West Ham finally returned to winning ways with a hard fought home victory over mid-table Barnsley yesterday. Papa Bouba Diop headed the only goal as Sam Allardyce was sent to the stands in a frustrating but effective win for the Hammers.
Allardyce elected to start with three front men for the first time this season as the home side looked to bounce back from two consecutive defeats. Losses to Burnley and Reading were just a blip according to the boss at Upton Park who would have been pleased with the first half display.
Diop headed home Mark Noble’s corner after just six minutes which turned out to be the winning goal in a game of few chances. One of the Hammers powerful front three, Carlton Cole, managed to smash the ball wide from three yards out after doing the hard work well on the half hour mark. Freddie Piquionne then scuffed a late first half chance to only give the Hammers a one goal lead at the break.
The second half was a scrappy affair as the visitors came back into the game drawing two terrific saves from the once again reliable Rob Green. Second half substitutes then slowed the pace of the game and West Ham managed to hold on to a massive three points without a lot of pressure from the Yorkshire-men.
The Irons fans were jeering twice late on, firstly for Allardyce being sent to the stands for appealing for a penalty on Freddie Sears (that never was) and secondly for the lacklustre Kevin Nolan being handed man of the match in front of the deserving Diop, Danny Potts or Mark Noble which may say something about the what is going on behind the scenes at the Boleyn.
The East Enders now travel to the midlands twice in a week after Christmas with tough games at Birmingham City and Derby County before the year is out which could make or break our season.
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