Daily WHUFC News - 14th April 2013

On this day - 14 April
WHUFC.com
A look back at a thumping victory over Brighton & Hove Albion from this day
a year ago
14.04.2013

Classic match
West Ham United 6-0 Brighton & Hove Albion
npower Championship
14 April 2012
A year ago today West Ham United celebrated their biggest victory of the
season against a Brighton side who still harboured play-off ambitions. A
ruthless display from Sam Allardyce's men was to blow them away, as West Ham
built on a four-point Easter weekend. The game was all but done-and-dusted
inside the first ten minutes as a three goal burst put West Ham in an
unassailable position. Vaz Te notched a quickfire brace and Kevin Nolan
quickly got in on the act too to leave Brighton stunned. The Hammers didn't
let up and inflicted further misery on Albion after the break, with Vaz Te
completing his hat trick with a superb scissor-kick volley. Carlton Cole
added a fifth on 64 minutes and a Gary Dicker own goal 12 minutes from the
end completed the rout.

Complete record - 14 April

2012 West Ham United 6-0 Brighton & Hove Albion (Championship)
2007 Sheffield United 3-0 West Ham United (Premier League)
2001 West Ham United 3-1 Derby County (Premier League)
1992 West Ham United 0-2 Southampton (Division One)
1991 West Ham United 0-4 Nottingham Forest (FA Cup Semi-Final)
1990 Barnsley 1-1 West Ham United (Division Two)
1987 West Ham United 0-0 Manchester United (Division One)
1984 West Ham United 0-1 Sunderland (Division One)
1979 Orient 0-2 West Ham United (Division Two)
1973 West Ham United 1-1 Leeds United (Division One)
1969 West Bromwich Albion 3-1 West Ham United (Division One)
1962 Everton 3-0 West Ham United (Division One)
1956 Leicester City 2-1 West Ham United (Division Two)
1952 Notts County 1-0 West Ham United (Division Two)
1951 West Ham United 4-2 Notts County (Division Two)
1934 West Ham United 1-2 Blackpool (Division Two)
1933 Chesterfield 1-0 West Ham United (Division Two)
1928 West Ham United 1-2 The Wednesday (Division One)
1925 West Ham United 6-2 Sheffield United (Division One)
1923 Fulham 0-2 West Ham United (Division Two)
1922 West Ham United 1-2 Clapton Orient (Division Two)

Played 21, Won 6, Drawn 3, Lost 12, Scored 30, Conceded 32

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Big Sam happy with Saints stalemate
WHUFC.com
Sam Allardyce was pleased to see his West Ham United side come from a goal
down to draw at Southampton
13.04.2013

Sam Allardyce hailed his West Ham United side after they picked up another
welcome Barclays Premier League point on the road by drawing 1-1 at
Southampton. The Hammers came from behind to get a positive result away from
home for the first time this season, with Andy Carroll's free-kick
cancelling out Gaston Ramirez's opener after a goalless first half. Carroll
fired home a low free-kick with 24 minutes remaining, cancelling out Uruguay
international Ramirez's 59th-minute opener - a goal which occurred after the
midfielder's first effort had been blocked by James Tomkins. As they had
done at Stoke City and Liverpool in recent weeks, West Ham produced an
organised, resilient and determined display and Big Sam felt they were good
value for their share of the spoils. When the defence was breached, Jussi
Jaaskelainen continued his outstanding form by making fantastic saves to
deny Rickie Lambert and substitute Jay Rodriguez either side of half-time.
"I'd have been bitterly disappointed if we'd lost this game after the way we
played and the chances we created because we really did nullify Southampton
and restrict them to very few chances indeed," said the manager, who also
saw Carroll flash a shot inches wide, Ricardo Vaz Te shoot narrowly over and
Kevin Nolan's goalbound effort hit a Southampton defender. "The goal that
they did score was extremely lucky on the rebound when it fell straight to
Ramirez's feet. Before that, we missed too many good chances to go 1-0 up
but, in the end, Andy Carroll came up with a free-kick. He has driven it
into the corner left-footed and shown more of his all-round ability. "He got
us back in the game and we were looking to try and win it and I thought we
might have done that on occasions, but unfortunately we didn't. Being as
Southampton have beaten Liverpool and Chelsea at home in their previous two
home games, this is a big point to us."

For the second weekend in succession, West Ham worked their collective socks
off to stifle a side famed for their slick passing and elusive movement.
Just as they did at Anfield, the Hammers closed down every bit of space and
restricted their usually free-flowing hosts to a half-chances. Even
Ramirez's opener had a large slice of luck about it as his initial shot hit
Tomkins and rolled back into his path before the Saints No10 rifled an
unstoppable shot past Jaaskelainen. Earlier, the Finn had produced a
miraculous stop to push Lambert's close-range strike onto the base of the
post. "That's exactly what it's all about away from home. You cannot be open
and expansive because teams in the form that Southampton are in - and
they've shown what they can do against the big boys - will punish you.
Chelsea and Liverpool have come here and opened themselves up and been
beaten quite comfortably. "We didn't open ourselves up. We made it nice and
tight and solid and then we broke when we could on the counter-attack with
good, speedy moves and created some really good chances to score.
Unfortunately, we failed to do so until we got the free-kick."

The manager was delighted to see Carroll bag his fifth goal in seven matches
for the Hammers, and also to see Jaaskelainen continue his formidable form
between the sticks. "It was a pity Andy missed the Liverpool game because he
was really flying [after two goals against West Bromwich Albion] and he is
still flying now," said Big Sam. "Goals make centre forwards so much more
confident and putting that one in the back of the net, particularly after he
missed a sitter at the start of the second half, has really pleased me and
really pleased him. "The one big chance they had in the game, Jussi has
pulled out a really good save. How he has got it around the post is quite
remarkable. It's a very close one and he's got down and put the right hand
on it and squirmed it around the post. That was the only real clear-cut
chance Southampton had and it was obviously a great save from Jussi."

One sour note was the sight of seeing James Tomkins hobbling off with an
injury late on. With Winston Reid and George McCartney also side-lined, Big
Sam may have to reshuffle his in-form defence for the visitors of Manchester
United on Wednesday evening. "He's limped off so it doesn't look very clever
for Wednesday, does it?" said the manager. "Had we got a full week and no
game this week, it would have been easier to get him fit for the next game,
but it's a bit of a problem. "James, Winston and George being out leaves me
a little thin defensively for Wednesday but we'll wait and see and assess it
and see what we can do. "Whatever team we have got available, I'm sure they
will go out and enjoy playing against Manchester United."

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Collins pleased to end Saints run
WHUFC.com
West Ham United defender James Collins felt they deserved a point at
Southampton
13.04.2013

West Ham United prevented Southampton from claiming a fourth straight home
victory on Saturday and defender James Collins was delighted to end their
run.
The Saints have seen off Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea at their St
Mary's home in recent weeks, but Andy Carroll's second half equaliser
ensured they would only gain a point against the Hammers. Having claimed a
draw at Liverpool the previous week, Welshman Collins was happy to build on
that result at St Mary's. He said: "I think we'd have taken the point before
the game as they've had some good results recently at home. "We are a bit
disappointed in the changing room because we had a couple of chances to win
it from set plays, but looking at it I think we matched them. "The
conditions were tough, the wind was getting up and the pitch was quite
slippery. I thought we dealt with it well though, we were better in the
second half than in the first. We're on a little run and we haven't lost in
three so we want to continue that. "It was similar to last week - they pass
it well and try to move you around. We dealt with it pretty well, their goal
was quite fortunate really - we blocked it and it's fallen to him. On
another day that pings off you and goes out of play. "Getting the equaliser
so soon after they scored was a real boost. We were confident we could get
back in the game and Andy with his left foot controlled the shot well. "It's
another good performance away from home and we'll move on from here."

The Hammers welcome Manchester United to the Boleyn Ground next and Collins
would love to find himself on the scoresheet again after netting a double
against the Red Devils in the FA Cup earlier this season. He added: "A
repeat would be good! I need to be scoring more anyway, from the amount of
corners we have. "It's going to be a tough game, obviously they're going for
the Premier League but we've given them two good games already this season,
so there's no reason why we can't get a result. "We shouldn't fear them. We
know what they're about having played them three times this season. We only
lost 1-0 there in the league, and it was just a late goal in the FA Cup
which stopped us beating them at home."

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Carroll blast earns another point
WHUFC.com
West Ham United came from behind to draw 1-1 at Southampton on Saturday
13.04.2013

Andy Carroll scored his fourth goal in five games to earn a point for the
Hammers at Southampton on Saturday afternoon. The Hammers trailed to Gaston
Ramirez's 59th minute goal, but Carroll blasted home a free kick just seven
minutes later to ensure the spoils would be shared. In sodden conditions,
Sam Allardyce's men had to cope with some slick football and neat interplay
from their hosts, although they did not get to see the whites of Jussi
Jaaskelainen's eyes too often. The point was the second earned from
successive away games and secured a third game unbeaten for the Hammers as
they maintained 12th place in the Barclays Premier League table. Southampton
showed what they are capable of with a third minute move which had Adam
Lallana bearing down on goal. Rickie Lambert fed the ball through to his
fellow attacker, but James Tomkins got back brilliantly to block his path to
goal. At the other end Artur Boruc had to plunge down to his left to save
from Kevin Nolan after Mohamed Diame's left wing cross skipped off the turf,
bounced off James Collins and fell to the skipper.
Ricardo Vaz Te sent a shot whistling just over from range, but Southampton
were dangerous when they got their passing going in slick conditions and
Tomkins had to make another fine block to deny Lallana after he had combined
with Lambert again. With 37 minutes on the clock the hosts went desperately
close to edging in front when Ramirez delivered a free kick from the right
and Lambert found space at the back stick to slide in and meet. Jaaskelainen
was alert to the danger though and got down just in time to keep the ball
out with the help of the post. The Hammers were almost caught napping right
at the end of the first half, but Lambert's header from a Jack Cork cross
drifted a whisker wide.

West Ham went equally close ten minutes after the restart, with Carroll
controlling and shooting just past the far post after Maya Yoshida got under
the flight of Vaz Te's delivery. It was Southampton who were to take the
lead with 59 minutes on the clock, though, when Ramirez collected a header
from Tomkins, bounced the ball off him to make his way through and finished
coolly high past Jaaskelainen. Their lead was not to last long, as the
visitors levelled up just seven minutes later. Diame was fouled by Jos
Hooiveld on the edge of the box and Gary O'Neil touched the free kick for
Carroll to blast low beyond Boruc, with the help of a deflection off Steven
Davis. Rickie Lambert fired in a free kick, which Carroll flicked behind
from in the wall as Southampton tried to come again, and Jaaskelainen saved
Jay Rodriguez's injury time skidder, but there was no way through for a
second as the Hammers made their point.

Southampton: Boruc; Clyne, Yoshida, Hooiveld, Fox; Schneiderlin, Cork,
S.Davis; Ramirez (Puncheon 78), Lambert, Lallana (Rodriguez 72)
Subs: K.Davis (GK), Fonte, Ward-Prowse, Guly, Mayuka
Goal: Ramirez 59
Booked: Schneiderlin, Fox

West Ham United: Jaaskelainen; Demel, Collins, Tomkins (Pogatetz 64),
O'Brien; Diame, O'Neil, Nolan; Vaz Te (Taylor 85), Carroll, Jarvis (Collison
58)
Subs: Henderson (GK), C.Cole, Paulista, Potts
Goal: Carroll 66
Booked: Carroll, Pogatetz

Referee: Mike Dean
Attendance: 31,984

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Southampton 1 West Ham 1
FT 90 +5
HT 0-0
13 April 2013
Last updated at 17:06
By Nabil Hassan
BBC Sport

Southampton and West Ham moved closer to sealing their Premier League status
with a hard-earned draw at St Mary's. Rickie Lambert saw an effort clawed
onto the post by West Ham keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen while Hammers striker
Andy Carroll volleyed wide from close range. Gaston Ramirez fired Saints
into the lead with a clinical finish after his initial shot was blocked. "It
is a point which takes both sides one point closer to another season of
Premier League football. Both goals came in the second half on a rainy
afternoon on the south coast. Gaston Ramirez's goal for Saints was cancelled
out by Andy Carroll's strike a few moments later."

But Carroll levelled the game with a low free-kick under the Saints wall as
both teams moved onto 38 points. And with the 40-point mark the unofficial
target for survival, both sides will now feel comfortable that they will be
playing in the Premier League next season. Southampton, who were promoted
with the Hammers last season, have five games remaining while West Ham still
have six to play. Both started brightly despite difficult conditions with a
rain-soaked pitch responsible for a first half that was littered with poor
challenges. Artur Boruc was the first keeper to be tested, West Ham captain
Kevin Nolan forcing a low save from 12 yards, moments before Ricardo Vaz Te
fizzed a shot over the crossbar.
Play media

Joey O'Brien was lucky to escape punishment for the Hammers after a late
challenge on Morgan Schneiderlin - who himself was booked for diving earlier
in the half. Danny Fox followed team-mate Schneiderlin into the book for an
awful lunge on Guy Demel in what was proving to be a physical encounter that
boiled over several times. But it was the hosts who twice came close to
breaking the deadlock and both times it was their top scorer Lambert who
threatened to add to his 14 goals this season. First he was denied by a
wonderful save from Jaaskelainen who clawed his sliding effort from
Ramirez's in-swinging free-kick onto the back post and away to safety. And
then just before the break Lambert flashed a header inches wide of
Jaaskelainen's far post from Jack Cork's cross.

Southampton's run-in

20 April: Swansea (a)
27 April: West Brom (h)
4 May: Tottenham (a)
12 May: Sunderland (a)
19 May: Stoke (h)

Carroll, who had been anonymous in the first half, went close to opening the
scoring but inexplicably volleyed wide from eight yards with the goal
gaping.
And Ramirez made West Ham pay for that miss, firing Saints ahead with a
fierce strike from just inside the box. Having seen his initial shot charged
down by James Collins he collected the rebound before firing past the
on-rushing Jaaskelainen. But Saints could only hold onto their lead for four
minutes with Carroll firing his free-kick under the wall and past the
wrong-footed Boruc after a slight deflection for what was only West Ham's
10th away goal all season. Carroll tested the keeper again with a low drive
with 15 minutes remaining as both sides tired as a result of the conditions.
The introductions of Jay Rodriguez and Jason Puncheon provided Southampton
with a needed injection of pace. And Rodriguez almost won the game late on
with a direct run at the Hammers defence with his rasping low effort well
saved by Jaaskelainen as the game ended level.

Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino: "I do think we deserved the
victory. We worked superbly and were better than them. "We knew they would
be physical and direct but I want to congratulate my players because we
managed to impose our brand of football even though the pitch suited them.
"It's a shame we conceded so quickly but it was an unfortunate moment in the
game and these things happen in football. "I'm content, especially
considering the virus we had in the squad this week, but unhappy that we
didn't get the three points we deserved."

West Ham's run-in
17 April: Man Utd (h)
20 April: Wigan (h)
27 April: Man City (a)
4 May: Newcastle (h)
12 May: Everton (a)
19 May: Reading (h)

West Ham boss Sam Allardyce: "In the end I thought we were more than
comfortable. Away goals have been our problem all season and we again
created some simple chances which we didn't convert. "There are six games
left, we have 38 points and are in a nice position in the league. "We have
four games at home, two away, and our home form has been good this season.
We should finish strongly, see how many points we can pick up and see where
we can finish. I can't see us losing six on the trot with the way the lads
are playing." On his contract situation, he added: "When it is all tied up
we want to put pen to paper and then we can move on with next season. I will
have a chat with the owners and hopefully by the end of the week I would
have secured our future."

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Soton 1-1 West Ham Utd
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 13th April 2013
By: Staff Writer

Andy Carroll's fifth goal of the season was enough to earn West Ham a share
of the spoils in today's Premier League clash at Southampton. The on-loan
forward found the back of the net with a 66th minute strike to cancel out
Gaston Ramirez's opener, which had put the Saints in front just seven
minutes earlier.
Despite going into the game without key players Winston Reid, Mark Noble and
Joe Cole, the Hammers were able to secure a second successive away point
following their goalless draw at Anfield last weekend. And despite being
subject to a chorus of 'hoof' from the home fans every time they passed the
ball further than 20 yards, West Ham ended the first half with 55 per cent
possession compares to the hosts' 45; not too shabby for a team apparently
unable to resist the temptation to thump the ball 60 yards at every
opportunity. With both sides playing with the freedom afforded by having
already 38 points in the Premier League, it was an open first half at St
Mary's - although one with very few clear cut chances. Jussi Jaaskelainen -
making his first start since it was confirmed that he had earned a one-year
extension to his current contract - made the most important contribution of
the half when he somehow managed to prevent Ricky Lambert's 33rd-minute
toe-poke from crossing the line. The England hopeful also went close on the
verge of the half-time whistle when he connected with a cross, only to see
his header flash wide of Jaaskelainen's goal. West Ham meanwhile produced
little of note ahead of the break with only Ricardo Vaz Te's 30-yard drive
causing Saints 'keeper Artur Boruc to react. And whilst Andy Carroll did
manage to find the back of the net, referee Mike Dean had penalised him for
a foul several seconds earlier.

The breakthrough came following a strong spell for the home side at the
beginning of the second half. Ironically perhaps given the home fans'
aforementioned chant, a hopeful punt by the Saints 'keeper found its way to
Gaston Ramirez. The Uruguayan somehow evaded the attention of both James
Tomkins and James Collins before firing across Jussi Jaaskelainen into the
far corner to give the home side a 1-0 lead. However that lead was to last
for just seven minutes...

West Ham won a 66th-minute free kick five yards outside the box after the
marauding Mo Diame was felled by Jos Hooiveld. A short pass to the hovering
Andy Carroll was met by a fierce drive from the England striker, whose shot
took a slight deflection before finding the bottom right-hand corner of the
net to the delight of the travelling fans behind the goal.

Thereafter either side could have won the game, although it was
Southampton's Jay Rodriguez who went closest to finding a winner when his
low strike was pushed aside by Jaaskelainen - who was enjoying another
excellent afternoon between the sticks - in the third minute of added-on
time.

The point ensures West Ham remain in 12th place in the Premier League,
behind today's opponents on goal difference but with a game in hand. That
comes against the champions-elect Manchester United, who visit the Boleyn
Ground this Wedneday evening.


Southampton 1-1 West Ham United: Match Facts

West Ham Utd: Jaaskelainen, Demel, Collins, Tomkins (Pogatetz 64), O'Brien,
O'Neil, Diame, Nolan, Jarvis (Collison 58), Vaz Te (Taylor 85), Carroll.
Subs Not Used: Henderson, Potts, C.Cole, Paulista.
Goals: Carroll (66).
Booked: Carroll (42), Pogatetz (73), Vaz Te (83).
Shots On/Off Target: 4/2 (6).

Southampton: Boruc, Clyne, Yoshida, Hooiveld, Fox, Cork, Lallana (Rodriguez
72), S.Davis, Schneiderlin, Ramirez (Puncheon 78), Lambert.
Subs: K.Davis, Fonte, Ward-Prowse, Guly, Mayuka.
Goals: Ramirez (59).
Booked: Schneiderlin (5), Fox (25).
Shots On/Off Target: 11/4 (15).

Possession (%): Southampton 58-42 West Ham Utd
Corners: Southampton 7-4 West Ham Utd
Fouls: Southampton 9-18 West Ham Utd
Referee: Mike Dean.
Attendance: 31,984.

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Andy Carroll earns point for West Ham at Southampton
Last Updated: April 13, 2013 7:34pm
SSN

Andy Carroll scored a deflected free-kick to earn West Ham United a 1-1 draw
against Southampton at St Mary's. Sam Allardyce's side were second best for
much of the game and looked to be heading for defeat when Gaston Ramirez
fired the hosts into a 59th-minute lead. However, Carroll levelled the
scores with a low, left-footed strike that hit both Adam Lallana and Steven
Davis on its way to wrong-footing Southampton goalkeeper Artur Boruc.

Best of the match

Man of the match: West Ham's James Collins was defiant throughout the game,
marshalling his fellow defenders well and clearing endless balls into the
box.
Goal of the match : Gaston Ramirez took his opportunity brilliantly,
collecting a ricocheted ball before sweeping it clinically past Jussi
Jaaskelainen.
Save of the match : Jaaskelainen's sprawling save to keep out Rickie
Lambert's stabbed, back-post strike in the first half was both brilliant and
vital.
Talking points :Both goals came via huge slices of fortune, Ramirez's thanks
to the ball breaking straight into his path and Andy Carroll's courtesy of
two deflections.

The hosts made the brighter start to the game, but it was West Ham who had
the first chance, when Kevin Nolan seized on a loose ball in the box after
eight minutes and fired off a snapshot that Boruc did well to get down to
save. Southampton remained on top and threatened regularly as Rickie
Lambert, Ramirez, Adam Lallana and Davis caused no end of trouble with their
movement and pace. Lallana had a fine chance on the half-hour mark, when
Lambert squared the ball to him on the penalty spot, but his shot on the
turn was blocked. The best opportunity of the half then went to Lambert
after a Ramirez free-kick on the right found him unmarked at the back post.
However, having lunged to stab a shot goalwards, he was denied by a superb
save from West Ham goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen.

The Southampton top scorer again went close to making what would have been a
deserved breakthrough on the stroke of half-time, but his glancing header
from Jack Cork's right-wing cross sailed narrowly wide with Jaaskelainen
well beaten. Mauricio Pochettino's men continued to dictate the tempo after
the break, but were lucky not to fall behind when Carroll hooked the ball
narrowly wide after a mistake from Maya Yoshida. The hosts finally took the
lead in the 59th minute, though, thanks to a fine finish from Ramirez. After
seizing on a loose clearance, the Uruguayan saw his first effort blocked,
but the subsequent ricochet sent him clear through on goal and he expertly
dispatched the ball past Jaaskelainen. Southampton were buoyed and pushed
forward in search of a second goal, but conceded on West Ham's next foray up
the field. Mohamed Diame saw a powerful run halted by a foul from Jos
Hooiveld 25 yards out, and Carroll converted the resulting free-kick via two
deflections.

Carroll had a final chance to win the game when Hooiveld slipped while
trying to clear a long ball forward, but the on-loan Liverpool forward saw
his low shot well saved by Boruc.

After the game, Allardyce said he felt the result took him a step closer to
earning a renewal of his current contract at West Ham, which expires in the
summer.
He said: "It is closer. Hopefully we can get it tied up soon so we can get
on with pre-season work. When it is all tied up, we want to put pen to paper
as soon as we can. "I will have a chat with the owner. Let us just get this
season over and done with."

Pochettino, meanwhile, was frustrated by the draw but happy with his
players' performance after several of them had been affected by a virus in
the build-up.
"We are a bit disappointed," he said. "We had the feeling we could win the
game, but we weren't able to. "I am very happy, especially because during
the week we had problems with a virus that meant the players were not able
to train properly."

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Southampton 1-1 West Ham: Carroll earns a point for the Hammers after
Ramirez opener
13 Apr 2013 17:43
The Mirror

Sam Allardyce is already planning for life with West Ham next season, after
they virtually assured Premier League safety at St Mary's. Allardyce said he
would start talking about a new contract when Hammers reached the 38-point
mark, and after reaching the target yesterday he revealed: "To be honest
there is not a lot of negotiating to be done. "It's just about players,
staffing, pre-season and the budget for new players, and then see if we can
grow from where we are now." Saints boss Mauricio -Pochettino and Allardyce
probably didn't care that this game never rose above the very ordinary. Both
Saints and West Ham are all but safe, and -Allardyce reckoned: "We might not
be mathematically safe, but it is highly unlikely we will not pick up any
more points, -especially with four at home." Pochettino said: "We should
have won the game, but it was a hard-earned point. "We were playing well
when we scored, and deserved to be winning, so it was a shame when we
conceded." In sharp contrast to the -previous few games at St Mary's the
first half was -scrappy, niggly, and all but -devoid of clear-cut chances.

Inevitable comparisons were being drawn between on-loan Andy Carroll and
Saints' -leading scorer Rickie -Lambert. And it was the home striker who had
the two best chances to break the deadlock in the opening half. But it
wasn't until the 37th minute that Lambert forced his way into prominence
when he sneaked in to meet Gaston Ramirez's free kick, only to see Jussi
Jaaskelainen pull off a fine save at the foot of his right post. Then on the
stroke of half-time Lambert again found space to meet Jack Cork's cross, but
directed his header just wide. Kevin Nolan was West Ham's main threat as
-Carroll tried in vain to make an impact, and was finally booked for
dissent. Nolan forced Artur Boruc into an early save and later saw a shot on
the turn blocked by -defender Jos -Hooiveld before it could test the Saints
keeper. Going into the game it was easy to see why West Ham had managed to
score just nine away goals this season. Meanwhile, Adam -Lallana buzzed
around busily in a new role just behind -Lambert.

But all he got for his efforts was a caution, along with team-mate Morgan
-Schneiderlin, from pedantic referee Mike Dean during an opening 45 minutes
of little entertainment. With the second half proving slightly better than
the first, Carroll soon had the -opportunity to silence his -critics when he
reached -Ricardo Vaz Te's cross. But the striker lost his -footing as he was
about to shoot, and could only direct his effort wide of Boruc's left post.
It looked to be a costly miss as Saints -responded with the 59th-minute
-opener. Boruc's long punt upfield was -headed by visiting -defender James
Tomkins straight to Ramirez near -halfway. The Uruguayan raced in on goal,
shrugged off the -challenge of James Collins, and beat Jaaskelainen with a
clinical shot into the roof of the net.
But within six minutes West Ham were level when Gary O'Neil tapped a free
kick to Carroll 25 yards out. The striker's low left-footed shot took a
deflection off Saints midfielder Steven Davis to leave Boruc helpless. Both
sides then proceeded to huff and puff in search of a winner that never
really looked like materialising.

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Upton spark: Joe Cole jets to New York for treatment in a bid to make West
Ham return
13 Apr 2013 23:00
The Mirror

Joe Cole has flown to New York for a special fitness assessment in a bid to
rejoin West Ham's end-of-season push, writes the Sunday People. The
midfielder will have a full-body appraisal by physiotherapists Andy Barr and
Dave Hancock as he tries to shake off a hamstring injury. Cole, 31, has
already been seen by sports injury specialist and Bayern Munich club doctor
Hans Muller-Wohlfahrt in the last fortnight, having been sent to Germany by
West Ham's medical team.
He has not played since straining the hamstring at Stoke on March 2. He
broke down ahead of a planned return against West Brom at the end of last
month.

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