WHUFC.com
Big Sam admitted an inability to take chances at Bristol City means
automatic promotion is unlikely
17.04.2012
Sam Allardyce admitted his West Ham United side had simply not been clinical
enough in Tuesday's 1-1 npower Championship draw at Bristol City. The
Hammers went ahead through James Tomkins' header after dominating the
opening 25 minutes at Ashton Gate, only for Robert Green to allow Cole
Skuse's speculative long-range strike to slip past him less than five
minutes later. West Ham re-established their superiority after the break,
only for Henri Lansbury, Winston Reid and substitute John Carew to pass up a
succession of chances to secure a vital victory for their side. Lansbury
clipped the bar with an angled drive before Reid was unable to stab the ball
past Dean Gerken. Then, late on, Carew flashed a header over before seeing
his low shot repelled by the goalkeeper. As it is, a draw leaves Big Sam's
men five points adrift of second-place Southampton with just two games to
play and the manager wondering what might have been if his players had taken
their opportunities to put the game to bed. "The amount of chances we've had
is the hardest thing to take," the manager told West Ham TV. "On dominance
of play, on power of play and on chances created it should have been a
victory for us. Because we've missed those chances, we've not capitalised on
a very dominant and powerful performance by the players. "It's very
disappointing to not stay in the race as close as we wanted to. It's not
mathematically over but it's going to be very difficult now. We can only
really look towards Middlesbrough beating Southampton on Saturday and us
beating Leicester on Monday to take it to the last game of the season. "Even
then, a victory would be what we needed and then a bit of a miracle from
Coventry playing away at Southampton. It's going to be very, very difficult
now. "It's very disappointing that we didn't get the victory we deserved. We
had no margin for error but because we haven't taken the chances we created
we ended up with a disappointing draw from a very good performance with the
vast majority of the play in the opposition penalty box. "Our free-scoring
spirit has let us down and those chances that were created were not
converted so it's 1-1, it's disappointing and we move on."
Bristol City had hardly had a kick before Skuse let fly with a dipping
effort that eluded Green and bounced high into the net. The equaliser gave
the Robins and their fans renewed energy and belief, but Big Sam insisted
that his team should still have had more than enough quality to defeat Derek
McInnes' relegation-threatened battlers. "Goals change games, but it didn't
change it that much. It lifted them and it lifted the crowd of course, but
it didn't give them any more impetus in terms of the chances they created.
It gave them something to hang on and fight for. "We were in complete
control of the game from start to finish and, even though they had a little
spell after they scored, we took complete control again in the second half.
"We can't really have created any more chances than we created away from
home. We just didn't have the man to finish them off or that man didn't take
the right touch, make the right header or have the right bit of luck. "When
the ball went squirming across the box it just wouldn't deflect off someone
and go into the back of the net for us. A scruffy goal or any goal would
have done for us, but we just couldn't find it."
With Southampton travelling to Middlesbrough on Saturday, West Ham could be
out of the race for automatic promotion before they go to Leicester City on
Monday.
Should the Saints prevail on Teesside and West Ham assured of a top-three
finish, the manager admitted he may reconsider his options for the final two
league matches with one eye on the Play-Off fixtures to come in early May.
"It depends on what happens at Middlesbrough now as to how we see it and
what we plan for. We can do nothing but just wait until Saturday and take it
from there. "Our hope is that Middlesbrough beat Southampton now, but even
then it is going to be a difficult task for Coventry to go to Southampton
and get a victory. "Even though Coventry will do their best to get as many
points as they can to get themselves out of the situation that they're in,
it's difficult to see Southampton losing. "We haven't kept enough pressure
on them and we could have done so by winning. You have to expect Southampton
to beat Peterborough but we'd still have been in the race if we'd have won
because they have a difficult game and their nerve-ends would have been
jangling. We should have won, but we didn't."
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The Big Interview - James Tomkins
WHUFC.com
The No5 believes West Ham United need to remain positive even if they have
to go through the Play-Offs
17.04.2012
James Tomkins believes West Ham United still have a great chance of gaining
promotion to the Premier League, even if they have to go through the
Play-Offs. The No5 scored in Tuesday's 1-1 npower Championship draw at
Bristol City, but the result means the Hammers are now odds-on to finish
outside the automatic promotion places in third. With two games to play,
West Ham sit five points behind second-place Southampton but eight clear of
fourth-place Birmingham City. The defender was naturally pleased to net his
career-high fourth goal of the season at Ashton Gate. Likewise, he is
determined to maintain a positive outlook as West Ham face up to the
prospect of their campaign being extended by three matches if they are to go
up.
When you scored the opening goal, it was just reward for dominating the
first 25 minutes, wasn't it?
"We started the game well again. It's typical of our game that we seem to
start games well away from home. It was important that we scored first
because normally when we score first we go on to win the game. "Obviously
that wasn't the case today but we got the draw and we need to push on from
here because our season isn't over."
You seem to win everything that arrives at the far post in the attacking
penalty area, while a fourth goal is the best haul of your career, which
must be pleasing?
"Yes, I feel confident in the air and I'm timing my jumps well. The service
has been good for me so I've got to thank the lads for that. Hopefully I can
just keep winning them."
The manager said we just failed to take our chances and that is why we
didn't win. Was that your assessment of the game?
"Yes, I think we dominated and got the ball into their penalty area and were
winning quite a lot in the air, but things just didn't go our way. Winston
Reid had a half-chance in the first half that could have gone our way but it
didn't."
Despite this setback and us seemingly being on course for the Play-Offs, we
have to remain confident of gaining promotion, don't we?
"Of course. We are still confident. I think our away record has been really
good this year and our home form, as we showed the other day, is definitely
better as well. We go into games confident. We're disappointed but we're
still positive."
We may not gain automatic promotion, but we have gained 80 points so far
this season - more than we collected in the previous two seasons combined.
There are plenty of reasons to be optimistic, aren't there?
"Of course we can go into the Play-Offs and win them. It's not the end of
the world. We've done well to get there and get there strong as well. We
have got there quite comfortably. We all know it's going to be tough but we
would go into it as favourites and will strive to go on and win it.
"We will concentrate on the rest of the season first, though, because it's
still mathematically possible that we could go up automatically. We just
have to concentrate on that."
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Play-Off ticket update
WHUFC.com
Fans who buy a ticket for the Hull City match will be given special priority
for the Play-Off semi
18.04.2012
Fans who buy tickets for West Ham United's final home game of the season
with Hull City will be given special priority for the club's Play-Off
semi-final, should West Ham finish in the Play-Offs come the end of the
season. The Hull City match on 28 April will see the Hammers wrap up their
league campaign and any fans who buy a ticket for the 'Season Finale' will
be awarded special priority for the home leg of the Play-Off semi-final. As
with any game, usual ticket priorities will apply in the first instance, but
then any remaining tickets will be made available to fans who attended the
visit of the Tigers for an exclusive 24-hour period before they go on
general sale. Click here to buy your Hull City tickets today.
Midfielder Mark Noble has thanked the Hammers faithful, who helped make the
Hammers' 6-0 victory against Brighton and Hove Albion the third
highest-attended game across all competitions in England on Saturday. The
attendance of 32,335 was bettered only by the all-Merseyside FA Cup
Semi-Final and Sunderland's 0-0 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Then on Tuesday, Noble and his team-mates were once again cheered on by a
sell-out away following at Bristol City as 1,866 fans travelled to the West
Country on a wet and windy night to get behind their team. "The atmosphere
on Saturday against Brighton was fantastic - our fans really played their
part and we got a great result, which was a fitting reward for them," Noble
said. "Then in Bristol on Tuesday night the supporters were once again
magnificent and travelled across the country in their thousands."
"I know we always say it, but nothing beats a full Boleyn Ground on a
matchday. Against Brighton the atmosphere was great from the moment Bubbles
was played and we need that again for Hull City." The lowest the Hammers can
now finish in the npower Championship this season is third, meaning if they
do end up in the Play-offs they would play their first semi-final away from
home on Thursday 3 May. The return leg at the Boleyn Ground would be on
Monday 7 May with a possible final date booked in at Wembley 12 days later
on 19 May.
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Hopes of West Ham automatic spot distant, says Allardyce
BBC.co.uk
West Ham United boss Sam Allardyce says the club's hopes of automatic
promotion to the Premier League are now distant. The 1-1 draw at Bristol
City on Tuesday means the Hammers now lie five points behind second-placed
Southampton, with two games left to play. He told BBC London 94.9: "We
wanted to stay in with a fighting chance by winning. We were always going to
have ask someone else to do us a favour. "It's difficult to win our game and
hope Southampton slip up." He added: "First and foremost, we've got to hope
Middlesbrough do us a favour and beat Southampton on Saturday. "Even if we
get that favour we've still got to go and beat Leicester [on Monday].
There's nothing we can do until Monday in terms of ourselves to prepare.
"We'll wait and see and then decide what way forward would be better for
us."
Allardyce believes if the Hammers do miss out on the one remaining automatic
promotion place, they must not be over-confident going into the play-offs.
"The most important thing, if we end up there, is being prepared for the
first two games and not to be thinking about anything other than that," the
former Bolton and Blackburn manager continued. "Anybody can beat anybody in
the play-offs. "Form, league form and position in the league means
absolutely nothing when the play-offs come around. You've got to handle the
pressure and deliver."
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Bristol City 1 West Ham 1
17 April 2012
Last updated at 22:26
BBC.co.uk
Cole Skuse's equaliser all but ended West Ham's hopes of automatic promotion
from the Championship and edged Bristol City nearer to survival. James
Tomkins put West Ham ahead with a header midway through the first half. But
Skuse saw his long-range shot squirm past Robert Green to leave the Hammers
five points adrift of second-placed Southampton with two games left. City
are five points above the relegation zone and will be safe if they beat
Barnsley on Saturday. The visitors saw Ricardo Vaz Te waste a couple of
early opportunities. They took the lead when Tomkins got on the end of Mark
Noble's free-kick to head in for his fifth goal of the season. But, only
four minutes later, Derek McInnes's side pulled level when Skuse's weak
25-yard effort somehow bobbled its way past former England goalkeeper Green.
Henri Lansbury clipped the bar with an effort just after the restart as the
visitors looked to restore their advantage. Green had to make a scrambling
save to deny Chris Wood as the hosts continued to threaten on the break.
Substitute John Carew could have snatched a winner but headed Matt Taylor's
free-kick over and toe-poked wide late on.
Bristol City manager Derek McInnes: "There's not many teams that will get a
fluency against West Ham. It's the way it is. You've got to do the ugly side
of the game well, you've got to stand up to it. "West Ham are a big, big
side with a lot of experience and they know how to win games and they ask
questions of you so you won't get a lot of teams playing against West Ham
with a lot of fluency. "We showed enough of the right qualities to get our
point and we more than earned it. "I wasn't expecting it to be a pretty
night, I wasn't expecting it to be expansive. I was expecting it to be
naughty at times, I was expecting it to be physical and that was exactly
what it was."
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce: "I've been looking at the chances we've
created and it's just sickening that we didn't have the quality of finish we
needed with so many opportunities. "From start to finish we always looked
like the dominant force, we created so many chances and to finish 1-1 is
very disappointing considering the performance was so good. "It's difficult
as we know (catching Southampton). We wanted to stay in with a fighting
chance, winning today and keeping that little bit closer to Southampton. "We
know we have to ask someone to do us a favour, and even if we get that
favour from Middlesbrough we've still got to go and beat Leicester and it's
still difficult for us."
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Play-off dates: confirmed
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 17th April 2012
By: Staff Writer
Barring a major collapse by Southampton, West Ham will play the first leg of
their play-off semi final away from home on Thursday, 3rd May. Tonight's 1-1
draw at Ashton Gate secured third place in the Championship for the Hammers
- although the Saints' 3-1 win at Peterborough means that only two defeats
for the Hampshire club, combined with two wins for West Ham in their
remaining league games, can prevent United from going into the play-offs.
The return leg for the semi-final would take place at the Boleyn Ground the
following Monday afternoon, 7th May - with the final taking place at Wembley
12 days later on Saturday, 19th May.
Full details of all dates and times as follows:
Play off semi final, first leg
Thursday, 3rd May 2012: 6th place v West Ham/Soton (7.45pm)
Friday, 4th May 2012: 5th place v 4th place (7.45pm)
Play off semi final, second leg
Monday, 7th May 20122: West Ham/Soton v 6th place (4.30pm)
Wednesday, 9th May 20122: 4th place v 5th place (7.45pm)
Play off Final
Saturday, 19th May 2012 (3:00pm)
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Bristol City 1 West Ham Utd 1
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 17th April 2012
By: Staff Writer
West Ham are heading for the play offs barring a miracle after failing to
secure a record 13th away win of the season at Ashton Gate tonight. With
Southampton winning comfortably at Peterborough tonight - and Reading
beating Nottingham Forest in this evening's late kick off - West Ham find
themselves five points adrift of the automatic promotion places with just
two games of the league campaign left to play, after failing to break down a
Bristol City side fighting for their own Championship survival. However
Birmingham's failure to beat Ipswich at Portman Road tonight ensured that
West Ham cannot finish lower than third in the table - meaning a guaranteed
home fixture in the second leg of the play-off semi finals. Although there
was no lack of effort on West Ham's part tonight, it just wasn't to be as
Big Sam's boys failed to break down a resolute City side for whom a point
virtually guarantees another season in the Championship. James Tomkins got
the Hammers off to an excellent start by putting the visitors in front on 25
minutes with a well-taken header from a deep Mark Noble free-kick. However
United's lead was to last just four minutes before the usually-reliable
Robert Green made an uncharacteristic error, allowing Cole Skuse's
long-range effort to find the back of the net.
Despite enjoying 53 per cent of possession and enjoying 12 shots at goal
compared to Bristol's seven, the Hammers never really looked like adding to
Tomkins' first half opener - even when Allardyce went for broke, leaving
just two men at the back for the final few minutes. All of which means that
barring unlikely defeats for Southampton in their final two games of the
campaign against Middlesbrough (a) and Coventry (h) - combined with wins for
West Ham at Leicester and then at home to Hull - Irons fans face the
nerve-wracking prospect of the play-offs for the third time in the last
eight years. With the remaining three places looking likely to be filled by
Birmingham, Blackpool and Cardiff it promises to be a tough fight - although
one consolation is that should West Ham win their semi-final they will be
facing a return to Wembley for the first time since 1981.
Bristol City 1 West Ham Utd 1: match facts
West Ham Utd: Green, Demel (Faubert 74), Reid, Tomkins, Collins (Carew 63),
Lansbury, Noble, Nolan, Taylor, Vaz Te, Maynard (Collison 74).
Subs not used: Henderson, Diop.
Goals: Tomkins (25).
Booked: Reid (49), Collins (58).
Shots on/off target: 6/6 (12).
Bristol City: Gerken, Fontaine, Amougou, Skuse, Foster, Bolasie (Woolford
69), McGivern, Cisse (Adomah 69), Pearson, Wood, Stead (Carey 88).
Subs not used: James, Kilkenny.
Goals: Skuse (29).
Booked: Skuse (56), Amougou (66), McGivern (74), Stead (81).
Shots on/off target: 2/5 (7).
Possession: Bristol City 47%; West Ham Utd 53%.
Referee: Craig Pawson.
Assistants: Justin Amey and Andrew Bennett.
Fourth Official: Wayne Barratt.
Attendance: 16,669.
Did you know? West Ham have still lost less games than any other team in the
Championship this season - just eight out of 44.
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Di Canio nominated
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 17th April 2012
By: Staff Writer
Paolo Di Canio's 1999/2000 'Goal of the Season' is one of ten goals
nominated for the Premier League's '20 Seasons' celebrations. The Premier
League is 20 years old this year and, to highlight the occasion, is asking
visitors to its website at premierleague.com to nominate their favourite
moments. There are four categories in which visitors to the site may vote -
Best Match, Best Goal, Best Celebration and Best Save. Unsurprisingly the
categories are dominated by the league's major players although Di Canio's
wonder strike against Wimbledon is one of the ten goals nominated in the
Best Goal category. Meanwhile, Ian Wright and Neil Ruddock's goal
celebration - that mimicked Paolo Di Canio's famous pushing-over of referee
Paul Alcock - is one of the ten nominees in the 'Best Celebration' category.
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Skuse strikes to deny Hammers
Last updated: 17th April 2012
SSN
Cole Skuse's equaliser all but confined West Ham to the play-offs and helped
edge Bristol City closer to safety in a 1-1 draw at Ashton Gate. Skuse's
long-range drive earned the Robins a point when his 29th-minute strike
deceived Robert Green, the ball bouncing up and over his diving body. It
means his side have plenty to do if they are to secure automatic promotion
to the Premier League. With Southampton winning at Peterborough, Sam
Allardyce's outfit are five points off the top two with just two games
remaining. It could have been so different for the Hammers, who led thanks
to James Tomkins' header midway through the opening period and saw
second-half chances spurned by Henri Lansbury and John Carew. But for City,
a battling point improves their chances of playing in the Championship next
season.
West Ham spent the first 15 minutes camped in the City half, and Ricardo Vaz
Te had the ball in the back of the net on the quarter-hour mark, only for
referee Craig Pawson to disallow the goal for a handball by Hammers skipper
Kevin Nolan in the build-up. At the other end, Skuse dragged a tame
daisy-cutter well wide, while Vaz Te followed suit as neither side could
open the other up. But with 25 minutes gone the away side finally found a
way through. Andre Amougou fouled Maynard wide on the left, Noble floated in
the resulting free-kick and Tomkins picked his spot with a free header back
across Dean Gerken. The hosts, already firmly on the back foot, could have
been forgiven for folding - but within four minutes they were level.
Skuse latched on to a bobbling ball 25 yards from goal and took aim, more
out of hope than expectation. Green appeared to have the effort covered, but
the ball bounced up off the turf in front of him and, although the England
stopper got a hand to it, nestled in the right-hand corner of the net. The
Hammers almost nudged ahead just before the break, but Gerken dived bravely
on Nolan's shot-cum-cross before Winston Reid could bundle the ball home,
and the two teams went into half-time all-square. The visitors started
brightly after the interval, and Lansbury clipped the top of the crossbar
before forcing a decent save out of Gerken from a narrow angle. Allardyce
introduced striker Carew for full-back Danny Collins as his side desperately
chased a winning goal. Carew was quickly in the game, shooting low at Gerken
after being played in by Vaz Te, but City always looked lively going forward
and it required a good stop from Green to keep out Chris Wood's effort with
18 minutes remaining. Carew headed Matt Taylor's free-kick over and
toe-poked wide late on but the Hammers could not find a crucial second.
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McInnes pleased with 'ugly' point
Allardyce concedes automatic promotion unlikely
Last Updated: April 17, 2012 11:10pm
SSN
Bristol City manager Derek McInnes was pleased with the way his side got the
'ugly' things right in order to secure a 1-1 draw at home to promotion
chasing West Ham on Tuesday. The Robins now have safety in their sights as
they sit five points clear of the relegation zone with two games to play.
They had to come from behind to secure the point at Ashton Gate though, with
defender James Tomkins nodding the Hammers in front from Mark Noble's
free-kick after 25 minutes. However, the hosts were level four minutes later
when Cole Skuse's speculative 25-yard effort somehow squirmed past
goalkeeper Robert Green. "There's not many teams that will get a fluency
against West Ham. It's the way it is. You've got to do the ugly side of the
game well, you've got to stand up to it," said McInnes. "West Ham are a big,
big side with a lot of experience and they know how to win games and they
ask questions of you so you won't get a lot of teams playing against West
Ham with a lot of fluency. "We showed enough of the right qualities to get
our point and we more than earned it. "I wasn't expecting it to be a pretty
night, I wasn't expecting it to be expansive. I was expecting it to be
naughty at times, I was expecting it to be physical and that was exactly
what it was."
A win at home to Barnsley on Saturday will secure Championship survival with
a game to spare, but McInnes is not getting carried away just yet. "There's
still work to be done," he added. "We've only given ourselves an opportunity
to finish the job off and it's important that myself and the players put all
our energy and focus on Barnsley on Saturday. "Hopefully we can get it sold
out and with the fans' backing, and the players getting every encouragement
from them, then we'll make it a good day Saturday. "There's still work to be
done, there's no back-slapping yet, the players need to dust themselves down
and get themselves ready to try to take care of business on Saturday."
Frustrated
Meanwhile, West Ham boss Sam Allardyce was left frustrated after seeing his
side miss a host of second half chances. With five points now separating
themselves and second placed Southampton with two games to play, Allardyce
concedes his side are unlikely to secure automatic promotion. "I've been
looking at the chances we've created and it's just sickening that we didn't
have the quality of finish we needed with so many opportunities," he said.
"From start to finish we always looked like the dominant force, we created
so many chances and to finish 1-1 is very disappointing considering the
performance was so good. "It's difficult as we know [catching Southampton].
We wanted to stay in with a fighting chance, winning today and keeping that
little bit closer to Southampton. "We know we have to ask someone to do us a
favour, and even if we get that favour from Middlesbrough we've still got to
go and beat Leicester and it's still difficult for us."
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The Consequences of Failure
By Iain Dale About 2 hours ago
West Ham Till I Die
Yes, I am as disappointed as you. It seems astonishing that with the players
we have got we haven't achieved automatic promotion. And let's not kid
outselves. We haven't. OK, there's still a mathematical possibility, but do
any of us really think Southampton won't get at least two more points? And
for that matter, does anyone think we will get a maximum six points now? Me
neither. So all thoughts must now be directed towards the play-offs. I am
sure none of us are confident of success, but we have to compare our team
with the others and take solace from the fact that on our day we should beat
any of the other three teams in contention. But too seldom have we been "on
our day" this season.
I suppose this is another statement of the bleeding obvious, but the
consequences off not winning the playoffs are almost too painful to think
about. Do we really think that we will be able to hang on to Robert Green,
James Tomkins, Mark Noble and several others besides? No, me neither.
There is another intriguing possibility - that failure to get promotion
might result is us withdrawing our bid for the Olympic Stadium. The Play-off
final is on 19 May. The bid result is due to be announced two days later. Is
it conceivable that West Ham could withdraw their bid in those two days if
we don't win the Play-off final? I suspect not, but it has to be considered
a possibility, however vague.
Sam Allardyce has a tricky task over the next fortnight - how to motivate
the players for the next two games, and to think about tactics for the
double headed playoff semi final. The next month may be one of the most
crucial in the club's history. It could decide whether we return as a top
flight club or are destined to another few years of Championship mediocrity.
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Sam Allardyce: Only a miracle can save West Ham from play-off agony
Evening Standard
Ken Dyer
18 April 2012
Sam Allardyce admits his West Ham team need a miracle to avoid the
play-offs after losing ground on second-placed Southampton in the race for
automatic promotion to the Premier League. While West Ham secured a 1-1 draw
at Bristol City last night, Southampton won 3-1 at Peterborough to stretch
their advantage over the Hammers to five points, meaning the south coast
club just need to win just one of their remaining two matches, at
Middlesbrough or at home against Coventry, to go up. "It's very
disappointing to not stay in the race as close as we wanted to," said
Allardyce, who may know his side's fate by the time West Ham go to Leicester
next Monday. "It's not mathematically over but it's going to be very
difficult now. We can only really look towards Middlesbrough beating
Southampton and us beating Leicester to take it to the last game of the
season. "Even then, a victory would be needed and a bit of a miracle from
Coventry at Southampton."
Allardyce looks certain to make changes if, as seems likely, West Ham know
they are destined for the play-offs by the time they face Leicester at the
Walkers Stadium. He could rest some players who have played the majority of
the season and take the opportunity to give others, such as Papa Bouba Diop
who has just returned from injury, important game time before a possible
semi-final first leg away from home on May 3. James Tomkins, who opened the
scoring last night in the 25th minute before the home side equalised just
five minutes later with a speculative effort from Cole which skidded off the
greasy surface and over Robert Green, insists the Hammers can still pip the
Saints to claim second place. "We are confident," he said. "Our away record
has been really good this year and our home form, as we showed the other day
against Brighton, is improving. We go into games with confidence. "We're
disappointed but we're still positive. We have gained 80 points so far this
season — more than we collected in the previous two seasons combined. There
are plenty of reasons to be optimistic.
"Of course we can go into the play-offs and win them. It's not the end of
the world. We've done well to get there. We know it's going to be tough but
we would go into it as favourites. "We will concentrate on the rest of the
season first, though, because it's still possible that we could go up
automatically. We just have to concentrate on that."
West Ham captain Kevin Nolan was also putting a brave face on things when he
said: "Part of my job is making sure that the lads keep together and don't
get too down. It has been a good season, we have come a long way in such a
short space of time. "All there is left for us is that we stick together,
keep going and make sure we don't lose sight of what we want and that is the
Premier League."
Reading secured promotion to the Premier League after a four-year absence
with a 1-0 win at home against Nottingham Forest last night. Manager Brian
McDermott said: "This is my best moment in football. It's really strange. It
doesn't seem real at the moment."
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Green's error dents West Ham hopes
Bristol City 1 West Ham United 1
DECLAN WARRINGTON ASHTON GATE WEDNESDAY 18 APRIL 2012
Independent
Though the second automatic promotion place remains a mathematic
possibility, West Ham's mental preparations for the play-offs will begin
after battling Bristol City held Sam Allardyce's side to a draw that went
some way to securing their own Championship status. "We didn't find the
quality of finish," said Allardyce. "We always looked like the dominant
force so to finish 1-1 was very disappointing. Maybe the nerve ends are
jangling because it is so important to us."
West Ham pressured City from the off, but it was not until the 25th minute
when a clear chance was created for James Tomkins' goal, the centre-half
scoring with a far-post header from Mark Noble's free-kick. The home side's
equaliser, however, was almost instantaneous. Cole Skuse shot on the half
volley from 25 yards and while Robert Green dived well and early, he somehow
let the shot fly straight through his hands and into the net. In the
second-half both Henri Lansbury and substitute John Carew went close but the
reality was West Ham never truly looked like scoring, especially with City's
attempts to contain.
Bristol City (4-5-1):Gerken; Foster, Amougou, Fontaine, McGivern; Bolasie
(Woolford, 69), Skuse, Cissé (Adomah, 69), Pearson, Wood; Stead (Carey, 88).
Substitutes not used James, Kilkenny.
West Ham United (4-5-1): Green; Demel (Faubert, 74), Tomkins, Reid, Collins
(Carew, 63); Lansbury, Noble, Nolan, Taylor, Vaz Te; Maynard (Collison, 74).
Substitutes not used Henderson, Diop.
Referee C Pawson (South Yorkshire).
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