City held by Hammers

Vassell: Equaliser

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West Ham were denied their first victory in four meetings against Manchester City this season as Darius Vassell cancelled out Carlton Cole's early strike.

Cole improvised cleverly to fire West Ham in front with an overhead kick after eight minutes, only for Vassell to equalise from close range on 16 minutes.

West Ham controlled long periods of the game from then on but there were few opportunities at either end, with City lacking inspiration in attack but solid at the back.

Joe Hart was called upon twice, first to save Mark Noble's powerful effort with his feet and then to tip Cole's last-gasp header over the crossbar.

Lack of firepower

A chronic lack of firepower seriously undermined City's efforts and although a Uefa Cup spot remains a distinct possibility - this point lifted them to fifth in the Premier League - dreams of the UEFA Champions League are fading fast.

Sven Goran Eriksson's men won their first nine home league games this season but have now taken just three points from their last three outings at the City of Manchester Stadium.

West Ham deserve credit for producing a spirited response after limping out of the FA Cup at Eastlands four days earlier.

That they did so without Dean Ashton and Matthew Etherington - ruled out due to back and knee injuries respectively - hinted at the depth and quality of their squad as the Londoners continue their own assault on Europe.

The Hammers were already shorn of the services of Nolberto Solano, Craig Bellamy, Scott Parker, Bobby Zamora and Kieron Dyer through injury.

But they were threatening throughout and Cole's eighth-minute strike was just reward for their early enterprise.

That it came from a defensive error from City skipper Richard Dunne - whose standards have rarely dipped below exemplary this season - raised eyebrows.

The Irishman surrendered possession from inside his own 18-yard box with a dreadful pass straight to Noble and he swiftly fed Freddie Ljungberg on the right flank.

The Swede whipped in a dangerous cross into the six-yard box where Cole lurked menacingly.

Sublime

In one sublime sequence, the towering forward controlled the ball and displayed formidable strength to hold off Vedran Corluka before dispatching a brilliant overhead volley past Hart.

It was the former Chelsea striker's fifth goal of the season and gave West Ham a platform on which to build.

Ljungberg gave Michael Ball several uneasy moments down the right flank but City, to their credit, gradually gained a foothold on proceedings and drew level in the 16th minute.

It stemmed from a corner from Martin Petrov that West Ham failed to deal with and the ball was recycled back to the Bulgarian out wide on the right flank.

Petrov's vicious cross flashed through a thicket of defenders and found its way to Vassell who stabbed home his third goal of the season from three yards out.

Vassell looked suspiciously offside when Petrov delivered the cross but the goal stood and City were level.

The game became rather scrappy as the half wore on and West Ham skipper Lucas Neill was shown a yellow card in the 26th minute for a cynical foul on the elusive Petrov.

Dunne followed seven minutes late for chopping down Luis Boa Morte but it was the visitors who looked the more threatening in attack.

Cole might have claimed his second six minutes before the break had he gambled on Neill's teasing low cross which forced Hart to dive full length to collect possession.

Noble's clever pass released Cole three minutes before the break but Micah Richards' pace allowed him to make a vital touch to avert the danger.

Threatening

West Ham continued to threaten after the break and a neat array of inter-passing between Neill and Ljungberg gave Noble the space to hit an errant shot over the crossbar from 16 yards.

Boa Morte was then booked for a ill-judged lunge on Vassell and shortly before the hour mark Eriksson replaced the former Aston Villa striker with Gelson Fernandes.

West Ham, however, continued to probe and Mullins drew a smart save from Hart with a low 20-yard shot and then fired over from the same distance.

Bianchi, who struggled to make any impact, then fired straight at a virtually unemployed Robert Green with a 20-yard volley in the 67th minute.

West Ham thought they had scored a second in the 73rd minute when substitute Julian Faubert bundled the ball home but the strike was disallowed following a push by Bowyer on Dunne.

They should have claimed a winner with 13 minutes remaining, however, when Faubert and Cole combined to give Noble a shooting chance from 12 yards which drew a fine save from Hart, who then tipped over a header from Cole with just seconds remaining.