The real Man of the Match for West Ham was THIS unsung hero

Alex Song was given the official Man of the Match award following the brilliant 2-1 victory over Manchester City on Saturday, but for me James Collins was the player who truly deserved the accolade for his role in the Hammers victory.

Song put in a superb shift, as did everyone else who wore a claret and blue shirt during the Saturday lunchtime kick-off, and indeed Song’s role was analysed and praised heavily on Match of Day. However, I want to single out the performance of Collins for special praise – a performance without which I don’t believe the Hammers would have been able to secure victory.

‘Ginge’ isn’t the always the easiest on the eye, or the most skilful player you are ever going to see, and for that reason he probably dosen’t get all the plaudits he should after a good display – such as a feature on Match of the Day for example.  But what he does have in abundance are qualities that really endear him to supporters, such as passion, desire and a never say die attitude. Against the Premier League Champions, Collins was effectively a human wall protecting the Hammers goal that just refused to be knocked down.

He was the man who was marking one of the best strikers in the world in Sergio Aguero, and the Argentinian probably had one of his quietest games for a long time thanks to the way Collins handled him. The Welshman seemed to win every aerial dual, intercepted so many passes into feet, and of course put his body on the line in typical James Collins fashion to block numerous attempts on goal – often without thought to his own personal safety.

Indeed I suspect the City attackers had nightmares about the ‘Ginger Pele’ the night after the game. Every time it looked as though one of them had some space in the box to get a shot away, Collins was there to throw himself in the way. It really was an exceptional and heroic display.

Overall you have to say that Collins has been an absolute bargain for the Hammers since Sam Allardyce re-signed him for the club who had stupidly let him leave for Aston Villa some years earlier, for just over £2million. He’s made some mistakes in that time, but has more than made up for those with displays such as the one he gave on Saturday against some of the best attacking players in the world. His contributions are often just as important to winning matches as the goals at the other end – I think it is about time they are acknowledged as such.