Daily WHUFC News - 6th May 2012

'We've got to try and win the game'
WHUFC.com
Matt Taylor is targeting victory against Cardiff City on Bank Holiday Monday
05.05.2012

Matt Taylor says West Ham United must go all out to try and win their
second-leg Play-Off semi-final with Cardiff City. The Hammers hold the
advantage after winning 2-0 at the Cardiff City Stadium on Thursday, but the
midfield wideman believes that will count for nothing when the Bluebirds
visit the Boleyn Ground on Monday. "We've got to try and win the game,"
Taylor told West Ham TV. "There is no other way we can look at it. It will
be a difficult game. "They will come with nothing to lose. They're not
expected to come to our place and score three or four goals. We will
approach it professionally."

Although the Hammers were comfortable in their first-leg victory, the Welsh
side showed enough of a threat to make sure Big Sam's side need to be on
their guard in the return leg. "It couldn't have gone much better for us. It
was a very professional performance from us. We weathered the storm. "They
were pushing for the last few minutes but Greeny didn't have too many saves
to make other than in the first half. We could have scored more goals but
we're pleased with the clean sheet."

Taylor started the game at left back before being pushed further forward
when Players' Player of the Year George McCartney was brought once the
Hammers were two goals to the good. Jack Collison grabbed both goals and
Taylor believes the victory was just rewards for the Wales international's
efforts to get back to full fitness after a knee injury. "For Jack's second
one I just said 'Hit it. Hit it'. He smashed it in the back of the net. It's
great for him and for his confidence. "In terms of my selection, I'll play
where the manager wants to play me."

Carlton Cole was once again outstanding as the spearhead of the Hammers'
attack as he held up the ball and relieved the pressure on his defenders
time after time. Taylor believes that when he is on his game like that,
there is nobody better in the league. "He did exceptionally well. Carlton
was unplayable. Every time the ball went up in the air he contested well,
won it, brought it down and brought other players into the game. "When he's
like that there's no better player, especially in this league."

Monday's game has already sold out and Taylor knows that a scintillating
atmosphere will await the players as they exit the tunnel at 4.25pm. "I came
here to play football and I'm getting the chance to do that. Those night are
what you cherish in football."

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Macca on: Cardiff City
WHUFC.com
Neil McDonald has stressed that West Ham United still have a big job to do
on Monday afternoon
05.05.2012

West Ham United play host to Cardiff City looking to complete the task they
started so impressively on Thursday evening. A 2-0 win in Wales means the
Hammers hold the advantage, but the West Ham United Assistant Manager knows
his side are still a long way from a Wembley final. There was good news on
the injury front with a clean bill of health reported from Thursday's
first-leg victory ,which means McDonald and manager Sam Allardyce have a
some tough selection choices to make. The likes of Nicky Maynard, Julien
Faubert and George McCartney all pushing for starts having been on the bench
at the Cardiff City Stadium.

Can we start with team news?

NM: Everybody is fit and ready and we've had a good preparation. We stayed
over in Cardiff. We went to the hotel to do the warm-down and so the boys
could get a good night's sleep. Then we travelled back on the train on
Friday so the preparations started straight after the game. Everybody is fit
and waiting for the call to play.

How do you approach the game mentally?

NM: Our home form over the last two games has been really good which will
give us confidence. The support we had the other night from the travelling
fans was fantastic and I think that will bounce onto the home game and the
whole place will be trying to take the roof off. There will be a fantastic
atmosphere but it still won't be an easy game to get through. Preparation
and planning is the key. We've done it for one game - hopefully we can do it
for the second.

Will you be sitting back?

NM: Certainly not. We'll try to get the third goal. If you get the third
goal, nine times out of time you'd say the game was over. We'll have to play
off the front foot and try to get that third goal and try to kill the game
off as quickly as we can.

What did you make of Jack Collison's performance the other night?

NM: It's amazing that you have lucky grounds and he seems to play well when
he goes back to Wales. To get the two goals rounded off a great individual
performance from him and it's always nice when you score in the country you
play for. He's on a very big high.

Is he over his injury problems now?

NM: No, he has to be managed. He's played a lot of goals so congratulations
to the medical and sports science side who got him through and
congratulations to him as you have to do the hard work to do the rehab on
your injury. He's stuck to the programme and that's what helped him with the
majority of the games.

The defence is coping well too. You're not giving much away?

NM: We've scored 20 goals and only conceded a handful over the last seven
games. We certainly scored eight at home and only conceded one in our last
two. That's good form coming into the games and we've got the two goal lead.
It's looking positive but we've got to be on our guard as Cardiff have got
nothing to lose. They'll be coming to our place where they've already beaten
us so we have to on our guard.

Has Sam spoken about his Play-Off experiences he's had before?

NM: When we were at Bolton, we were getting beaten 2-0 by West Brom and he's
got the nous and experience to change it and we got it back to 2-2. Then we
beat them at Burnden Park and then we've gone on to win the final against
Preston, 3-0. He's got good experience and that will work well for us and
the players so he can pass it on.

Considering how close the club came to automatic, the heads have not dropped
have they?

NM: As I said before we were more disappointed that we didn't beat Bristol
City so we've had a long time to get our head round that we're in the
Play-Offs. We had a couple of days where we felt sorry for ourselves but the
concentration is back and the players want to be promoted. A lot of them
played in the Premier League last year and they want to do it again next
year. I think that has showed throughout this season. Sometimes it doesn't
work, sometimes it does. We're training really well, everyone is fit and
there's good competition for places. We've got a slight advantage at the
moment and we have to increase it as quickly as we can.

Is the first goal vital on Monday?

NM: If you look at it on the negative side, Cardiff have to score two goals
to win. I think two goals away from home is fantastic and our home form puts
us in a good light and a good mood. The support we had in Cardiff will
bounce off onto the home crowd and it will be an intimidating place to come.


Did you watch the other Play-Off semi-final?

NM: Yes we dd. I think it's important you do. It was a very close game again
so it can go either way in Birmingham. We've got to concentrate on ourselves
first and foremost and if we're lucky enough to get through we'll probably
go and watch the game on Wednesday.

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Could the Brighton Factor Work in Our Favour?
By S J Chandos About 9 hours ago
West Ham Till I Die

The outstanding Hammers home performance, this season, was undoubtedly the
6-0 demolition of Brighton & Hove Albion. A six goal victory is always a red
letter day for supporters and it was a match when everything came together
for the team. Yes, the team's play was expensive, skillful, hard working and
clinical, but there was also another factor. Brighton came to pass the ball,
attack and win the game. There was no 5 man midfield, negative tactics and
reliance on the counter-attack. Poyet's Brighton came to play their football
and alowed us to do likewise. The game was played in accordance with the
purist principles of the late Ron Greenwood.

The result was that we played them off the Boleyn pitch and won heavily. And
I suspect that there would have been more home results like that if other
Championship teams, most of which do not possess Brighton's passing ability,
had arrived with the same open attitude, intentions and tactics. Supporters
have frequently enphasised West Ham's alleged lack of creativity and width
as the key factors in accounting for our inability to to break teams down.
And there is undoubtedly truth in that proposition, because, regardless of
the negativity of their tactics, we should have had the ability, guile and
finishing power to win at home against the likes of Watford and Palace..But
the Brighton result arguably shows why opposition teams played that way.
After all, 'Turkeys do not vote for Christmas' and most knew that it would
have been suicidal to try to beat us in an open, attacking game. It might
also help explain why Sam Allardyce often set up the way that he did at
home, because he was loath to give the opposition the significant advantge
of the extra man in midfield.

I guess a counter-argument could be that Southampton did not have too much
trouble at St Marys, but I wonder if team's approached games there in quite
the same negative fashion? That's a moot point, which I will not pursue
here.

Anyway, the crux of the matter is that hopefully Cardiff City will come out
'all guns blazing' to try to get a early goal in an effort to pull the
play-off semi-final around. But if they do, that will hopefully give West
Ham the space to help us pass the ball and punish them. I suppose they could
realistically come to Upton Park and play in tight, invite West Ham on to
them and then try to hit us an the counter. They could, but that would
require a lot of nerve and discipline to execute, as they get increasingly
jumpy the further the clock runs down without scoring. Anyway, we shall see,
but lets hope they do go all 'gung ho' and, in doing so, play in to our
hands. We shall see? I am hoping for a relatively stress free match, but I
would not bet on it knowing our beloved West Ham Utd FC! We do have a
distinct tendency to do things the hard way.

We Hammers fans live in hope, if not always in expectation! But, at the end
of the day, we should get the right result and book our spot in the play-off
Final. COY!

SJ. Chandos.

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Cardiff City boss Malky Mackay desperate for early goal to revive play-off
hopes
by Phil Blanche, Wales On Sunday
Wales Online

MALKY MACKAY insists an early Cardiff City goal at Upton Park will change
the whole play-off picture. West Ham were convincing 2-0 winners in the
first leg of the semi-final in Cardiff on Thursday night and are red-hot
favourites to play either Birmingham City or Blackpool in the Championship
play-off final on Saturday week.
But Mackay believes Hammers' confidence - among players, management staff
and supporters - will be rocked if the Bluebirds do score first in East
London tomorrow afternoon. "Two-nil is a dangerous scoreline," declared
Mackay. "The first goal is key and we need to get the first goal. If we do
that things change. "The group are a tight unit - the coaches and the
players - they have been all season to this point. If nothing else, they are
very resilient."

Mackay refused to be downbeat after West Ham's away win, even if most
observers felt Cardiff struggled to lay a glove on Sam Allardyce's side. "At
3-0 you're looking for the Liverpool-AC Milan thing (in the Champions League
final)," he said. "But we had three or four chances which flashed inches
wide and one cleared off the line as well, so another day it might have been
slightly different. "We'll go into it with nothing to lose and we've got 90
minutes to score two goals. "Our away record's been fantastic, as has West
Ham's, and we'll do everything we can over the course of the 90 minutes to
get the two goals back. "If it takes longer than that to get a winner, so be
it."

Hammers fans are hoping for an East End knees-up tomorrow with a sell-out
Upton Park crowd close to 35,000 expected. "I'm sure there'll be a fantastic
atmosphere, I know from my time there as a player they've got a fantastic
set of fans," said Mackay. "It'll be a tough atmosphere but I'll certainly
be trying to give our fans something to cheer. "All my focus is on us trying
to get to the play-off final and that's not done yet. "The scoreline
obviously makes it more difficult at the moment but it's something that's
certainly can be rescued. "We'll be desperately trying to do it for our club
and our fans."

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West Ham hero Jack Collison confident of finishing job against Cardiff City
by Phil Blanche, Wales On Sunday
May 6 2012

WALES star Jack Collison has warned Cardiff City that in-form West Ham are
ready to finish the play-off job at Upton Park. Collison was the first-leg
hero at the Cardiff City Stadium on Thursday night when, for the first time
in his career, he scored twice in the same match. The 23-year-old midfielder
struck twice before half-time to put the Hammers in the semi-final driving
seat and within touching distance of Wembley. The size of Cardiff's task in
East London is illustrated by the fact that no side has ever recovered from
a 2-0 deficit at home to make the Championship play-off final. And Collison
insists the Hammers are in no mood to let things slip on their own patch
tomorrow. "Cardiff are a good team, they caused us a few problems in the
first game and we won't underestimate them," he said. "We're halfway there
and it's up to us to look after that. "We will go into the match fully
prepared and look to complete the job. "Our target at the start of the
season was to go straight back up. "We weren't quite good enough to get
automatic and, though we can't look too far ahead, half the job is done.
It's ours to lose now and we've got a lot confidence going into the second
leg. "We're at our place and we're really looking forward to the game."

Collison has good reason for optimism after West Ham's strong finish to the
season. Sam Allardyce's side have lost only once in 19 games, a 4-2 home
defeat to eventual champions Reading at the end of March. But the Hammers
failed to nail down a top-two spot after drawing so many games at home in
the second half of the season. Of course, that will be enough to book a
place in the Wembley final on Saturday week after an impressive display in
South Wales where Allardyce's men really bared their teeth. Apart from
Collison's cutting edge, James Tomkins and Winston Reid were formidable at
the back, Mark Noble, Gary O'Neil and Kevin Nolan bossed midfield and
Ricardo Vaz Te fizzed down the flank. And all the time Carlton Cole was
simply too much for Mark Hudson and Ben Turner to handle in unison.
"It was a really good performance throughout, down to teamwork," said
Collison. "We've been superb away from home and knew we had got a 2-0 win
earlier in the season. "That gave us great confidence, we've been on a good
run and knew if we worked hard we would get just reward. "Carlton {Cole} was
magnificent for us up top, I don't think he has played much better all
season, and that set the tone for the whole performance. "I thought he was
unbelievable and really worked his socks off. "Cardiff started very well but
it was great to get an early goal and that settled our nerves. "Thankfully
we went on to get a second, put in a solid away performance and that puts us
in a great position. "Now it's up to us to perform on Monday and make sure
we get to the final. "There will be pressure at Upton Park but that's the
same for every game and we're confident as a team. "We know if we do our job
right we will be very tough to beat."

Given West Ham's firepower in the shape of Cole, Nolan and Vaz Te, Collison
was a somewhat unlikely hero in South Wales. He had found the net only four
times before this season, though one of those had come in his previous
appearance - West Ham's 2-1 win at Leicester. "Obviously it is nice to be
the one scoring the goals," he said. "I was getting in the right positions
earlier in the season but perhaps not finding the net as much as I'd have
liked to. "Thankfully they seem to be flying in at the right time. "The
first one I think I did my hardest to miss it, to be honest! "It was a great
ball from Vaz, he put it on a plate for me. "I've hit the keeper and luckily
it has bounced out for me and I've managed to knock it in. "The second one,
it has bounced out to me and Matty [Taylor] was in my ear telling me to
shoot so I thought 'Why not?' and I caught it quite sweet. "It took a little
deflection but I think it was going in anyway... and they all count."

And Collison hopes his fellow countrymen will not hold his play-off double
against him when he joins up with Chris Coleman's Wales squad at the end of
the month for the New York friendly with Mexico. "It's a great place to play
and Cardiff are a big club with a great fan base, so it was nice to come
here and play in a proper game.
"It's nice to get a bit of stick and it's good fun. I really enjoy playing
there. "It was nice to get the goal so we'll have to see what sort of
reception I get when I'm back in Wales!," Collison added.

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