Again, I feel like I should start by saying that, at 22, my choice of Hammers match may be different to other people! In fact, I only started going to matches with my Dad when I was 10 so this match was one of the first I had the pleasure of attending.
The match I’ve chosen is West Ham’s thrilling 5-4 win against Bradford City, a match that also saw the debut of goalkeeper Stephen Bywater. After just five minutes, Shaka Hislop was stretchered off with a broken leg. With his deputy Craig Forrest away on international duty, Hammers manager Harry Redknapp had no choice but to put on the untested Bywater.
After half an hour, Bradford took the lead from a Dean Windass header. Sinclair equalised soon after, and then John Moncur netted to give West Ham a 2-1 lead. Seconds after his strike, Moncur conceded a penalty and at the break the score was 2-2.
Soon into the second half, Jamie Lawrence scored twice in two minutes to give relegation-threatened Bradford a 4-2 lead. With 25 minutes to go, it looked as if the Hammers were staring defeat in the face.
Bradford conceded a penalty, and after a tussle with Lampard, Paolo Di Canio decisively brought the score back to 4-3. Then, after a great solo run, Joe Cole evened the score to 4-4. Then, with less than ten minutes to go, Lampard scored a great goal to make the Hammers victorious, with the final score at 5-4.
I remember this game leaving me in absolute awe, being one of the very first football games I had ever been to. I wish that every game I’ve been to since was as exciting!
What about you, what’s the best game you’ve ever been to? Leave me a comment or tweet me at @alwaysintune to let me know.
8-1 at home to Newcastle in 1986 was unbelievable.
Alvin Martin hat-trick and Newcastle had 3 different keepers play one being Peter Beardsley.
CWCSF1976 v Frankfurt 40000+ inside the old Upton park. Noise?
May 14th 1995 West Ham 1-1 Man Utd
Micheal Hughes on 14mins lifted the roof off Upton park with his opener
and went a long way to ensuring Blackburn became champions and not Man Utd
🙂
As I read the opening line of ur article I was thinking the same thing. At age 29 I had a season ticket that year and as most of the crowd was discussed with the 1st half perfomance, some walked out. I have never experianced the buzz I did in the 2nd half of that game it had everything. I still cannot believe that it only got brief showing on MOTD!!!
it had to be the midweek game under the lights of upton park standing in the north bank beating liverpool 4-1 inthe cup westham goal scorers that night . paul ince 2,tony,gale free kick ,burrows of liverpool og and liverpool pen tucked away by john aldrige,that was one fantastic night
No no no it was Chelsea 0 West Ham 4 April 1986. They were brilliant that day.