West Ham entered the final weeks of the 1994/95 season in the bottom two of the Premiership table and looked odds-on to get relegated especially as four clubs were to go down as the FA decided to cut the number of teams in the top-flight from 22 to 20 for the following season.The Hammers run-in could not have been more difficult with them scheduled to play Championship-chasing Blackburn Rovers &Manchester United plus newly-crowned League Cup winners Liverpool in three of their final five matches.We focus on those three games in this part of West Ham Through The Years.
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West Ham 2-0 Blackburn Rovers
Rieper 50
Hutchison 83
West Ham put-on a remarkable performance to beat Championship favourites Blackburn and move-up to their highest league position in four months (16th).After a scoreless first half The Hammers went ahead when from John Moncur’s corner Danish centre-back Marc Rieper rose highest to head home his first goal in English football.With the visitors desperate for points at the top-end of the table West Ham caught them cold late-on when substitute Mathew Rush collected Ian Bishop’s pass before storming down the right,from the Irishman’s cross Moncur had his shot parried by keeper Tim Flowers but Don Hutchison netted the rebound to confirm victory on a day which also seen defender Simon Webster make his Hammers debut after two years of injury misery.
West Ham 3-0 Liverpool
Holmes 29
Hutchison 60,61
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The Hammers secured their Premiership status with this thumping win over Liverpool despite missing injured striking duo Tony Cottee & Jeroen Boere.They got the break-through when John Moncur released Mathew Holmes,the winger then controlled the ball with his left foot before shooting home with his right from a tight angle for a great goal.They notched the all-important second when Steve Potts played Trevor Morley in, he then touched the ball back for Don Hutchison,playing as a make-shift striker,who drove it home from 20 yards. Just 40 seconds later Hutchison latched onto Tim Breaker’s long raking pass to squeeze home the Hammers third from close-range to wrap-up an impressive first win over Liverpool since 1989.
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West Ham 1-1 Manchester United
Hughes 31
The Hammers despite having an injury-list that included Tony Cottee,Jeroen Boere,Alvin Martin and Julian Dicks put-on a sterling display to force the draw that denied Manchester United the Premiership title in this final-game-of-the-season.
The club unveiled Denmark international Marc Rieper as their latest signing after the defender on-loan at Upton Park since December penned a permanent deal after West Ham paid Bromby £1.1 million for his services on the morning of this match.
In a pulsating contest the Hammers were denied by the woodwork early-on when Mathew Holmes cut-in from the left before unleashing a shot that struck the crossbar.But the deserved breakthrough arrived when from Holmes’ cross Michael Hughes volleyed past the keeper for an emphatic finish to put West Ham ahead and send Upton Park’s biggest crowd of the season,24,783,into raptures.The Hammers were on the back foot for almost the entire second half as keeper Ludek Miklosko played 12th man for Man Utd’s title challengers Blackburn with a hat-full of super-human saves to deny Brian McClair,Mark Hughes and Andy Cole.Despite the visitor’s drawing level midway through the second period from McClair’s header following a set-piece, the Hammers back-line with man-of-the-match Miklosko in the thick of it remained resolute to claim a point and give Blackburn the Premiership title in one of the most dramatic finales ever seen.
West Ham finished the campaign in 14th position and could look forward to another season in the top-flight although their first summer signing was that of an infamous Dutchman called Marco Boogers, although that’s a story for another day!!
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