Daily WHUFC News - 29th April 2012

Hammers sign off on a high
WHUFC.com
Sam Allardyce was pleased with the win against Hull City as attention turns
to Play-offs
28.04.2012

Carlton Cole scored twice as West Ham United beat Hull City 2-1 in their
final game of the season but the Hammers will have to settle for a play-off
spot after results elsewhere did not go their way. Sam Allardyce's side have
now won their last two home games and have not lost in their last eight away
matches, meaning they will go into Thursday's Play-Off semi-final first leg
with Cardiff on a high. Big Sam was happy with the way his side went about
their business against Hull City on Saturday lunchtime. "We finish the
season on a high; we won our last two home games playing very well indeed,"
Allardyce said. "We have had outstanding away results all season and at home
too apart from the string of four draws. That was the only difference
between automatic promotion and the Play-Offs - our run of four home draws
has ultimately cost us."

West Ham started the game brightly with Ricardo Vaz Te placing a header
inches wide after just four minutes. Henri Lansbury's cross from the left-
hand side was met by Vaz Te who rose unmarked at the far post but the ball
slipped off his forehead and drifted past the post. The first 15 minutes
were a tight affair with the Tigers trying to contain West Ham with ten men
behind the ball. However, the Hammers continued to create opportunities.
Just before the half-hour mark skipper Kevin Nolan looped the ball on to
Lansbury but the on-loan midfielder couldn't get his foot over the ball and
he blasted his shot high over the goal. West Ham got the goal their
attacking play deserved ten minutes before halftime when Matthew Taylor's
corner was met by Carlton Cole six yards out. The striker powered his header
towards the bottom corner and Hull City defender Paul McKenna was unable to
prevent it from crossing the line. Three minutes later West Ham had a chance
to further their lead when Vaz Te found himself free on the left-hand side
but he flashed his shot just past the far post. Manager Allardyce was
stunned it was only 1-0 at the break. "We completely annihilated Hull City
in the first half. I was amazed at half time it was only 1-0 to us it should
have been like the Brighton score. But we didn't convert our chances even
though we had the opportunity to do so."

The Hammers doubled their lead immediately after the restart, though, with
Lansbury's excellent cross-field pass finding Cole who expertly chested the
ball down before poking it with the outside of his boot past Vito Mannone.
Cole, who is now West Ham's top scorer with 14, clearly impressed Big Sam.
"We deservedly doubled our lead just after half time with an outstanding
goal from Carlton Cole. He got two goals, which is very important going into
the Play-Offs as our front men will need to contribute in a very big way
during the Play-Offs. "Nicky Maynard and Sam Baldock came off the bench and
played very well too. These are the players we need to be on form for the
Play-Offs."

Hull City got a goal back ten minutes from time when confusion in the West
Ham defence between Guy Demel and goalkeeper Robert Green allowed Corry
Evans to outjump Green and head into the net. The Hammers had a late scare
five minutes from time when Richard Garcia headed in Liam Rosenior's cross
only to see his effort chalked off by an offside flag. But they held on to
what was a well-deserved win. After the full-time whistle the West Ham squad
went on a lap of the pitch to thank the fans for their fantastic support
this season. Now attention will turn to the Play-Offs and the two games
against Cardiff City. "The Play-Offs are a one-off event. It's completely
unique in its atmosphere, its tension and the pressure you are under. You
have got to deal with it properly and good form or bad form it counts for
nothing. You have got no margin for error; you have to do it right on the
day and then hope the other forces you can't control don't go against you.
"We lost in the last minute against them in the first game of the season and
then we beat them at their ground in March. So it's one win each and we go
into the game on Thursday making sure that when we come back to the Boleyn
we are still in the tie hopefully with a lead which we can build on and
progress to Wembley."

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West Ham 2 Hull 1
HT 1-0
BBC.co.uk
28 April 2012
Last updated at 15:00
By Marc Higginson
BBC Sport

Carlton Cole's brace helped West Ham defeat Hull City at Upton Park, but it
was not enough for the Hammers to secure automatic promotion. Sam
Allardyce's side were beaten to second spot by Southampton, who hammered
Coventry 4-0, and will now face Cardiff City in the play-offs. The first leg
will be played in Wales on Thursday, with the second leg at Upton Park on
Monday, 7 May.

Play-off dates
Semi-finals first leg

3 May: Cardiff v West Ham (1945 BST)
4 May: Blackpool v Birmingham (1945)

Semi-finals second leg

7 May: West Ham v Cardiff (1630)
9 May: Birmingham v Blackpool (1945)

Corry Evans scored a late consolation for Hull after a defensive mix-up.
Southampton's victory meant the match turned into an anti-climax, with the
only positive for the Hammers being the momentum they will take into the
play-offs from their display against the Tigers. There was only ever going
to be one winner once Cole headed home a corner in the 36th minute, and Hull
only came back into the game once the Hammers started to conserve energy.
Cole doubled the lead when he peeled away from his marker and fired home
from Henri Lansbury's pass four minutes after half-time - and the England
striker was substituted moments later as Allardyce began to prepare for
Thursday's semi-final first leg. The Hammers dominated possession, looking
to have banished memories of their seven-game winless stretch at home, but a
mistake at the back allowed Hull back into the game. A poor header from
defender Guy Demel let in midfielder Evans, who nodded the ball home for his
third goal of the season. Richard Garcia thought he had won a point for Nick
Barmby's men, but his late diving header was disallowed for offside.
However, anything but three points would have been harsh on the Hammers, who
could have won by a greater margin if Lansbury and Kevin Nolan had showed
better finishing earlier in the game when their shots failed to trouble Hull
goalkeeper Vito Mannone.

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Sam Allardyce says West Ham will win promotion in the play-offs
BBC.co.uk

Sam Allardyce is confident West Ham can seal their return to the Premier
League via the play-offs. The Hammers were pipped to automatic promotion by
Southampton, despite beating Hull City 2-1 on the final day of the season.
"We have to lick our wounds and get ready for the vital games ahead of us,"
said Allardyce, whose side face Cardiff City in the play-off semi-final. "We
still have three games to win, and we will do it."

Carlton Cole scored twice to set up victory over the Tigers, but it mattered
little as Southampton eased to a 4-0 win against already-relegated Coventry.
Just two points separated the Saints and West Ham, and the Londoners will
regret a number of dropped points at Upton Park during the course of the
season. They won a club record 13 games on the road, but dropped 28 points
on their own turf to slip out of the top two. "We've had a very good season
considering where we've come from," Allardyce said. "In the last few years
86 points has been enough. "Our ultimate goal was not achieved, we left
ourselves too much to do, but we'll wake up on Sunday morning and look
forward to preparing for the play-offs. "I stuck my neck out when I arrived
and said we wanted promotion in the first season. "I've got a two-year
contract but doing it in the first season is important."

Allardyce's opposite number on Saturday, Nick Barmby, was disappointed to be
beaten but admitted the Hammers face a tough task in the play-offs. "Will
West Ham go up? It's hard to say, there are some good teams in the play-offs
so it will be interesting," he said.

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Tough for Blackpool, Birmingham, West Ham & Cardiff - Ian Holloway
BBC.co.uk

Blackpool manager Ian Holloway believes the Championship play-offs are too
close to call. The Seasiders face Birmingham in the semi-finals, while West
Ham will take on Cardiff. "It's a fantastic achievement to get in the
play-offs, but it's going to be tough," Holloway said. "To have Birmingham
and West Ham in there, and Cardiff who certainly consider themselves a big
club, who's going to win? I don't know."

Blackpool earned promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs two
seasons ago and Holloway, who saw his side end their regular season with a
2-2 draw at Millwall, is hoping for a similar end result this time around.
"There are a lot of big teams who aren't in the play-offs but we will give
it our best shot, we will try to win every single half of football we can,"
he said. "Now let's go and take on a really good side in Birmingham. It will
be interesting to see which way it goes."

Birmingham's victory over champions Reading saw them leapfrog Blackpool in
the final Championship table, and manager Chris Hughton insists his focus
remains on the Blackpool matches despite some off-field problems. The
manager faces the prospect of being unable to strengthen his squad until the
end of July because of Birmingham's inability to publish their 2010-11
accounts on time. "At the moment the thought of playing in the two play-offs
is taking up 100% of my thoughts," he said. "We know there is an issue but
it is not on my mind at the moment. "There is an emphasis from everyone at
the club to try to get through to the final and get back into the Premier
League. That will take up all of our efforts."

Cardiff City left it until the final day to seal their play-off spot, for a
third season in a row, and Bluebirds manager Malky Mackay hopes the club's
Carling Cup exploits, when they reached the final, will stand them in good
stead. "We are 10 games unbeaten going into the play-offs so there is real
momentum there," he said. "I have been in the semi-final situation as a
player with West Ham, Norwich and Watford. It is about staying calm and
having a game plan. "This group of players have already been through this
sort of thing this season, with the Carling Cup semi-final and final, where
there was preparation and planning needed. That will benefit us."
West Ham, who finished third, are favourites to win promotion from the
play-offs, and manager Sam Allardyce is confident they can live up to their
billing despite being pipped to automatic promotion by Southampton on the
final day. "We have to lick our wounds and get ready for the vital games
ahead of us," Allardyce said.
"We still have three games to win, and we will do it."

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Allardyce on... Hull City
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 28th April 2012
By: Staff Writer

A slightly despondent Sam Allardyce bemoans the fact that 86 points wasn't
quite enough to secure automatic promotion in his post-match press
conference...

Sam: when you came in last summer you suggested at the time that nothing but
quick promotion would suffice. Is that still the case?

Yes, I've stuck my head on the line and said that's what we want to do, get
automatic promotion in the first season of asking even though I've got a
two-year contract to do it. But doing it in the first year would be very
important, we've still got three games to win - and we'll do it.

The first two are the most difficult, not the third one in my experience.
The two-legged affair is the hardest thing to get through in play-off terms.
Four years out of [the last] five 86 points has been good enough and it's
not this time, so we're a little unlucky there. But we've had a very, very
good season indeed considering where we came from and how many changes we
made from day one.

So our ultimate goal wasn't achieved. We took it into the last game of the
season to try and achieve it but we didn't manage it because we just left
ourselves too much to do by having to rely on Coventry to get a result. We
wake up tomorrow and look forward to preparing for the play-offs.

Sir Alex [Ferguson] would say that it's squeaky bum time?

Well it's been that for a while, I think. We've been so close and been there
in the top two so long and it's only an outstanding, miraculous run of
results from Reading that's taken it away from us.

As I said, four years out of five 86 points has been enough but because what
Reading have done in the last 25, 26 games has been outstanding its
congratulations to them and Nigel [Adkins]. But now we've got to lick our
wounds, overcome our disappointment and get ready for the vital games ahead
of us.

You were saying on the telly that whatever's gone on before...

...Doesn't matter, nothing at all. Not in my experience. You go into the
play-offs as equals, everybody goes in there as equals. Everybody says
there's more disappointment for the team that finishes third and sometimes
that may well have been the case, but there are times where the third team
have gone through and achieved it. I did it at Bolton when I was there.

One season we finished with 87 points, never mind 86 and didn't go up. But
we managed to get through the two legs. Why I'm saying the most difficult
thing is the two legs and to not think about the Final whatsoever is that
after 35 minutes of the first leg I was 2-0 down at West Brom and staring
into the abyss. We had to find a real fighting spirit and a change of attack
to get back to 2-2.

That was a critical 30 minutes - then we won the second leg quite
comfortably in the end and went on to win the Final. So the Final means
nothing to us now at the moment, it's about the two legs - and only the two
legs.

Do you think the way this season's been you'd prefer the away leg second?

Not the way we're playing now because we've just battered [Hull]. We've
battered a lot of teams here; Brighton in the first half, let's face it. We
did what we had to do in terms of battering Hull City but what was
disappointing was our lack of conversation for chances created, because it
should have been two or three by half time like Brighton was.

But Coley did the business in the second half and then we took everybody off
that we felt we needed to take off. The game obviously drifted away because
there was nothing in it for either team in the end. The win was very good
for us because it's two very good performances [in succession] and a
terrific comeback against Birmingham in the second half here, so our form is
as good here as it is away.

How are you going to lift spirits over the next few days - and how difficult
do you think the challenge is going to Cardiff, which is quite a hostile
place?

Well we go with the confidence that we beat Cardiff 2-0 at their place
already and we go with the confidence that we're the third best team in the
league. So if we hit our form and we hit the level of performance that we
know we can do, that confidence should spill over into that game.

But like I said, the pressure of the play-offs is unique in itself - as is
being able to handle the experience because there's no other experience like
it. There's no Cup game or league game that has the same atmosphere as the
play-offs have. So we've got to handle the atmosphere and deliver on the
day.

Given your away record this season is it important you approach Cardiff away
on Thursday in the same way you'd have done a normal league game? Or is
there a tendency to change strategy?

No; I think that our performances and our strategy away from home has been
the backbone to a really, really good season for us. The only thing that we
slipped up on was drawing matches, not losing them. So there's a fine line,
that's very small indeed in terms of draws to wins. I think that our
performances away from home - and our results away from home - have been
outstanding.

So we'll approach it in the same manner. But what we have to do is handle
the pressure that the play-offs bring, to deliver a certain type of
performance. That's what we've got to do.

Irrespective of what happens in Cardiff, there's the next 90 minutes. I won
2-0 at Bradford away when I was at Blackpool and lost 3-0 at home in the
second leg, so anything can happen. Any twist or any turn at any given time;
that's why they're unique in terms of pressure and atmosphere. We've got to
be able to handle it.

Today's substitutions; there's no injuries or anything like that?

Yes, there's a bad injury to Gary O'Neil resulting from a very, very poor
tackle on him that the referee chose to ignore - which was very
disappointing from my point of view. One, the referee never took the
decision to punish the player - and two, more importantly, Gary was left
hobbling badly and looks a big, big doubt for Thursday.

Over the last ten games or so he's been one of our most consistent and
outstanding players following his long term injury. Unfortunately for us it
is on the injured ankle that he's got the bad tackle.

Who's the player who caught him?

I can't remember. I'm not bothered about the player who caught him but the
referee doing his job.

Kevin Nolan's alright?

Kevin's is a dead leg which is generally not going to cause him any
problems, but he was restricted in his movement on the field so we took him
off. Carlton had scored two and done his job, Vaz Te as well so we rested
them as quickly as we could. We rest our leading goalscorers to get them
ready for the big two.

Okay? Thanks lads.

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Cardiff here we come!
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 28th April 2012
By: Staff Writer

West Ham are on their way to Cardiff in the play-offs once again after
Southampton beat Coventry to seal second place in the Championship. The
Saints' 4-0 victory over Coventry City was enough to secure the runners-up
spot behind Champions Reading - leaving West Ham, who beat Hull 2-1 at the
Boleyn Ground this afternoon in third place with 86 points. All fo which
means that Sam Allardyce's side face a trip to Wales where Cardiff - who
came from behind to win 2-1 at Crystal Palace today - await in the play-off
semi finals. With Wembley temporarily out of action, both of West Ham's
previous appearances in play-off Finals - in 2004 against Crystal Palace and
versus Preston North End 2005 - came in Cardiff. And it is to South Wales
where United will return again for the semi-final first leg after the
Bluebirds secured sixth spot in the Championship. Cardiff, who have lost
just one of their 13 games since being beaten 2-0 at home by West Ham at the
beginning of March have already tasted success in east London already this
season, having won 1-0 at the Boleyn Ground on the opening day of the
season. Meeting either West Ham or Cardiff in the play-off final at Wembley
on 19 May will be the winners of the second semi-final. Blackpool, who
finished in fifth place host fourth-placed Birmingham in the first leg.

Full details of all dates and times as follows:

Play off semi final, first leg

Thursday, 3rd May 2012: Cardiff v West Ham Utd (7.45pm)
Friday, 4th May 2012: Blackpool v Birmingham City (7.45pm)

Play off semi final, second leg

Monday, 7th May 20122: West Ham Utd v Cardiff (4.30pm)
Wednesday, 9th May 20122: Birmingham City v Blackpool (7.45pm)

Play off Final

Saturday, 19th May 2012 (3:00pm)

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West Ham Utd 2 Hull City 1
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 28th April 2012
By: Staff Writer

West Ham signed off their 2011/12 league campaign with a win against Hull
City at the Boleyn - but it wasn't quite enough to secure automatic
promotion. Despite accruing 86 points over the course of the season - a
figure that would have seen the Irons finish in the top two in four of the
last five seasons - Southampton's 4-0 win over Coventry ensured it was they
who would join Reading in the Premier League next season.

Always up against it, West Ham had to rely on relegated Coventry doing them
a favour at St Mary's and sadly, that required upset never threatened to
materialise.

To their credit, Sam Allardyce's side threw the kitchen sink at Hull in
order to score the goals that could have seen them overtake the Saints in
the event of a shock result on the South Coast.

Despite only leading 1-0 at half time - Carton Cole's 36th minute header
being the difference between the teams - West Ham quite easily have been
five or six ahead, such was their dominance against a team with one eye
already on their summer holidays.

And had Ricardo Vaz Te not spurned a golden opportunity to put United ahead
after just three minutes when he headed wide with the goal gaping at his
mercy, one wonders if things may have turned out differently down in
Southampton.

Coventry, already relegated from the Championship had a nervous Southampton
on the rack during the opening stages of their game but crucially, failed to
make the breakthrough.

And once Billy Sharp (whose play-acting at the Boleyn Ground in the 1-1 draw
on Valentine's Day led to the dismissal of Matt Taylor) opened the scoring
on the quarter-hour mark, West Ham's slim chances of usurping the Saints all
but disappeared.

By the time Cole put West Ham ahead at the BG nine minutes ahead of half
time - nodding home a Matt Taylor corner that arose from the latter's cross
that dipped wickedly before cannoning off the crossbar - Southampton had
doubled their lead through Jose Fonte.

Chants of "whatever will be will be, we're going to Wembley" had already
rang out around Upton Park leaving the players no doubt as to what was
happening at Southampton.

As a result the second half saw a much less determined performance from Sam
Allardyce's side - understandably in the circumstances - even though Cole
doubled West Ham's lead with a superbly taken effort just four minutes after
the restart.

With Southampton adding further goals through Hooiveld and Lallana (59 and
63 minutes respectively) Sam Allardyce, knowing the game was up decided to
rest the likes of Cole, Vaz Te and captain Nolan, who took a nasty knock
after colliding with Rob Green, ahead of the ensuing play-offs.

Sam Baldock and Nicky Maynard, both of whom were given the opportunity to
stake their claims for a place in the play-offs flattered to deceive and it
was no surprise when the visitors grabbed a consolation goal with nine
minutes of normal time remaining.

Guy Demel made an absolute hash of a headed clearance, sending the ball
looping up in the air on the edge of the six yard box and Rob Green was
clearly prevented from jumping to grab the loose ball, which was headed into
an empty net by Corry Evans.

However the fact that the foul was missed by referee Nigel Miller was of
little surprise to Hammers fans who had seen the official miss a number of
quite blatant infringements by Hull players during the game.

None of which were more obviously - nor nasty - than the elbow James Tomkins
received from former Hammer Richard Garcia that left him writhing in agony
and smashing the turf with his fist in fury after the challenge was deemed
to be a legal one.

Another nasty tackle on Gary O'Neil after the ball had been played was
similarly missed and could cost the former 'Boro player a place in the
play-off semi finals, where Cardiff City - who secured sixth place in the
Championship with a win at Crystal Palace - now await.

The two-legged affair promises to be something of a classic with both teams
in rude heath having lost just one game between them since West Ham won 2-0
at the Stadiwm Dinas Caerdydd back on March 4th.

And it also throws up the very real prospect of West Ham making their first
appearance at Wembley since 1981, when John Lyall's side drew 1-1 in the
League Cup Final with Liverpool - who just happened to be the team who beat
Cardiff in this season's League Cup Final.

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Allardyce eyes play-off success
Big Sam says Hammers must be ready; Barmby frustrated
Last Updated: April 28, 2012 4:42pm
SSN

West Ham boss Sam Allardyce has vowed to take the club up to the Premier
League after missing out on automatic promotion. Two goals from Carlton Cole
at home to Hull City in a 2-1 win were not enough to overhaul Southampton,
whose thumping victory against Coventry ensured they held onto second spot
in the Championship. Instead, the play-offs beckon for Allardyce and his
side, who will face Cardiff in the first leg on Thursday before being back
at home for the second leg a week on Monday. And it is their home form which
has proved costly - West Ham have won a club record 13 games on the road but
dropped 28 points on their own turf to slip out of the top two. Allardyce
said: "I stuck my neck out when I arrived and said we wanted promotion in
the first season. "I've got a two-year contract but doing it in the first
season is important. We still have three games to win, and we will do it.
"We've had a very good season considering where we've come from. In the last
few years 86 points has been enough. "Our ultimate goal was not achieved, we
left ourselves too much to do, but we'll wake up tomorrow morning and look
forward to preparing for the play-offs. We have to lick our wounds, get over
our disappointment and get ready for the vital games ahead of us."

Short

Hull pulled one back through Corry Evans, who took advantage of Guy Demel's
poor header to nod the ball past Rob Green. And the visitors thought they
had equalised when Richard Garcia powered in a late header only to be
flagged offside. The Tigers' own play-off hopes ended a few weeks ago but
manager Nicky Barmby feels they can go one better next season. "There's a
bit of frustration," he admitted. "I genuinely believed we could make the
play-offs but we fell short.
"But the players are growing and getting better. I'm pleased with the lads
overall and we'll be better for it next season. "Will West Ham go up? It's
hard to say, there are some good teams in the play-offs so it will be
interesting."

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Vinny's Hull Report
Vinny 2:44 Sun Apr 29
West Ham Online

West Ham United 2 Hull City 1

West Ham's participation in this year's Play Offs were confirmed despite a
2-1 victory over Hull City with Carlton Cole scoring two goals.

Because of Southampton's thumping 4-0 victory over Coventry City at St
Mary's this meant no matter what result we could achieve it would not be
enough to get above the Saints who are promoted automatically to the
Premiership.

Whilst many of us knew this was the likely outcome of the day's proceedings
we still had that faint hope that Coventry could pull something out of the
bag despite their already confirmed relegation.

But it was not to be and we now look to the Play Offs as our way back to the
top division and it will be Cardiff City over two legs who stand in our way
for our first trip to Wembley since 1981.

There was a little deflation leaving the ground although we were expecting
this scenario but any disappointment needs to be put on the back burner as
we look to our most important games of the season and we cannot choke as we
have done in other big games this season.

I'm confident and I don't see why I shouldn't be. None of the teams in the
Play Off positions I fear although I am concerned about our recent dismal
record against Birmingham City who if we are successful in the Semi Final we
may well be playing in the Final.

You can drive yourself mad thinking about the points we have lost these
season in seemingly easy game. We can harp back to tactics from Allardyce,
player's being sent off and our horrible run of home draws but that now
doesn't matter as it is all done with and we move on to some enormous games
and we are three games away from meeting the goal set out by manager Sam
Allardyce, the club owner and the supporters.

If we do fail in this aim then this season would have been a failure. The
reason for this is that the club were very vocal about an instant return and
I don't think they were wrong to expect this.

Allardyce can point out that we had a lot of players leaving the club but
many of those we were happy to be rid of anyhow. Can you honestly say that
we miss Jonathan Spector, Lars Jacobsen, Matthew Upson, Manuel Da Costa, or
Zavon Hines.

Sure we lost Scott Parker and Demba Ba but Allardyce was backed financially
by the club and we managed to bring in many players who I suspect would be
able to walk into a number of Premiership sides such as Kevin Nolan, Matthew
Taylor, and George McCartney and solid Premiership experienced players like
Abdoulaye Faye and Papa Bouba Diop.

In this game we started well, tailed off a little and found it hard to break
Hull down but we kept working and scored the first goal which was fully
deserved. With the Southampton result filtering through and the players
obviously aware of the score in the second half the game died out and it was
a bit of a non-event.

We have now won our last two home games which is very positive and hopefully
this home hoodoo we have faced is now over and we can look at the home tie
against Cardiff as a game we all believe we can win.

The Team

Allardyce made one change to the side that defeated Leicester City last
Monday. The change came in midfield with Jack Collison dropped to the bench
and Henri Lansbury replacing him.

George McCartney was back from injury and included among the substitutes.

Starting for Hull City was former Hammer and Youth team product Richard
Garcia.

First Half

With the rain spilling down 'Bubbles' rang out as the players kicked off in
what the fans hoped would be our last game of the season.

We started well and look to get Hull on the back foot early. The visitors
had clearly done their homework after our 6-0 thumping of Brighton in the
last game at the Boleyn and looked to get tight to us early and break up our
passing game.

Ricardo Vaz Te started up front alongside Carlton Cole and not on the wing
as he has done in previous games.

With four minutes on the clock we should have taken the lead with a glorious
chance when Henri Lansbury crossed for Vaz Te who was totally unmarked but
he planted his header wide of the post. I haven't seen the chance again but
at the time I thought it was a sitter.

Cole was beginning to get the better of the Hull defenders and was winning
the majority of headers although most of the flicks were easily mopped up by
the Hull defenders.

With a quarter of the game gone it was filtering around that Southampton had
taken the lead at home to Coventry. This needn't effect our performance as
our aim was to simply win by as many goals as possible and if Coventry did
get something then we would be ready.

We were starting to rack up the corners and overall in this game we won an
astonishing 14 corner kicks with Hull winning 3.

Two minutes after scoring their first it became known that Southampton had
gone 2-0 up.

A long punt forward saw Cole challenge the defender, out muscle him and get
into the area but his cross was not accurate and missed Vaz Te.

The early atmosphere had become a little muted with the news of Southampton
leading and on the pitch we had dropped off a little although still the only
side looking as if they would score.

On 27 minutes we created another good chance as the ball was put through to
Lansbury who fired his shot over the bar despite only being around 12 yards
out.

Hull should have done a lot better on the half hour mark when Cole lost the
ball in his own half (much like against Birmingham) and like against
Birmingham it was a player with the surname of King, this time Joshua who
raced forward and he should have taken a shot himself but tried to knock the
ball square for a team mate but Reid got back to clear.

We hit the cross bar soon after as Matthew Taylor put a dipping cross into
the area which alluded the keeper and smacked off the woodwork. The ball hit
the Hull defender Dawson and went out for a corner.

Taylor took the corner which was excellent and it was met by Carlton Cole
who planted his header inside the far post with the defender on the line
unable to stop it and it was 1-0.

Hull were on the back foot soon after the goal with Vaz Te screwing his
cross across goal with no one on hand to apply the finish.

Half time came and although automatic promotion was looking unlikely we were
keeping up with our end of the bargain.

Second Half

We again started the half well with Noble seeing his shot from quite far out
go well wide but we would only have to wait four minutes for our lead to be
doubled.

It was a very well worked and well taken goal as Lansbury broke forward and
crossed for Carlton Cole who controlled well and volleyed past the Hull
keeper Mannone to make it 2-0.

As Cole has been given the goal against Brighton and not Henri Lansbury this
was Cole's 14th goal of the season.

Kevin Nolan found himself booked for a challenge on Liam Rosenior on 51
minutes and at the same time Sam Allardyce made his first change of the day
with Carlton Cole being replaced by Sam Baldock clearly with an eye on the
Thursday night game.

I thought we should have had a clear penalty a minute later when Vaz Te
latched onto a ball in the area and went down under a challenge from Dawson.
Without a benefit of a replay I can't be sure but it looked a good shout.

Southampton went 3-0 up with us still having to play an hour. Allardyce
responded to this by making his second change with Vaz Te coming off and
Nicky Maynard coming on to replace him.
With Southampton soon scoring a fourth the chants of 'We're going to
Wembley' were being sung by sections of the West Ham support.

The game really died at this point and it was Hull who saw more of the ball
and were the ones doing the attacking. We still continued to play long high
balls forward to Baldock and Maynard as if we thought Cole was still on the
pitch.

Hull's Corry Evans had a superb chance as he was put through but Robert
Green made a superb stop to deny him.

With around a quarter of the game to play Kevin Nolan came off and was
replaced by George McCartney with Taylor pushing up into midfield.

Out of nothing Hull pulled a goal back on 81 minutes in a real horror show
from Guy Demel.

The cross was put into the area deep and Demel although unchallenged decided
to loop his header into the area and as Green came out and went for it they
got in each other's way with Corry Evans getting up to head into the goal
and make it 2-1.

Hull were now looking stronger and thought they had equalised when a deep
cross found Garcia who superbly met the ball with a diving header which flew
past Green but the Australian was flagged offside.

With a few minutes remaining Gary O'Neil got a shot off and on target but in
doing so was caught by a late and horrible tackle from Evans which saw
O'Neil stay down. The referee didn't want to know despite it being right in
front of him and the ball was eventually kicked out. It was a horrible
challenge which should have brought a free kick and a booking.

There was to be no late drama and the final whistle went with the players
coming out to do a 'lap of honour?' after the game. I didn't stay for this,
instead I went out with my priority point form thinking I would simply hand
it in to the ticket office but this became a bit of an ordeal.

The normal queue was quite large and went around the corner. I thought 'fair
enough' but then it started going quite quickly and when we got to the front
it became apparent that another queue had formed along the wall where the
ticket office and club shop is. It was total chaos and a quite shocking
piece of crown management from the club.

The form was eventually put in and hopefully I will be travelling to Cardiff
on Thursday night with the rest of our support. It is just a shame we
couldn't have had a few more thousand.

Player Ratings

Robert Green
Made a superb stop from Evans in the second half although could have perhaps
commanded the situation better from Demel's mistake but perhaps that is
being harsh. We need him on form for the play offs. Just think, it could be
penalties!

Guy Demel
Has been in decent form recently and has looked quite solid but his mistake
that led to the goal was pretty awful and hopefully we will see no more of
that sort of thing.

Winston Reid
Another solid display from Reid who has on the whole been in excellent form
this season. This weak young footballer we saw last season has gone and if
anyone has benefitted from Championship football it is him.

James Tomkins
Good display from James Tomkins who may well be crowned the official Hammer
of the Year this week. Won most things in the air and is our main threat
from set pieces.

Matthew Taylor
Poor at times defensively and makes some odd choice of passes but then he
brings out his crossing ability which at times is really top quality and he
continues to make chances. Do we want him out of the team with that ability?

Henri Lansbury
Energetic and certainly covers a lot of ground. Will have an assist for the
cross for Cole and he should have scored himself in the first half. Involved
throughout and a decent display.

Mark Noble
Sat deep and played the game at his own pace. Made space for himself and
looked to try and spread the ball wide whenever possible.

Kevin Nolan
Got stuck in and made a few good challenges with some being wrongly given as
free kicks. Took a bit of a knock in the second half and was taken off as a
precaution.

Gary O'Neil
In the first half he gave the ball away a lot and drifted in and out of the
game. Was tidy in flashes but looked a bit knackered in the second half.

Ricardo Vaz Te
Not really at the races throughout the game and found it very difficult to
actually go past a player.

Carlton Cole
Two goals, and a good display from a man who is likely to finish our top
scorer again.

Subs Used

Sam Baldock (on for Cole 52 mins)
Had quite a lengthy period on the pitch but he couldn't get the ball at his
feet enough which was not all his fault and he didn't really get involved
enough.

Nicky Maynard (on for Vaz Te 60 mins)
Much like Baldock he found it very difficult to actually get into the game
and offered very little.

George McCartney (on for Nolan 74 mins)
Not much to say about his display as I didn't really notice him.

Subs Not Used: Collison, Faubert

Bookings: Nolan

Man Of The Match: Carlton Cole

Hull City: Mannone, Rosenior, Cooper, Dawson, McKenna, Chester, Evans,
Cairney, King, Garcia, Fryatt
Subs: Oxley, Stewart, Brady, Bradley, Cullen

Attendance: 35,000

Overall
The last game of the normal league season ended in victory and we can now
take that confidence from another positive result into the Play Offs where
our destiny lies.

This was a difficult performance to judge given the other issues surrounding
it although I do believe we were worth our win despite the lethargic second
half.

The season is far from over and there are a few more hurdles to jump yet.

Next Game - Cardiff City (a) Thursday 3rd May, 7.45pm Kick Off

It doesn't seem that long ago since we were beating Cardiff 2-0 on their own
patch with Kevin Nolan and George McCartney getting the goals.

Any sort of victory would be a superb result and give us a fantastic chance
of securing our place in the final. But this won't be easy and Cardiff know
that they too are only a few games away from making it to the Premiership -
a place where they probably should have achieved over the last few season.
This match means no less to them than it does to us.

We can certainly do this and we have the players to win all three games. I'm
not concerned by any of the teams in the Play Offs - I'm concerned about us
choking in the big games again.

Fortunes Always Hiding - we need to find them now.




Sam's View

We finish the season on a high; we won our last two home games playing very
well indeed, We have had outstanding away results all season and at home too
apart from the string of four draws. That was the only difference between
automatic promotion and the Play-Offs - our run of four home draws has
ultimately cost us."

"We completely annihilated Hull City in the first half. I was amazed at half
time it was only 1-0 to us it should have been like the Brighton score. But
we didn't convert our chances even though we had the opportunity to do so."

"We deservedly doubled our lead just after half time with an outstanding
goal from Carlton Cole. He got two goals, which is very important going into
the Play-Offs as our front men will need to contribute in a very big way
during the Play-Offs.
"Nicky Maynard and Sam Baldock came off the bench and played very well too.
These are the players we need to be on form for the Play-Offs."

"The Play-Offs are a one-off event. It's completely unique in its
atmosphere, its tension and the pressure you are under. You have got to deal
with it properly and good form or bad form it counts for nothing. You have
got no margin for error; you have to do it right on the day and then hope
the other forces you can't control don't go against you.

"We lost in the last minute against them in the first game of the season and
then we beat them at their ground in March. So it's one win each and we go
into the game on Thursday making sure that when we come back to the Boleyn
we are still in the tie hopefully with a lead which we can build on and
progress to Wembley."



Season 2011/12 Scorers and Red Cards

Carlton Cole - 14 (14 League)
Kevin Nolan - 12 (12 League)
Ricardo Vaz Te - 10(10 League)
Mark Noble - 8 (8 League)
Sam Baldock - 5 (5 League)
Jack Collison - 4 (4 League)
Own Goal - 4 (4 League)
Winston Reid - 3 (3 League)
James Tomkins - 3 (3 League)
Gary O'Neil - 2 (2 League)
Nicky Maynard - 2 (2 League)
John Carew - 2 (2 League)
Frederique Piquionne - 2 (2 League)
Henri Lansbury - 1 (1 League)
Papa Bouba Diop - 1 (1 League)
Joey O'Brien - 1 (1 League)
Matthew Taylor - 1 (1 League)
Julien Faubert - 1 (1 League)
Frank Nouble - 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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Match Report: West Ham 2 Hull City 1
By Iain Dale About 11 hours ago
West Ham Till I Die

What a peculiar day. That smidgeon of hope at the beginning of day was soon
extinguished with the news that Southampton were two up at St Mary's. And
from then on, frankly nothing seemed to matter very much. All thoughts were
directed towards Cardiff. But let's not take away from the performance
today. Apart from the last twenty minutes, this was one of the better
displays of the season. But as soon as the front two were taken off, and
Nolan had to be replaced by McCartney, everything seemed to crumble. Cole
and Vaz Te and done very well, with Carlton sniffing his first hattrick, but
Allardyce was having none of it, and took him off after he had scored his
terrific second goal. He was right to do so, and save him for Thursday. I
was looking forward to seeing Maynard combine with Baldock, but it was
difficult to notice that either of them were on the pitch to be honest. Both
looked extremely poor and totally out of nick.

Let me also heap some praise on Winston Reid. When he joined at the
beginning of last season he certainly didn't live up to his reputation as a
New Zealand international. In fact he was dreadful. But over time, he has
developed into an assured, fine player, who also knows where the goal is.
Today, he put in another great performance, and had Carlton Cole not scored
a brace, would have undoubtedly been my man of the match.

I'll also say a kind word for Gary O'Neil, who, it has to be said, I have
been very critical of. Today he had a good game. There. I've said it. He
tackled well, nearly scored a screamer and played some killer passes through
to Cole and Vaz Te. I still don't think he is consistent enough to perform
well at this level, but I think I am on a losing wicket on that one.

It was a shame we didn't keep up the momentum at the end. Demel and Green
committed a joint howler to let Hull score, and to be honest they always
looked like getting a second. We were lucky it didn't matter if had done.
Demel has actually developed quite well in the few games he has played and I
think if we are to remain in this league he could be a good player for us
next season,

So to the scores - Green 6, Demel 6, Tomkins 7, Reid 8, Nolan, 6, Noble 7,
Lansbury 5, Taylor 5, O'Neil 7, Cole 8, Vaz Te 7, Maynard 4, Baldock 4,
McCartney 4

And so we look forward to Thursday when we play Cardiff away. I'd love to
travel to Wales for that one but work prevents me. Cardiff are a good side,
and I'd rather have played Blackpool to be honest. But beggars can't be
choosers. We should be optimistic, though. We all know that we have the
players to beat any team at this level on their day.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Allardyce talks up Hammers' chances
West Ham United 2 Hull City 1
PATRICK BARCLAY UPTON PARK SUNDAY 29 APRIL 2012
Independent.co.uk

It has been more of a maze thana road, but Sam Allardyce still believes it
will end in the Premier League. "We have three more games to win," the West
Ham manager said after confirmation that his team would contest the
play-offs, initially at Cardiff on Thursday, "and we'll do it".

Victory over Hull, though narrow, can have done his confidence no harm.
Since trailing Birmingham 3-1 three weeks ago, they have scored 10 goals in
two-and-a-bit home matches, conceding just one, which suggests that a
tendency to be held at Upton Park may have been overcome in time to salvage
the promotion campaign. Away performances, as Allardyce stressed, have been
"the backbone of a very good season" so far. But Hull, whose manager, Nicky
Barmby, was disappointed not to be in the play-offs, were forced back for
the best part of an hour, sorely tested by the power of Carlton Cole, guile
of Kevin Nolan and touches of Henri Lansbury.

West Ham had hoped for anearly goal to pressure Southampton and should have
had one when Lansbury crossed only for Ricardo Vaz Te, his view obscured by
Cole, to head wide from three yards. Lansbury was off target before Cole put
West Ham ahead with a header from Matt Taylor's corner.

A slanting cross from Lansbury that bisected the visiting central defenders
let Cole chest and volley his second before being taken off to rest, along
with Vaz Te, for the City of Cardiff Stadium. Corry Evans put the result
briefly in doubt, but Allardyce's men survived.

West Ham (4-3-1-2): Green; Demel, Tomkins, Reid, Taylor; Lansbury, Noble,
O'Neil; Nolan (McCartney, 73); Cole (Baldock, 51), Vaz Te (Maynard, 60).

Hull (4-5-1): Mannone; Rosenior, Chester, Cooper, Dawson; King (Stewart,
h-t), McKenna, Cairney (Brady, 73), Evans, Garcia; Fryatt.

Referee Nigel Miller.

Man of the match Lansbury (West Ham).

Match rating 5/10.


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