spark in
the early stages. Nicky Maynard wasted the first half's only genuine chance
when his heavy touch allowed Leeds goalkeeper Andy Lonergan to smother the
ball at his feet. The Hammers then had penalty appeals turned down after the
ball appeared to strike Michael Brown's hand in the box. The visitors
continued to look the stronger side after the break, with substitute Carlton
Cole causing the Leeds defence problems, and the former England striker
arched a header just over the bar from a Noble free-kick. Robert Green was
then forced to make his first save in the 70th minute when he showed
terrific reactions to turn away a Paul Connolly header.
Connolly was involved again as Leeds fashioned an opening goal with 83
minutes on the clock. When Robert Snodgrass crossed to the back post,
Connolly headed against the bar and the ball fell to Becchio who nodded
home. But the lead would only last seven minutes as West Ham secured a
deserved point when Collins connected with Noble's well-taken corner.
Leeds manager Neil Warnock: "We should have won. You've got to win games
like that, I can't remember ever being this disappointed. I probably have,
but I can't remember. "I said to the referee: 'When you watch Carlton Cole
blatantly push Darren O'Dea over [before West Ham's goal], you've got to see
that'. O'Dea was going to head the ball [away]."
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce: "When Leeds scored we were in our best spell
of attacking. It was unfortunate that we slipped up but we came back, got
the draw and have to accept that it's a good point. "We're all a little bit
edgy but we're confident we can take the final step and start winning more
games than we draw."
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Hammers late show denies Whites
Last updated: 17th March 2012
SSN
Danny Collins scored a vital last-minute equaliser to earn West Ham a 1-1
draw at Leeds as they extended their unbeaten run to eight games. When
Luciano Becchio nodded Leeds ahead with seven minutes to go, the
ever-changing Championship promotion picture was not looking too favourable
for the Hammers, with top two rivals Southampton and Reading both winning.
But, right on cue, Collins rose the highest to head in a Mark Noble corner
and peg Leeds back in an act of damage limitation for Sam Allardyce's men,
who are now five points off the lead and three points shy of second. It was
just the second goal Leeds have conceded under new manager Neil Warnockand
perhaps one of their most costly of the season. Since the veteran replaced
Simon Grayson a month ago, a renewed play-off push had seemed a possibility.
A win was needed today, though, and until Collins struck, it seemed they had
got it. Warnock had succeeded in his wish to see Elland Road sold out for
the game, but those inside had little to cheer about in a chanceless opening
10 minutes. Things livened up after that, with Leeds defender Tom Lees'
scuffed effort scraping just wide and Robert Snodgrass jinking his way into
a shooting position, only to be crowded out. West Ham's players were then
angered by Paul Connolly's tackle on Kevin Nolan - deemed legal by referee
Peter Walton - but had more to be concerned about moments later when Nicky
Maynard missed the game's first genuine chance. The striker nipped in ahead
of Darren O'Dea to find himself through on Andy Lonergan's goal with 22
minutes gone, but his first touch was heavy and the goalkeeper was able to
get out and smother the ball at his feet.
More clever play from Snodgrass then saw him create an angle to set Ross
McCormackfree but Matt Taylor nicked possession from him, before Snodgrass
flashed a free-kick from the corner of the box just wide of the post.
Maynard's chance remained the best going into the break, though, but both
sides had cause for complaint when the whistle was blown, with West Ham
claiming a handball in the box against Michael Brown and Leeds confused as
to why Snodgrass' touch beyond Robert Green was ruled out for apparent
pushing by Becchio. The Hammers had to replace James Tomkins, so effective
in the sweeper position, at half-time, and his replacement, Gary O'Neil,
skimmed an effort just wide within 60 seconds of his introduction. With
Maynard isolated and getting little change out of Lees and O'Dea, Allardyce
opted to replace him with the more physical Carlton Cole and the former
England striker nearly made an immediate impact, putting a ball across the
six yard box that evaded everyone.
A couple of thundering tackles from loan defender Paul Robinson then helped
whip up the home crowd, but it was West Ham who continued to probe with
greater intent - Abdoulaye Faye nodding wide from a corner and Lonergan
denying O'Neil after Jack Collison's shot flew loose. Cole then arched a
header over the bar from a Noble free-kick, before Green was forced to make
his first save in the 70th minute when he showed terrific reactions to turn
away a Connolly header. Connolly rarely ventures into opposition territory
but, when he did again with 83 minutes on the clock, it created the opening
goal. Snodgrass' cross got to the back post, Connolly headed against the bar
and the ball fell to Becchio who did the rest. The lead would only last
seven minutes for the home side, though, as West Ham secured a deserved
point when Collins connected with Noble's well-taken corner.
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Big Sam takes positives
Warnock disappointed to see Leeds held late on
Last Updated: March 17, 2012 6:14pm
SSN
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce insists Saturday's 1-1 draw at Leeds was not
a 'slip-up' in the race for Championship promotion. With the top two of
Southampton and Reading both winning, the ever-changing promotion picture
was not looking kind for the Hammers when Luciano Becchio gave in-form Leeds
an 83rd-minute advantage. But with just seconds remaining on the clock, loan
defender Danny Collins nodded in a Mark Noble corner to earn West Ham a
damage-limiting point that extended their unbeaten run to eight games.
No slip-up
Five of those games have been draws, though, with United's home form
particularly questionable and, with that in mind, Allardyce was not too
disappointed to escape with another one-pointer on the road. "It's not a
slip-up for me," he said. "It's a slip-up in the home games against Palace,
Watford and Doncaster. That's been the crux of our slip-up. We are eight
undefeated, but there have been too many draws. "Today, when Leeds scored we
were in our best spell of attacking. It was unfortunate that we slipped up,
but we came back, got the draw and have to accept that it's a good point."
The Upton Park side are now five points behind leaders Southampton and three
shy of second-placed Reading, but automatic promotion is still very much an
option, according to Allardyce. "We're all a little bit edgy because of what
we've allowed to happen, but we're confident we can take the final step and
start winning more games than we draw," he added. "It boils down to us
knowing the sort of total we need, and that's 90-plus to get automatic
(promotion)."
Collins' goal was just the second Leeds have conceded in Neil Warnock's five
games in charge, but it could perhaps be one of their most costly of the
season. A win would have put them right in the thick of the play-off picture
and, although they remain peripheral contenders, with a five-point deficit
to claw back over nine games, their odds are long. Warnock, though, was more
concerned about the way in which his side conceded, believing there to be a
foul in the build-up. "I can't ask any more, they've given me everything,"
he said. "I said to the referee: 'When you watch Carlton Cole blatantly push
Darren O'Dea over, you've got to see that'. O'Dea was going to head the ball
and then you're left with Collins against Paul Robinson and Robert
Snodgrass.
Foul
"He said he was concentrating on the line, but he's got to see that. He's
headed the ball from where the foul was. "But West Ham wouldn't have
conceded a goal like that. They would have grabbed each other by the shirt
and made sure they didn't. "Since I've been here we should have won four out
of five. We dominated Southampton and should have won today. We've dominated
two of the best sides in the league and got one point. "You've got to win
games like that, I can't remember ever being this disappointed. I probably
have, but I can't remember."
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Vinny's Leeds Report
Vinny 7:45 Sun Mar 18
West Ham Online
Leeds United 1 West Ham United 1
West Ham are five points off the top of the league following a draw at
Elland Road with only a last minute equaliser from on loan Danny Collins
preventing the East London club from defeat.
In what was another dour encounter both sides failed to create many chances
and it looked as though Leeds had snatched the winner with just seven
minutes remaining but a corner was met by the head of Danny Collins who
struck on his full debut.
As the final whistle blew the euphoria of a last minute goal gave the West
Ham fans something to be pleased about and to go a goal down with little
time left and still manage to come away unbeaten is not bad but upon hearing
the results of both Reading and Southampton that euphoria was quickly turned
to concern about our drop out of the automatic promotion places with a three
point gap on second place appearing.
Many of the negatives from last week's poor display at home to Doncaster
were on show again in this game and many of them you would have predicted on
just seeing our starting line-up.
With no width or pace in the side Leeds were able to snuff out most of our
attacks and although we looked more likely to do something (especially in
the first half) our play in the last third of the pitch lacked any quality
as it was again clear that we have no one in our team that can unlock
defensive and force the play forward.
I am not conceding that we are only going to make the play offs and such
talk is silly at this point considering that we have a game in hand on
Reading and Southampton and we also have Reading to come at Upton Park.
It is all still in our own hands but if we do not start scoring goals then
we can throw in the towel now as goals are a pretty important thing in
football and despite us having an abundance of strikers, none of them are
coming up with the goods.
Many were content with playing shit football as long as the results came but
at the moment we are playing shit football and not winning games. Yes we are
unbeaten since the 5-1 loss at Ipswich but we certainly do not look like a
side who is going to win the league and with the form of Reading the play
off's is something that we are now all considering as a possibility.
If I'm honest after the Cardiff win I thought we were just about there as I
hadn't envisaged such issues against Watford and Doncaster. We again go out
of jail in this one which you can argue we deserved as it would have been
harsh to have gone away with nothing but the doubt is clearly there within
our team and is certainly there within the supporters.
The Team
Sam Allardyce made three changes to the side who drew against Doncaster
Rovers last weekend.
In defence Danny Collins came in at centre half alongside Abdoulaye Faye
with George McCartney at left back and Joey O'Brien returning to the side at
right back.
James Tomkins was pushed from defence to midfield with Henri Lansbury
dropping out of the squad altogether which I feel is a little harsh.
Ricardo Vaz Te was out with the injury which forced him off against
Doncaster so it was Matthew Taylor on the left wing, Collison on the right
with Tomkins, Noble and Nolan in the middle.
Carlton Cole was dropped to the bench and Nicky Maynard replaced him.
Even before a ball was kicked it was obvious what we were going to do which
was to knock long and hopeful balls towards Maynard in attempt to get him to
do what Cole has failed to do which is jump for the ball, control it, bring
it down and then look for the non existent support offered to him. Maynard's
task is made more difficult given that he isn't a physical player and is not
exactly tall.
On the substitutes bench was new signing Stephen Henderson, a goalkeeper
signed on loan from struggling Portsmouth.
First Half
It was a busy start for both sides as many of the players were looking to
start the game at 100mph and were running for everything in what seemed a
battle of who wanted it more.
But this soon died down and the game fell into a dull state which given our
style I can only presume was down to us as having seen Leeds take on
Southampton recently they were clearly a team who liked to attack and carve
out chances.
So with this you can find positives in our display as we are difficult to
break down and beat. This is something we knew we would get with Sam
Allardyce but we had been concerned that going forward we would lack much
substance or flair.
We have got with Allardyce exactly as expected and whilst it is lazy to just
call his style long ball, it is completely boring and dull.
There were no chances of any note in the opening quarter of the game and
just a few strong challenges from both sides.
With just over twenty minutes on the clock we had our first sniff at the
Leeds goal with Tomkins flicking the ball on for Maynard to run on to but
his touch was took strong and the keeper Lonergan was out to smother the
ball. It was a shame the touch from Maynard was so heavy as he would have
had a clear chance on goal.
Leeds nearly found a way through when Snodgrass made a strong run forward
and attempted to slip in McCormack but Matthew Taylor had got back to cover
and made an excellent interception.
A better passing move saw Collison receive the ball on the right hand side
and cross first time for Nolan to meet the ball but it seemed to just smash
off his shin and away for a goal kick.
We were putting a few crosses into the area but there was very little in the
way of West Ham players getting into positions in the box to apply any
finish which was frustrating to see.
Leeds won a free kick out wide on the edge of the area after the ball
bounced up and apparently hit Taylor on the arm. Snodgrass was the one to
take the set piece and hit a shot which had Green beaten but also the post
as it flew just wide.
The hosts began to get on top as the half neared its end and I was hoping
that we could just get in at half time all square.
We did have a penalty shout with two minutes of the half remaining as
Collison attempted to lift the ball over Michael Brown and it seemed to hit
his hand. The players protested but referee Peter Walton dismissed these
claims and just gave a corner.
With the two minutes of stoppage time just about up, Leeds had the ball in
the back of the net as a cross came over which Becchio smashed into the back
of the net but the referee had blown for a foul in what seemed like a bit of
a let off as we went in at half time goalless.
Second Half
James Tomkins had picked up an injury in the first half and was unable to
continue so Gary O'Neil came on in his place and went to the right hand side
of midfield with Collison tucking inside.
O'Neil would have our first chance of the half as he was fed the ball by
Collison, took a touch and dragged his shot wide of the goal.
Leeds had their own half chance as Clayton found some space on the left of
the area and hit across the face of goal and wide.
Allardyce waited around ten minutes to see if our fortunes were changing and
when he saw that they were not he made his second substitution of the
afternoon with the anonymous Nicky Maynard being replaced by Carlton Cole.
Cole nearly had an immediate impact when he received the ball on the left
and put a good cross into the area which just eluded Matthew Taylor who
applauded the attempt from Cole.
Paul Robinson (not the goal keeper at Blackburn or the guy from Neighbours)
went in very strong on O'Brien and then on Noble which saw him booked. I
didn't think there was much wrong with either challenge and it was harsh
booking from Walton.
A free kick was won by Cole which was put into the area and headed out for a
corner. This corner from Noble was met by the head of Faye but it was over
the bar. I keep expecting Faye to score when he goes up for headers given
how dominant he is at the back.
We were having a decent spell of possession and looked the only team likely
to open the scoring as Leeds had just dropped off and Cole was pulling
defenders out of position which let the midfield find some space.
Taylor won a free kick and put it into the area himself as Cole met the ball
which his head which went just over the bar in what looked like a good
chance although he was stretching for the ball.
Things became a bit heated when the thug that is Michael Brown
unceremoniously hacked Gary O'Neil who went down clutching his leg. It was a
ugly challenge from an ugly footballer good for only one thing and that is
fouling and hurting opponents. He has been doing this for a long time.
The free kick came to nothing and that bit of passion showed with the
tackling seemed to spur the home crowd on and the noise level went up a
notch and this seemed to get the Leeds' players going as they began to come
forward.
Jack Collison was replaced on 81 minutes by Ravel Morrison who was making
his debut for the club. His first touch was a poor one as he failed to
control a pass and this went out for a throw in.
Two minutes after that change and the deadlock was finally broken only that
it was Leeds who broke it.
A corner was won off Collins who looked as though he may have been able to
retrieve the ball but gave up very easily and by the time he realised he may
have been able to get the ball it was too late.
The corner was only half cleared by Nolan and Snodgrass put the ball back
into the area only to be clawed away by Robert Green but the following
header hit off the crossbar and was turned in by Luciano Becchio as Elland
Road erupted.
Considering that I couldn't remember a meaningful shot on target I was not
very confident that we could get a goal back with just seven minutes
remaining.
Our tactic just simply 'not lose' looked to have backfired and our lack of
ambition during the game seemed to be coming back to bite us.
We did try to get forward with the ball almost immediately but the final
ball was poor with Kevin Nolan at fault with a horrendous over hit pass on
one occasion.
I think everyone in the ground thought that the game was over but we kept
going and scored an unlikely equaliser.
George McCartney got down the left hand side and put a cross into the area
which the keeper Lonergan had to tip over the bar for a corner.
Mark Noble drifted the corner into the area for Danny Collins to meet the
ball with his head as it dropped past the keeper to make it 1-1.
Four minutes added time were awarded but there was to be no last golden
chance with only a counter attack with four players bursting forward looking
promising but the cross from Gary O'Neil was as poor as you will see and the
attack was over.
To get a draw having gone a goal down with just seven minutes to go is not
too shabby but with more ambition and some more attack minded thinking we
could have won this game.
Player Reviews
Robert Green
I haven't seen the goal again and not sure if Green was at fault with the
way he dealt with the cross from Snodgrass but with the amount of players in
his way he did well to just get a hand to the cross. Had very little else to
do throughout the game.
Joey O'Brien
A decent game for O'Brien who was again strong in the tackle and was able to
stand up to the more physical Leeds players.
Danny Collins
Looked decent enough although a few wayward passes and headers were
apparent. I thought he could have done more to prevent the corner which led
to the Leeds goal but he made amends with the equaliser in the final minute.
Abdoulaye Faye
As previously stated I believe he should be doing a bit better when going up
for corner and in this game he won a couple of headers from set pieces but
put his attempts over the bar. Defensively he was solid apart from one poor
header in the first half.
George McCartney
I was impressed with McCartney again although he seemed to make Matthew
Taylor pretty redundant as it was he who did most of the attacking down the
left hand side with Taylor disappearing for large chunks.
Jack Collison
He was as good (or bad) as anyone in the first half but this is not to say I
was impressed with his display. The debate of what he offers the team is
still there and at this moment in time I do not see how he is getting ahead
of Lansbury or even Morrison.
Mark Noble
Much like last week against Doncaster he seemed a bit off the pace. He was
too slow to release the ball and struggled to find space in the middle. When
some people suggested that he and Nolan cannot play together I dismissed
this instantly but given how good he was without Nolan in the side maybe
this does hold some weight?
Kevin Nolan
Another game where we hardly notice the captain. His goal have certainly
done a lot to detract from his tired looking displays and infectiveness.
This was another performance where you scratch your head and wonder how he
has got so far in his career.
James Tomkins
In the Papa Diop role Tomkins doesn't look exactly comfortable as he is not
much of a ball player but he does time his tackles well and uses all his
defensive strengths to be that anchor man. Unfortunately he picked up a
knock in the first half and was forced to come off and hopefully it is
nothing serious as we need him.
Matthew Taylor
There were times where he would pop up on the ball and I would be confused
as I thought he had gone off the pitch or something along those lines. He
just vanishes at times and then comes back into the game for a few minutes.
He wasn't the worst player on the pitch but we need more from Taylor and
since coming back from injury we haven't got it.
Nicky Maynard
On one hand I have sympathy with him as he was isolated up against strong
defenders with little support. The supply to him was very poor and there was
little he could do with it. On the other hand when he did get the ball he
was not very effective. Playing him up front on his own seems as good as not
playing him at all. He needs to be part of a front two.
Subs Used
Gary O'Neil (on for Tomkins 45 mins)
Saw quite a bit of the ball but did very little with it. Not really a winger
and couldn't beat his man at all. His cross was poor just about all the time
and he doesn't offer much at all.
Carlton Cole (on for Maynard 56 mins)
When he came on we had a decent spell of possession and he was moving quite
well but apart from one header which went over the bar he never got a chance
to score and I don't know if its him or the way we set ourselves out to
play. The fact is, none of our strikers are scoring so surely it has to be
the supply. Other than that all our strikers could just be shit?
Ravel Morrison (on for Collison 81 mins)
Should have been on earlier, went into quite an advanced midfield role but
didn't really see much of the ball to make any impact.
Subs Not Used: Baldock, Henderson
Bookings: Noble
Man Of The Match: Abdoulaye Faye
Leeds United: Lonergan, Connolly, Lees, White, O'Dea, Robinson, Snodgrass,
Brown, Clayton, Becchio, McCormack
Subs: Pugh, Webber, Forssell, Nunez, Thompson
Attendance: 33,336
Overall
A draw against Leeds doesn't mean that we are now only able to make the play
offs. As mentioned earlier with a game in hand over both sides above us and
also Reading to play it is all in our own hands and promotion as well as
winning the league are very much achievable.
But (there has to be a but) if we continue to go into games with just the
directive of 'don't lose' we will come unstuck because teams don't win
leagues by being negative. You have to take risks, you have to look to get
goals and attack your opponents.
Most teams we are playing against are happy to get a point against us so if
we are not going at them they are happy to just sit back and watch us knock
the ball about. This only serves to produce boring and dull games because
without being arrogant in this division a draw against West Ham is a great
result.
Next Game - Middlesbrough - Home, 7.45pm Kick off, Tuesday 20th March
Boro' have been poor for the last few months and are very beatable. We went
up there earlier in the season and won in what was probably our most
complete performance of the season.
Of course we have the issue that we are playing at home and I am sure that
if we are not leading at half time there will be boo's ringing out as we are
fast developing a home complex.
We cannot do this and whilst I am not here to be any sort of cheerleader, we
need to support the team and get some sort of positive atmosphere going
because we ALL want promotion. The players, the fans and even the manager,
are all West Ham and we need to do this all together.
Whilst there will be much discussion on the subject I would obviously like
to wish Bolton Wanderer's Fabrice Muamba a speedy recovering after
collapsing with a heart attack in the FA Cup game between Tottenham and
Bolton. When things like this happen it certainly does put into perspective
the game of football.
Sams View
"Our fans matched a full house from Leeds. It spurred us on and we have
retrieved a point in the dying embers of the game,"
"We've earned the right to play in a difficult arena with fantastic support
from both sets of fans.
"We did get a good goal back but it only got us back to a draw. We had
missed out on scoring a goal before half-time when we had three good
corners. We weren't putting ourselves in the position that we should have
done before the goal we scored. Abdoulaye Faye had a similar one in the
second half so I was a bit disappointed."
"For the penalty decision, the referee thought it was accidental but when a
player runs at the ball with his hands up and it hits his arms then it's
intentional. When you're running to close the ball down you should have your
hands by your side and of course we have to wait for the referee to get one
that goes for us.
"It's not a clear-cut chance but we did have some really good chances. Gary
O'Neil's had a chance at the far post, Carlton Cole's header goes just over
and then Nicky Maynard was through one-on-one as well, the keeper comes out
and instead of the rebound dropping to us, it drops to them."
"When the game goes into the final few minutes after they had managed to
score, you're obviously looking at defeat which you don't deserve. We came
back to score which gets us the point that we richly deserved.
"In terms of the other chances we created, we couldn't find the finish to
get us in front. If we'd done that then we might have won. We were in danger
of losing it but we didn't. It was another draw but let's go and look at
Tuesday night's game and get three points from there and get back to winning
ways."
Season 2011/12 Scorers and Red Cards
Carlton Cole - 9 (9 League)
Kevin Nolan - 9 (9 League)
Mark Noble - 7 (7 League)
Sam Baldock - 5 (5 League)
Jack Collison - 3 (3 League)
Ricardo Vaz Te - 2 (2 League)
Winston Reid - 2 (2 League)
John Carew - 2 (2 League)
Frederique Piquionne - 2 (2 League)
James Tomkins - 2 (2 League)
Own Goal - 2 (2 League)
Papa Bouba Diop - 1 (1 League)
Joey O'Brien - 1 (1 League)
Matthew Taylor - 1 (1 League)
Henri Lansbury - 1 (1 League)
Julien Faubert - 1 (1 League)
Frank Nouble - 1 (1 League)
Nicky Maynard - 1 (1 League)
Gary O'Neil - 1 (1 League)
George McCartney - 1 (1 League)
Danny Collins - 1 (1 League)
Scott Parker - 1 (1 League)
Junior Stanislas - 1 (1 Cup)
Red Cards
Callum McNaughton - 1 (vs Aldershot home)
Frederique Piquionne - 1 (vs Portsmouth home)
Joey O'Brien - 1 (vs Reading away)
Jack Collison - 1 (vs Reading away)
Kevin Nolan - 1 (vs Millwall home)
Matthew Taylor - 1 (vs Southampton home)
Robert Green - 1 (vs Blackpool away)*
*rescinded by FA on appeal
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Leeds 1-1 West Ham: Sunday Mirror match report
Published 21:30 17/03/12 By Bill Cooper
The Mirror
These days Sam Allardyce can't wait to escape his Hammers House of Horrors
and take his side on the road. You cannot blame him one bit. Stuttering
results and performances at their Upton Park stronghold are threatening to
seriously damage West Ham's push for automatic promotion. Allardyce's men
have been booed off their own pitch in each of four successive home draws.
No wonder, then, that they are doing better away, where their travelling
legion of fans are far more supportive and forgiving than they are on their
own East End turf. But a draw at Leeds - earned by a last-gasp goal from
Danny Collins - still meant they lost further ground in the promotion race
as Southampton and Reading tightened their grip on the top spots.
West Ham have now gone three league games without a win - their worst run of
the season - and with just seven points from the last 15, they are losing
momentum as their rivals turn up the heat. But Allardyce remained defiant,
saying: "This wasn't a slip-up as far as I'm concerned - we've had those at
home by drawing too many games just lately. "That's disappointing. And it's
true that too many draws have made us a bit edgy. But we are still confident
we can take that final step and win promotion. It's still in our hands."
New Leeds boss Neil Warnock said: "Their equaliser should not have been
given because there was a blatant push by Carlton Cole on my defender Darren
O'Dea.
"The referee has got to see that but, when I asked Peter Walton about it
afterwards, he said he was concentrating on what was happening on the goal
line. "It's frustrating because I thought we deserved to win. But I can't
ask for any more from the lads. They are giving me everything in every
game."
West Ham have now gone eight games unbeaten, but never had it easy at Elland
Road. It threatened to turn very sour, too, when Luciano Becchio powered in
an 83rd-minute header to put Leeds in front. But then defender Collins, on
loan from Stoke, headed home Mark Noble's 90th-minute corner. Leeds had
looked the more enterprising early on through the surging runs of skipper
Robert Snodgrass and Aidy White down the flanks. But it was centre-back Tom
Lees who handed the Hammers their first scare with a fierce 20-yard drive
which was deflected behind for a corner. West Ham responded by carving open
their hosts. Matt Taylor's pass put Nicky Maynard in the clear, but Andy
Lonergan dashed from his goal to save bravely at his feet.
Leeds were inches away from taking the lead on 37 minutes after Taylor was
adjudged to have handled just outside his own box. Snodgrass whipped in a
curling free-kick which flew just wide, with Rob Green scrambling
frantically across his goal. Warnock's men were out of luck again when Adam
Clayton's low shot on the turn from just inside the area scraped the paint
off the outside of a post. Snodgrass thought he had put the hosts in front
on the stroke of half-time when he flicked home a long throw from Paul
Connolly... but it was ruled out for a push by Becchio. Gary O'Neil replaced
the injured James Tomkins at the start of the second half, and went close
for the Hammers with only his second touch, sending a low drive just wide.
Green pulled off a fabulous save to keep out Connolly's 70th-minute header
but could do nothing about Becchio's strike - his ninth of the season -
after Connolly had rattled the bar from Snodgrass's cross. But Collins saved
Hammers' bacon by rising to meet Noble's corner and powering his header past
Lonergan.
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West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce defiant despite dropped points away to
Leeds United at Elland Road
Sam Allardyce, the West Ham manager, insisted that his side's 1-1 draw at
Leeds was not a slip-up.
By Telegraph staff11:46PM GMT 17 Mar 2012
Telegraph.co.uk
With leaders Southampton and Reading both winning, West Ham are three points
off the automatic promotion places. It's not a slip-up for me," said
Allardyce after West Ham's Danny Collins cancelled out Luciano Becchio's
goal for Leeds. "It's a slip-up in the home games against Palace, Watford
and Doncaster. That's been the crux of our slip-up. We are eight undefeated,
but there have been too many draws. "When Leeds scored we were in our best
spell of attacking. It was unfortunate that we slipped up, but we came back,
got the draw and have to accept that it's a good point."
Southampton are two points clear after Rickie Lambert struck his fourth
hat-trick of the season as his side staged a late fight-back to win 3-2 at
Millwall. Lambert gave his side a 16th-minute lead but Millwall hit back and
were leading 2-1 within 12 minutes following an own goal from Jose Fonte and
a Paul Robinson strike. Millwall retained that advantage until the 85th
minute but, just when the leaders looked in danger of suffering their first
defeat in 10 matches, Lambert turned the match on its head with two
penalties in three minutes to earn his side a 3-2 win and take his goal
tally for the season to 28. Reading maintained their promotion charge with
their ninth win in 10 league matches as two superb second-half goals from
Jem Karacan helped beat Barnsley 4-0. Brian McDermott's side had won eight
games on the trot before drawing at Doncaster in midweek, but two goals in
as many minutes at the start of the second half got them back on the winning
trail before their dominance was confirmed with two further efforts.
Birmingham manager Chris Hughton was delighted his side bounced back to
winning form with a comfortable 3-0 win over fellow promotion challengers
Middlesbrough. After five matches without a win Birmingham marked their 50th
game of the season with a crucial victory with strikers Nikola Zigic and
Marlon King leading the way as both scored. Midfielder Keith Fahey sealed
Middlesbrough's fate with a solo goal on the hour as the visitors conceded a
second in a three-minute spell. Hughton said: "It was the type of game we
needed after our recent matches. I thought it was a real team effort."
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