West Ham 1 Chelsea 0
It’s into the Clyde Best Cafe at 11.30am with my daughter Nell, who has come
along to bring the Hammers some needed luck. Over paninis we perform the great
ticket exchange handing out tickets to Michael, Steve the Cornish postie, Nigel
and CQ. Matt and Lisa are away scouting in Granada while Alison’s away with
friends of Jeremy and replaced by Joe.
It’s a late dash to the stadium and a big alarm as the
programmes have sold out (luckily I find a seller in the stadium at half-time.)
Moyes has sent the right signal by keeping Adrian in goal, while Noble comes in
for the injured Kouyate.
West Ham take the lead after six minutes when Arnautovic
plays a one-two with Lanzini, skips round Christensen and calmly curls it into
the bottom corner. He then leaps in to the fans earning a booking, but helping
him get onside with the claret and blue faithful.
Have we just made Chelsea angry? Reid gets away with a tug
in the box, Hazard volleys across goal. Adrian has to make smart saves from
Kante and Zappacosta's long-range efforts and deals with a series of crosses
confidently. But Arnautovic and Antonio work really hard up front and threaten
on the break as Arnie is thwarted by a handball in the box the ref misses. While
Arthur Messi-uaku is immense on the left, causing Chelsea’s world class
defenders no end of trouble with his mazy runs. Creswell is tucking inside as a
third centre back at times and plays a lot better too.
Indeed, the rest of the game is something of a revelation.
It’s not pretty but the Hammers work tremendously hard. Obiang is immense in
midfield, nothing like the poor performer against Brighton and Liverpool, while
Noble isn’t far behind in terms of snapping into tackles. Reid throws himself
at everything and Ogbonna is a stalwart performer too.
The crowd buy into it. Moyes seems to have discovered
that part of the West Ham Way is putting in a shift and the fans respond with
rousing choruses of “Come on you Irons!” Bubbles
and, of course, “Stick your blue flag up your arse!”
FROM STAMFORD BRIDGE TO UPTON PARK…
I’m convinced that we’ll inevitably concede with a few
minutes to go, but Chelsea’s chance goes when the possibly offside Morata fires
wide. There’s a nervous five minutes of added time to endure but Nigel and CQ pass
round the lucky pastilles. The super-spirited Hammers hold out to huge cheers.
It’s a lovely moment for the much derided David Moyes.
Matt texts from Granada to report that they are flamenco
dancing in the streets of Alhambra and having a San Miguel on Adrian. Private
Fraser says he never doubted Captain Moyes for a minute, while Michael looks
happier than a man who’s just penned a Marc Almond musical as he says hello and
waves goodbye to the Blues.
Then it’s off to Hackney Wick and down to Christchurch with
my wife Nicola for a romantic mini-break on our wedding anniversary and a full
dissection of West Ham’s win. We even find a few Hammers fans on the train to
Dorset. Another huge test coming up against Arsenal, but this result could
change WHU’s season.
PLAYER RATINGS:
Adrian 7; Zabaleta 7, Reid 8, Ogbonna 7, Cresswell 7; Obiang 8, Noble 7,
Lanzini 7, Masuaku 8; Arnautovic 8 (Sakho 6), Antonio 7 (Ayew 6).
3 comments:
I was Freezing cold before kick off - red hot at the end!
Warmed us all up!
Another display like Saturday and Moyes could have turned it around quicker than anyone could have imagined. Cant wait for tonight's game but the Gunners will be hard to contain and key individuals could be tired, fingers crossed for the best. COYI
Post a Comment