Zola rues Chelsea penalty

Zola: Pleased with performance

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West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola rued a controversial second half penalty awarded to Chelsea as his side had to settle for a hard fought point at Upton Park.

The Hammers enjoyed the better of the opening 45 minutes and took a lead into the break after netting a penalty of their own through Alessandro Diamanti.

After the interval Chelsea improved but the manner of their equaliser was shrouded in controversy as referee Mike Dean pointed to the spot, after his assistant flagged, following a challenge from Matthew Upson on Daniel Sturridge.

The England centre-half appeared to play the ball cleanly and Zola was left bitterly disappointed with the decision.

He was, though, thrilled with the commitment his players showed in what was an entertaining capital derby.

"Their attitude today was magnificent and that's why we got a result," he told Sky Sports 1.

"The referee saw it (the penalty incident) right in the first place because he didn't give anything and he was very close to it.

"So I'm disappointed he trusted the linesman's view. He was closer and should have kept his first decision.

"But after the penalty if there was a team that looked like they were going to score it was us.

"Trust me it was a big performance for us today. They really showed a lot of character."

Parker's view

West Ham midfielder Scott Parker, the game's outstanding player, hailed his side's "do or die" attitude.

"It was do or die for us," he told Sky Sports. "And we've gone out there and gave our all against a very good Chelsea side.

"We've been lacking a little bit of fight, passion and a bit of the gritty stuff of late but today we did that.

"It's a massive result for us although obviously we would have loved to get the three points.

"But it's a big lift and we were not expecting it. We've done really well and we can now push on."

Parker echoed his manager's sentiments with regards the award of Chelsea's penalty: "I don't think it should have been one.

"It's a harsh penalty. But the linesman thought it was one. That's how it goes."