Daily WHUFC News - 12th February 2017

Bilic - We were fantastic
WHUFC.com

Slaven Bilic could not believe his team did not get the three points they
deserved against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday. Describing a performance
he felt was among the best of his near-two years on the touchline with the
Hammers, Bilic was sure they had turned a single goal deficit into a win
thanks to goals from Sofiane Feghouli and Manuel Lanzini. But then Jonny
Evans' last-gasp header found the net - perhaps with a helping touch from
his teammate Gareth McAuley - and those extra points had been ripped from
his grasp. Speaking at the final whistle, the boss couldn't quite believe
it. "To be fair we played fantastic," he said. "Even including last season,
that was one of our best games. "We were great as a team, as individuals
also. We were very positive going forward with the ball, hurting them and
also keeping the shape to stop them counter-attacking us. "First half we
conceded the early goal, but in the second half it was all us. It's not easy
to turn the game around, especially against a team as solid as West Brom.
"We did it, and should have scored more, so to concede the equaliser in this
way is very frustrating."
The Hammers had gripes about both a disallowed Feghouli goal in the opening
period and Evans' leveller, but Bilic thought the hosts should have won
anyway.
He continued: "We were on the wrong end of all the major decisions, and
there were more than a few. First their goal, then the disallowed goal for
us, a couple of penalty decisions, the last throw-in which led to their
goal, then the goal itself "We go home tonight and instead of having three
points and being so happy before this break, we now have a bitter feeling.
"West Brom have a good team, a very efficient team. We kept our shape - we
scored enough really - and then the throw-in came that should have been our
throw-in. It's hard."

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Snodgrass - It's devastating
WHUFC.com

West Ham United winger Robert Snodgrass was devastated to concede an injury
time equaliser on Saturday
The Hammers came from behind to lead West Bromwich Albion 2-1
But substitute Jonny Evans popped up four minutes into stoppage time though
to spoil the party at London Stadium

Robert Snodgrass was left devastated after West Ham United conceded a
stoppage time equaliser against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday at London
Stadium.
The Hammers had fought back from a goal down to lead 2-1 but, four minutes
into time added on, substitute Jonny Evans popped up at the back post to
find the back of the net from a corner. It was tough on Slaven Bilic's side
who had dominated throughout, and Snodgrass also was left frustrated as a
number of decisions went against the hosts. He said: "It's disappointing.
It's obviously a devastating way to lose a goal, so late on, but that's part
and parcel of football. "The lads did feel as though there was a foul in
there for the goal, so that's frustrating. "But some you get and some you
don't and we'll pick ourselves up and go again. It's moments like that that
change games, and it's gone against us today."
Sofiane Feghouli levelled the game just after the hour mark, tapping home
from close range after Manuel Lanzini had his shot tipped onto the crossbar
by Ben Foster to cancel out Nacer Chadli's opener. And the Hammers'
Argentine jewel was again the main man when, with just four minutes left, he
fired in from range to give his side the lead, prompting Snodgrass to praise
his teammate. "Lanzini is terrific and he's a game changer," the Scot
continued. "We need to always get him on the ball in those areas and let him
do what he does best and that's making those moments of magic like that.
"It's great though and we fought and thought we worked really hard and
deserved the three points. "We're gutted, but as I say, the lads battled so
hard to get ourselves in front and get the three points and it's a
devastating way to lose them. "Personally, it was never going to be easy for
me coming here, it's tough and you have to work as hard as you possibly can
to try and get in the team. "I've managed to do that and the team are very
unlucky not to have got six points from my two starts."

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Hammers suffer late heartbreak
WHUFC.com

Substitute Jonny Evans netted a dramatic injury time equaliser to help West
Brom salvage a 2-2 draw with West Ham at London Stadium. The Hammers looked
to be heading for all three points after Manuel Lanzini added a second for
West Ham with just four minutes left on the clock. But the the home side
failed to hold on and Evans rose the highest in the box four minutes into
injury time to head the ball past Darren Randolph. It was harsh luck on
Slaven Bilic's side who were outstanding throughout the ninety minutes and
deserved more from the game after Sofiane Feghouli had cancelled out an
early goal from Nacer Chadli. Despite the late heartbreak, the Hammers can
still take a number of positives from the game as they now prepare for a
short break before the next Premier League game against Watford on 25
February. The Hammers may have been missing influential forward Andy Carroll
through injury, but his team-mates once again showed their fighting spirit
and were unlucky to only come away with a point. West Brom got off to a
dream start when they opened the scoring after just five minutes. ames
Morrison fed the ball into Chadli who took the ball past Cheikhou Kouyate
and fired the ball past Darren Randolph into the corner of the net. The
Hammers almost found an immediate way back into the game on 12 minutes when
Robert Snodgrass saw his powerful left-foot free-kick produce a superb save
from Ben Foster diving low to his right. West Brom could have doubled their
lead on 15 minutes when Salomon Rondon lifted the ball up and fired a fierce
volley from the edge of the box which beat Randolph, but his effort cannoned
back off the bar.

The game then erupted into controversy on 17 minutes after Feghouli raced
onto Manuel Lanzini's pass and fired the ball into the corner of the net.
But referee Michael Oliver disallowed the goal after Craig Dawson went down
injured inside the box. The decision infuriated the players and home
supporters who felt there was no infringement in the lead up to the goal.
The Hammer had another golden opportunity to draw level on 31 minutes after
Ben Foster fumbled a corner from Snodgrass. When the ball dropped down
Antonio failed to find any kind of connection which would have seen the ball
cross the line and Matt Phillips was able to clear the danger. The home side
then had strong claims for a penalty turned down after Livermore appeared to
bring down Snodgrass inside the box but referee Oliver waved for play to
continue, much to the fury of the home crowd once again. The Hammers finally
got back on level terms on 63 minutes and it was ironic that Feghouli was
the man to bring the home side level, following his earlier effort which was
ruled out. Manuel Lanzini picked up the ball on the edge of the box and
fired an unstoppable shot which Foster tipped onto the bar. The rebound fell
nicely to Feghouli and he made no mistake striking the ball into the back of
the net. Lanzini thought he had won the game for the Hammers on 86 minutes
as he raced onto a ball from Lanzini and fired a powerful shot past Foster
into the corner of the net. But Evans broke the hearts of the home faithful
when he rose the highest to flick the ball past Randolph and the Hammers had
to settle for a point.

West Ham XI: Randolph; Kouyate, Fonte, Reid, Cresswell (Calleri 78);
Feghouli (Collins 90), Noble, Obiang, Snodgrass (Fernandes 88); Antonio,
Lanzini
Subs not used: Adrian, Byram, Nordtveit, Fletcher
Bookings: Obiang, Reid
West Brom XI: Foster; Nyom, Dawson, McAuley, Brunt; Livermore, Fletcher;
Chadli (Evans 52), Morrison (Yacob 78), Phillips (Robson-Kanu 67); Rondon
Subs not used: Myhill; Olsson, M Wilson, McClean
Bookings: Rondon, Brunt

Referee: Michael Oliver
Attendance: 56,983

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West Ham 2-2 West Brom
By Tim Oscroft
BBC Sport

Gareth McAuley's injury-time equaliser earned West Brom a dramatic draw
against West Ham at London Stadium, after Manuel Lanzini looked to have won
it for the hosts. The visitors had taken an early lead when Nacer Chadli
made the most of some uncertainty in the home defence, while Sofiane
Feghouli equalised from close range after the break. Lanzini's swerving shot
with just three minutes left gave his side the lead. However, McAuley's
dramatic late intervention saw the points shared. West Ham manager Slaven
Bilic was sent off after protesting to match officials in the aftermath of
West Brom's equaliser, which saw substitute Jonny Evans' header take a touch
off McAuley on its way into the net. West Brom remain in eighth place in the
Premier League table, while West Ham slip back one place into 10th. West
Ham were the more adventurous side for most of the match, but until
Feghouli's leveller it had seemed likely their pressure would not be
converted into goals. The visitors had scored with their first meaningful
attack, although Bilic was furious for what he saw as a foul on Feghouli in
the immediate build-up to Chadli's strike. In fact West Brom came the
closest to scoring the next goal when Salomon Rondon's dipping volley
rebounded off the face of the West Ham crossbar.
Bilic's mood did not improve when a Feghouli goal was ruled out for offside,
but the Algerian's equaliser, latching on to the rebound after Ben Foster
had tipped a Lanzini shot onto his bar, was just rewards. The turnaround
appeared complete when Lanzini's left-footed effort tore past a static
Foster, but events took one last, perplexing turn for the home side. Tony
Pulis' side conceded nearly two-thirds of the possession to their hosts and
will be delighted to leave east London with a point after falling behind so
late in the match. They had looked defensively solid until Feghouli's
leveller, but after Lanzini's goal they dug deep to ensure they finished the
game five points clear of the next side in the table, Stoke. West Brom are
unbeaten in four outings and, with their next two matches at home to Crystal
Palace and Bournemouth, they will be looking to close the gap on Everton in
seventh place.

'The referee was very bad'
West Ham boss Slaven Bilic: "The way we played makes me proud and happy. We
should have scored more but we scored enough to win the game. "To concede
like this, it is very frustrating. The decisions were big time against us,
every one of them. It is hard for referees but when you are on the wrong
side of all decisions it makes you very, very angry. The referee was very
bad today. "To be fair I am already big time punished with what happened in
the game. I don't think that I crossed the line, it was nothing personal. It
was the fourth or fifth decision which went against us and it's hard to get
over that without reacting."

Referee got decisions right - Pulis
West Brom boss Tony Pulis: "Fair play to West Ham they changed the system
and caught us out a bit. It was cat and mouse and an entertaining game for
the supporters. "There were lots of incidents where people were falling over
today and Michael Oliver got most of them right. "The players have played
some smashing stuff at times. They kept fighting and fighting and never gave
up. We have 13 games to go and we still need to try and get as many points
as we can."

Man of the match - Sofiane Feghouli
With Andy Carroll missing with an injury, West Ham needed some spark in
attack and Sofiane Feghouli provided it from the flanks. He had one goal
disallowed, popped up in the right place for the equaliser and was a
nuisance to West Brom throughout

The joy of six - stats

The Baggies have opened the scoring in the 6th minute in each of their last
three Premier League games.
Both Sofiane Feghouli and Manuel Lanzini scored their second goals in their
last three Premier League games at the London Stadium - only Michail Antonio
(three) has scored more league goals at the ground for the Hammers.
Lanzini has scored two goals and provided two assists in his last five
Premier League games for West Ham.
Nacer Chadli has been involved in five of West Brom's six Premier League
goals against West Ham this season (three goals, two assists).
Indeed, he's scored more Premier League goals against West Ham than he has
against any other side (three).
Only Bournemouth (six) have conceded more goals in the 90th minute of
Premier League games than West Ham this season (four).
West Brom have scored six goals against West Ham in the Premier League this
season. Only against Wolves in 2011-12 (seven) have they scored more against
an opponent in a single season.

What's next?

West Brom host Bournemouth on 25 February at 15:00 GMT, while West Ham are
at Watford at 17:30 on the same day.

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REF ANALYSIS - MICHAEL OLIVER
BY BRIAN KNOX ON 11 FEBRUARY 2017 AT 6:47PM
The WesTHAmWay.co.uk
Written by @SamRoyden

After being embarrassingly thumped, once again, at home at Manchester City,
it was a great response by the team to win away at struggling Southampton
last weekend. We've won our previous 3 Premier League games and Andy Carroll
has been influential scoring 4 goals in 3 games, however Carroll
unfortunately missed this game due to injury.

Michael Oliver was the referee appointed for this gameweek 25 fixture. This
is first fixture that Oliver has taken charge of West Ham and so far this
season Oliver has issued two red cards, awarded 11 penalties and 4 in 4
consecutive Premier League games.

I have said on many occasions that Michael Oliver is one of the best
referees in the league. He is up there with Mark Clattenburg in my opinion.
However, his first half performance was nowhere near the calibre of Oliver's
past performances.

The first half was riddled with poor decision making and controversy at both
ends of the pitch. The first poor decision by Oliver was to fail to see the
foul on Sofiane Feghouli by Chris Brunt in the lead up to West Brom's first
goal. It was evident that Brunt caught Feghouli's left foot before getting
the ball. Oliver failed to see this and allowed play to continue and West
Brom scored from it.

The second controversial moment in the first half was to disallow Sofiane
Feghouli's goal which I believe was for offside. When the incident happened,
there seemed to be a lot of confusion on why the decision was made. In real
time, I thought the assistant referee disallowed the goal because Sofiane
Feghouli was in an offside position but this wasn't the case as it was
Michail Antonio.

When I looked at the replay, you can see that Antonio was in fact between
Dawson, who was down injured, and Ben Foster. The law states that 'a player
is not in an offside position if level with the: second-last opponent or
last two opponents'. This would mean that Antonio was in an offside
position. Once Antonio attempted to get back onside and he ran into Ben
Foster, Antonio was deemed to be interfering with play before Sofiane
Feghouli scored. I had to re-watch this 3 or 4 times before I came to this
conclusion which the assistant referee and Michael Oliver do not have the
luxury of.

Nikola Jurcevic was sent to the stands by Michael Oliver after Jurcevic left
the technical area to confront the assistant referee. You cannot leave the
technical area and you cannot confront and speak to the assistant referee
who is at the other end of the pitch.

There were a couple of penalty appeals by the West Ham faithful. One was
after Jack Livermore held Robert Snodgrass and prevented the Scottish
international from turning and proceeding into the box. The other was Ben
Foster seeming to foul Michail Antonio, Oliver waved both of these appeals
away.
At the end of the first half, Michael Oliver added 3 minutes of additional
time to the frustration of Slaven Bilic. I wasn't sure how Oliver came to
the conclusion of 3 minutes when there were two sizeable stoppages for head
injuries.

A better second half by Michael Oliver but it seemed like it was his
assistant referees which were letting him down. There was a third penalty
appeal by West Ham fans when Calleri went down under pressure inside the
penalty area. My opinion was that Calleri went down way too easy under
minimal pressure and Oliver rightly waved it way.

For West Ham's equalising goal, Michail Antonio was in an offside position
when Manuel Lanzini's shot rebounded off the bar into the path of Feghouli.
The assistant referee was correct to not flag Michail Antonio offside as the
West Ham powerhouse wasn't interfering with play, even though he was beyond
the last defender.

After West Brom's 94th minute equaliser, Slaven Bilic was sent to the stands
after throwing the pitch side microphone down in frustration. Bilic was
venting his anger at Oliver and his assistant after West Brom were awarded a
throw in, which in fairness to Bilic was a West Ham throw in, that led to
the corner that West Brom equalised from. Unfortunately for both Bilic and
Jurcevic, the FA will review their behaviour and will certainly be fined,
potentially a touch line ban but it would be harsh.

Overall, Michael Oliver had a tough day at the office with multiple
decisions going against West Ham and which will be looked at with a fine
tooth comb. That fact that Oliver failed to see the foul on Feghouli in the
lead up to West Brom's first goal was disappointing amongst other strange
decisions.

It's a sickening feeling to lose 2 points in the final seconds of the game.
We showed great passion and spirit to fight back before their 94th minute
equaliser. The squad is off to Dubai for warm weather training as we don't
have a game until the 25th, when we visit Vicarage Road to play Watford.

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West Ham boss Slaven Bilic says officials got major decisions wrong
By Pete Hall
Last Updated: 11/02/17 7:16pm
SSN

Slaven Bilic believes the officials cost West Ham three points after a 2-2
draw with West Brom at London Stadium. Bilic was sent to the stands after
the Baggies netted a dramatic equaliser in stoppage time, with the Croatian
following his assistant in being banished from the touchline, after Nikola
Jurcevic had been dismissed in the first half. The Hammers were unhappy with
their treatment from the officials in several key incidents. Firstly, they
felt Chris Brunt fouled Sofiane Feghouli in the build-up to the Baggies
opener, before they were incensed to see the referee's assistant flag for
offside, ruling out Feghouli's first-half tap-in.
Second-half strikes from Feghouli and Manuel Lanzini turned the match on its
head and looked to have won it for the hosts, but they were denied in
stoppage-time, with Bilic sent to the stands for throwing a television
microphone. "We are disappointed and frustrated," Bilic told Sky Sports. "It
is not easy to turn the game around against a team like this, but we did
that. "To concede like this [in stoppage-time], especially after everything
that has happened in the game with decisions, it is very, very frustrating.
The big decisions went against us, all of them. It is hard for referees, I
know, but in such an important game, when you are on the wrong side of all
the decisions, it makes you very, very angry. "It is nothing personal, but
the referee was very, very bad."
Bilic lost his cool as he felt the Baggies should not have been awarded a
throw-in as they launched one last attack in search of an equaliser. Further
punishment could be heading Bilic's way, but he insisted that the denial of
three points was punishment enough. "This great performance we should enjoy
tonight, and enjoy the break [not in FA Cup next week], but we have a bitter
taste in our mouth," he added. "We deserved to win this game. "It is not for
me to make a decision [on whether he faces further punishment], but I have
already been punished big time for what happened during the game. "It was
more gesticulating, I don't think I crossed the line."

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Lively Lanzini strikes but West Ham end up frustrated against West Brom
ESPN

West Ham were denied all three points at the London Stadium as West Brom
snatched a late, late equaliser in Saturday's 2-2 draw.

Fans were left to rue a disallowed goal from Sofiane Feghouli that was ruled
out by referee Michael Oliver after an intervention from his assistant. Few
in the stadium could see where the offence occurred, and it was generally
thought the Hammers had been punished for a small shove by Michail Antonio
on Ben Foster. When it was later revealed the offence was offside, confusion
reigned and frustration set in.

Without the injured Andy Carroll, the Hammers coped well up front but their
defence let them down against a lively Tony Pulis side. Slack defending
allowed Nacer Chadli to put the Baggies ahead early on and despite some
promising play by the home side, West Brom led at the break. In the second
half however, Slaven Bilic threw caution to the wind as first Feghouli and
then Manuel Lanzini put the Hammers ahead.

When West Brom won a rare corner five minutes into injury time, Ben Foster
came up to add weight to the visitors' forward line but it was Jonny Evans
who rose at the far post and headed in as Darren Randolph flapped at the
cross.

A cold afternoon was livened up with a good atmosphere and an impressive
performance from the hosts, who were unlucky not to take all three points.

Negatives

It may reveal itself under scrutiny but there were few who could see the
offside that disallowed Feghouli's goal. The Hammers felt hard done by and
that was reflected in Bilic's anger after the match.

Manager rating out of 10

8 -- Frustration at the late equaliser meant Bilic was sent to the stands
after throwing a TV microphone in anger. A stupid reaction perhaps but it
was easy to see why the manager became so angry.

Player ratings (1-10; 10=best; players introduced after 70 minutes get no
rating):

GK Darren Randolph, 5 -- Nowhere for West Brom's late equaliser and that
adds weight to those who think that he isn't quite the top class keeper
needed. It would be no surprise if Adrian got a recall.

DF Cheikhou Kouyate, 6 -- Was nutmegged by Chadli for the West Brom opener
but stuck to the task after, although doubts still persist as to where he
best lends his strength to the team.

DF Jose Fonte, 7 -- Looks to be settling into the backline and worked hard.

DF Winston Reid, 6 -- Booked and didn't look as comfortable as he normally
does.

DF Aaron Cresswell, 5 -- Taken off at half time as Bilic decided to play
without any full-backs to compensate for starting without a striker. It
could have been an awful decision but it actually worked.

MF Sofiane Feghouli, 7 -- Was quick to react to the Foster save from
Lanzini's shot to provide the equaliser and was denied an earlier goal by a
harsh decision from the assistant referee. Also provided the pass for
Lanzini's strike late on. Can be frustratingly inconsistent, but he is now
an important part of the team.

MF Mark Noble, 7 -- Put in another captain's performance. Particularly busy
in the second half as the Hammers chased the game.

MF Pedro Obiang, 6 -- Not as influential as he had been a week ago and also
got a booking.

MF Manuel Lanzini, 8 -- Two impressive moments from the Argentine. Firstly,
the curling shot that struck the bar allowing Feghouli to tap home and then
the 87th minute drive from outside the area that put Bilic's men ahead.
Outside of this, he was busy and skilful. Break out the "Payet Who?"
headlines again.

MF Robert Snodgrass, 7 -- Settling in nicely and could easily have had a
penalty when Jake Livermore fouled his former Hull teammate in the area.
Just needs to score from a free kick to make the faithful happy.

FW Michail Antonio, 6 -- Asked to play up front as a lone striker, he worked
hard but it's not really his game.

Substitutes:

DF Jonathan Calleri, 6 -- On for Cresswell at half time, he still doesn't
look Premier League quality. Bilic needs to find greater strength from the
bench next season.

MF Edimilson Fernandes, N/R -- A substitute for Snodgrass after 87 minutes
to waste some precious seconds. However, the earlier injury to West Brom's
Craig Dawson meant nearly six minutes of injury time was played.

DF James Collins, N/R -- Not to blame for the late goal, but will be annoyed
at coming on with his side 2-1 up but going off with the score level.


Peter Thorne, aka Billy Blagg (@BillyBlaggEsq), is ESPN FC's West Ham
blogger.

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West Ham boss Slaven Bilic 'very, very angry' at referee's decisions
ESPN

Slaven Bilic was pleased with West Ham's performance in Saturday's 2-2 draw
with West Brom despite being sent off after angrily throwing a television
microphone to the ground. The West Ham boss was responding after Gareth
McAuley's late leveller cancelled out second-half efforts from Sofiane
Feghouli and Manuel Lanzini. Nacer Chadli had given West Brom a half-time
lead. Bilic followed his assistant Nikola Jurcevic in being sent off and
later criticised the performance of referee Michael Oliver. Asked after the
game if he is concerned by a possible ban, the manager said: "Whatever. We
are more than enough punished during the game.
"It's a solid microphone, don't worry. It's frustrating after this game; we
should be all positive, we should be talking about great performances,
coming back and everything, but to have that bitter feeling is not good.
"There were four or five decisions and all of them went totally against us.
It's building up your frustration. Then at the end you don't understand it.
It's hard to get over that." Despite the late disappointment, Bilic was
encouraged with how his team played in the absence of the injured Andy
Carroll. "This was, including last season, one of our best games," Bilic
said. To end like this, conceding a late goal after everything that happened
regarding the decisions, it's very frustrating and hard to accept. That's
why I'm proud of my team but also very, very angry at the decisions. "Our
disallowed goal, they ruled it out because of offside. It wasn't offside. A
couple of penalties, not big ones... but after those decisions you're
counting them also."

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