Happy Hammers nail Tigers

Zola's men march on as City's slide continues

By Chris Harvey   Last updated: 28th January 2009

Happy Hammers nail Tigers

Michele ma belle: Joy for West Ham's David Di Michele as he puts the Hammers ahead against Hull City

MATCH FACTS
Man of the match - Matt Duke. The stand-in keeper fully justified Phil Brown's decision to start with him with a string of superb saves, including a great stop from Mark Noble's penalty.
Move of the match: Mark Noble, David Di Michele and Carlton Cole combined across the width of the pitch to feed Jack Collison who hit the post from six yards out.
Save of the match: Duke's stop from Noble's penalty was fabulous. The Hammers midfielder struck his spot-kick well but the Tigers keeper guessed correctly and threw his right arm up to save.
Effort of the match: Di Michele had a great game and his curler early in the match which rebounded off the inside of the post was deserving of a goal.
Talking point: What can Hull City do to arrest their slide down the table? They badly need to pick up a win and Saturday's clash with West Brom at the KC Stadium is crucial.

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West Ham's fine form under Gianfranco Zola continued after they brushed Hull City aside.

The 2-0 scoreline hardly flattered the Hammers who created numerous chances in an impressive display.

They could even afford a missed penalty by Mark Noble, who saw his first-half effort superbly saved by Matt Duke - a surprise replacement for regular keeper Boaz Myhill - before they took control with goals from David Di Michele and Carlton Cole.

Record signing Savio - who made a late substitute's appearance - would have been impressed by his new teammates who could easily have won by more as the Tigers' miserable run continued.

Their own new recruit, Jimmy Bullard, was introduced as a second-half substitute with his side already trailing but there was little the former Fulham man could do as the Tigers slumped to a sixth successive Premier League defeat.

After a cagey opening, the match burst into life on 15 minutes.

Noble's shot was deflected behind for a corner, which eventually dropped out to Jack Collison and his low strike was well saved at full stretch by Duke, making his first Premier League start of the season.

The City keeper was left a spectator moments later when Di Michele unleashed a superb curling effort from just outside the box which came back off the inside of the far post.

The Hammers were awarded a penalty in the 21st minute when Sam Ricketts was adjudged by referee Howard Webb to have bundled over Cole as the pair tussled in the six-yard box.

Noble - who spent a spell on loan at Hull in 2006 - drilled the ball towards the left corner, only for Duke to pull off a stunning save at full stretch.

The hosts were soon back on the offensive.

A quick punt up field suddenly released Di Michele ahead of the defence and into the left side of the Hull penalty area.

However, the Italian made a complete mess of his first-time shot, dragging the ball horribly across goal and wide.

Acrobatic

Di Michele did better when he cut inside and drilled in a low shot which tested Duke.

The ball was not properly cleared though and eventually Cole sent in a curling effort towards the right-hand corner.

Duke made another acrobatic save - but this time could only push the ball out and it dropped right into the path of Di Michele at the far post, who smashed the Hammers ahead on 34 minutes.

The goal had been coming for some time, and suddenly Hull were in danger of being over-run.

The all-action Di Michele was again at the centre of things, this time combining with Cole to cross from the right.

Collison arrived at pace in the six-yard box, but his first-time shot cannoned back off the near post.

Cole should have made it 2-0 just before the break when he beat the offside trap to race clear into the Tigers' penalty area.

However, Duke stood up well and made another fine block - before jumping to his feet and dashing back to clear the ball from off the line as it bounced towards the empty net.

Although the visitors started the second half well, they fell further behind on 51 minutes.

A deep free-kick by Noble from the right channel floated over towards the far post.

The ball dropped back for Di Michele. His low strike bounced off the foot of the upright and right into the path of Cole, who diverted it into the roof of the net.

Tigers boss Brown had seen enough and made a double change, with Craig Fagan replacing Manucho and Bullard coming on for Geovanni. However, the damage was already done.

Nevertheless, Bullard tested Green with a well-struck effort from 22 yards, which the Hammers keeper tipped around the post at full stretch.

To their credit, Hull continued to try to take the game to the hosts, who were guilty of sitting far too deep.

However, West Ham found more space as the match went on, with Cole and Di Michele both having efforts blocked.

Duke touched a chipped effort from Noble over the bar, with the Hull keeper making another fine save from Julien Faubert before Savio was handed a cameo for the final four minutes.

West Ham UnitedTeam StatisticsHull City
2Goals0
11st Half Goals0
10Shots on Target6
13Shots off Target3
5Blocked Shots7
11Corners5
12Fouls15
2Offsides0
0Yellow Cards1
0Red Cards0
81.2Passing Success79.9
30Tackles26
73.3Tackles Success57.7
50.7Possession49.3
41.8Territorial Advantage58.2

Comments (2)

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David Cross (Hull City fan) says...

when will phil brown see that ashbee is terrible please phil watch sky sports and watch him we dont need opta index to see how many times he misses tackles and gives the ball away and also what is with this 4 3 1 2, 4 4 2 is way forward and please sign a striker lack of goals equals no wins

Posted 22:03 28th January 2009

Bill Jones (West Ham United fan) says...

I just watched the game on sky sports. Great performance once again under Zola. I havent seen a west ham team like this for a long time, exciting times ahead. Up the Hammers!

Posted 22:01 28th January 2009
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