So. Who would it be? Assuming prudent thinking prevailed and Diafra Sakho was out for today’s clash at The Britannia to allow his shoulder to heal properly, who would step in? We are all so used to scraping the bottom of the barrel when one of our better players is hurt that actually having a few decent options borders on euphoria. Like going to a party and coming home not with one, but two phone numbers. From that perspective I tried to look at losing our top goal scorer as a chance to dangle a carrot out for some other players. Here’s your chance, come and get it.
Carlton Cole looked pretty useful when he came on against Burnley and Crystal Palace. Elliot Lee scores in his sleep for the Development Squad and his movement and eye for the goal could have made him a very good stand in with Valencia, but his loan to Southend squashed that idea. Zarate seemed an appropriate choice to many on Twitter, but a mystery thigh strain kept him out last week and we all know how Sam treats most players coming back from injury. That left one obvious choice. I can’t believe I’m saying it……but I wanted to see Kevin Nolan get the call. With Crouch and Bardsley out for Stoke, something about Nolan’s experience felt comforting.
Then word came that a decision had been made. The winner is….Kouyate. I didn’t read one pundit or Tweet even suggesting that as a possibility. Did that mean two up front was dead and buried until Sakho comes back? Or maybe Sam Alirdici was back with a new trick up his sleeve? Maybe it was simply a matter of Amalfitano has played too well to take out, and Kouyate is too good to leave out.
If the first ten minutes were to be a clue of things to come, then it looked like we were in store for a long day. Victor Moses has been of those players that seemed on the verge of doing something special for quite awhile, but always strayed off the path to quality. In the 7th minute he gave us the first of many glimpses on the day of what he is capable of. He picked up the ball in midfield and brought it down the left hand side. I expected someone to close him down. He probably did, too. When nobody did he went for the shot when patience might have served him better. His shot sailed high over the bar.
A minute later West Ham had their first opportunity when Sidwell clipped Song and conceded a free kick. Stoke have been awful defending set pieces this season, so there was a bit of hope and anticipation when Downing stepped up to take it. Turned out that Stoke didn’t need to worry. They didn’t need to do anything, actually. Downing’s shot flew high over the net.
When James Collins name shows up on the team sheet, some supporters get anxious. He can make the kind of mistakes that lead directly to opposition goals. But when he is on his game, like he was against Man City, he is like a building. With legs. Geoff Cameron got behind Cresswell and fed Bojan in the box. He should have blasted it, and if he had it likely would have gone past Adrian before the Spaniard even moved. But a touch and a moment of hesitation gave Collins the time he needed to throw himself in front of the shot. A few minutes later he did it again when Walters passed into the area only to have Ginge clear it. But it didn’t go far enough, and N’Zonzi pounced and fired on goal. No problem for he of iron forehead, who dove in and made another outstanding block.
Even when Alex Song does something wrong you know he is quality. Just above the rest of the mortals on the pitch. In the 14th minute, he and Valencia went on the attack after Song won the ball off of Sidwell and tried to feed it into the area for the striker. But the pass was a little too heavy. A bit like many of us, I suspect.
Amalfitano has played very well so far this season. Today, however, is a day he probably wont keep in his scrapbook. N’Zonzi pressured him into giving up a corner. Granted, nobody was there to help him. But even a simple hoof to the sideline would have been better. Downing headed the corner to safety, but the revelation that has been Stuart Downing did not look pleased. After the success he has seen this year on the top of the diamond formation, he was out wide and thus not seeing much of the ball. And Valencia looked like a skinnier version of Cole, up there all alone with little or no support. With Sakho, all four defenders have to be on top of their game. With one up top, they can break for tea if they want.
The 21st minute brought another moment Amalfitano will want to forget about when Bojan twisted him inside out near the touchline and sent a ball right across goal. Diouf looked ready to tap it home, but somehow missed. Moses then tried a curling shot after making Jenkinson look like Amalfitano just did but it went wide.
There was only one team in the game to this point. It’s amazing how the loss of one player can reverberate throughout an entire squad. More worrying was the site of Winston Reid on the ground clutching his ankle. Replays showed he twisted it during a challenge from N’Zonzi. His day was coming to an end, and Tomkins was called into action.
In the 27th minute West Ham finally decided to enter the game instead of watch it. Song and Downing worked a lovely give and go after a bad clearance from Begovic. But with two options in front of the goal, one being a wide open Kouyate, Downing opted to go for goal. If the goal had been ten rows in behind the net, he would have scored.
In the annals of scrappy goals, Stoke’s opener could be a cover photo. Cameron crossed the ball in from the right side. Bojan attempted a shot from the knockdown by Diouf, but it was partially blocked. Nobody in our back line could get a touch on the ball as it rolled to Moses. His shot hit the post, bounced out, hit him again and rolled in. It could have been an OG. It was hard to tell. But I was in no mood to study it.
Stoke 1, West Ham 0.
There was a moment in the 39th minute which summed up the day to that point. With nobody around him, Jenkinson passed the ball back. That would be OK if the pass had actually been to someone. Song chased it down, averting what could have been a real problem. What was Jenkinson thinking? Who did he see? Is sloppy play like the flu, an airborne virus that spreads quickly? Up front, every time Valencia had the ball with at least a theoretical chance to do something all he did was run, lose the ball, fall down, and look at the ref.
In the 43rd minute it was Tomkins turn to be James Collins when Cameron waltzed through two in light blue and aimed a cross at Diouf. Tomkins radar worked perfectly and he slid in to deny Stoke a great chance for a second goal. It only took a few seconds for the home side to get another chance when Bojan took the ball away from Song and tried a long range missile. Lucky for us it was as accurate as a Scud. I was praying for halftime without any more stress.
Nope.
Cameron was at it again, beating our defenders like a drum and sending a low ball into Diouf right in front of goal. It should have been 2-0. No question. And I may never know how Adrian grew larger by about a foot in every conceivable direction to block that goalbound shot.
Halftime finally, and thankfully, arrived.
The Twitter hounds were out in force calling for Amalfitano’s head. He wasn’t the only player who had been poor, if not terrible in the first half. But he was the most obvious target of frustration, Sam likely agreed, and he didn’t come out for the second half. Instead, Carlton Cole was brought on. I for one was surprised. I would have expected Nolan or Zarate.
When Chris Foy handles our games, good things don’t usually happen. There is no earthly reason why one referee should bring bad results to one team time and time again, but it happens. When Marc Wilson put a body check into Valencia that would make any hockey coach proud he should have seen yellow. He saw nothing. Neither did Foy, apparently, and perhaps history was repeating itself.
In the 51st minute James Tomkins continued his good work since coming on for Reid. Stoke were again pressing, asking the proverbial questions, and Tomkins was again there to answer the call of duty. He broke up an attack where Stoke had numbers and N’Zonzi was ready to latch onto a pass. Stoke are doing what they did in the first forty five minutes. Attack us, control the game, and fall back on defense when needed. Which wasn’t often. At least Mr. Tomkins and Mr. Collins were doing their jobs and doing them well.
Aaron Cresswell has done very little wrong since arriving from Ipswich. In fact, his play has been as valuable as anybody’s. Including Sakho. So when I say he made as bad a decision as I’ve seen in many years from a defender to give up Stoke’s second goal I don’t want anybody to accuse me of not appreciating the lad. Bojan sent the kind of long ball that Sam Allardyce dreams about over Cresswell. Instead of dealing with it, in any sort of way, he watched as Walters went around him to collect a pass he shouldn’t have had a chance in hell of getting. Good cross to Diouf, simple header past Adrian, in the net.
Stoke 2, West Ham 0.
You may say that you still had hope. You may say you didn’t think the game was over. And you may be lying. I for one didn’t see anything that told me we could come back from 2-0 down midway through the second half.
Times are definitely changing.
In the 58th minute, Song played a ball in for Valencia. I’m not sure how, but quality players like Song can do that. Valencia’s attempt on goal was blocked by Darth Shawcross. West Ham had their first corner. Nothing came of it, but West Ham were asking some questions. Two minutes later, Stoke couldn’t find the answer when Downing broke down the right and sent a stunning cross over everyone except Valencia, who dove at it with his own iron forehead and put it in the back of the net. Stoke were angry about a two footed challenge by Song a few seconds earlier, and to be fair it should have been a foul. But Stoke live by the sword, and sometimes they must die by the sword. In other words….get over it, Sparky.
Stoke 2, West Ham 1.
The 62nd minute should have been the minute Stoke restored their two goal lead. An impressive passing sequence ended with Walters passing to N’Zonzi. That’s when the 62nd minute changed into the minute Adrian palmed the ball behind to keep West Ham in the game.
When West Ham play Stoke, it’s often a game of messages. Like the time Neill sent Etherington flying into the advertising boards early in a game, keeping Matty relatively quiet the rest of the day. When James Collins decided that Bojan’s shins looked a lot like a football he got a yellow card. And Bojan got something to think about the rest of the game if he got the ball. Considering that he had been a step ahead of Song for much of the game, I’d say Ginge did the right thing.
In the 69th minute, Noble came off for Nolan. If this is the way forward in terms of Nolan’s role with the team I’m all for it. He can be quite useful in tight spots, and this was a tight spot. And it almost got as tight as a noose three minutes later when Mame Biram Diouf somehow figured out how to suspend the laws of motion. The ball was placed perfectly to his head. He was in a perfect position to score. He had to score there. He didn’t.
And he will have nightmares about it for a long time because a minute later, against not only the run of play but simple logic, West Ham were level. Valencia picked up the ball on the left side after a West Ham corner. His pass into the box looked destined for Kouyate. But the big man dummied it, it rolled to Downing, and he slammed it behind Begovic at the near post.
Stoke 2, West Ham 2.
West Ham nearly took the lead in the 77th minute when Valencia was sent in on goal all by himself. Just him and Begovic. Valencia acted as surprised as anybody, and maybe the shock is what gave Begovic the instant he needed to get down in front of the ball and push it out of danger.
Charlie Adam came on for Bojan in the 82nd minute, and one could easily have seen the cagey veteran finding a way to grab back all three points for the home side. He never got the chance, I’m happy to say. A minute later, Geoff Cameron did. His pass to Walters was returned after a run into the box. But instead of instinctively shooting straight away, he tried to control the ball. That extra touch gave Adrian time to move into position and push the ball behind for what should have been a corner. How the officials missed that is a question only they can answer. I wouldn’t bother listening, however.
The ghosts of Tony Pulis came out for a bit in the 86th minute when Walters went shoulder first into Adrian’s chest. A few minutes earlier Carlton Cole was nearly apoplectic with anger after a tussle in front of Begovic. The whole atmosphere was getting salty. Would someone turn their anger into a winning goal before the three minutes of added time were done? The best chance came in the second added minute when Shawcross made a marauding run down the right, only to lose the ball on a perfectly timed tackle by Kouyate. The Stoke defender hopped right back up, smile on his face as if to say “no autopsy, no foul”. A final ball into the area by Adam is headed away by Collins.
Final score. Stoke 2, West Ham 2.
If we do go on to have a memorable year, we may all look back on this draw as the moment we knew it was possible. Just like the draw at Chelsea gave us the belief last year that we could survive, this draw could give us the belief we can thrive.
Cresswell was awful.
Jenkinson was only a little better than Cresswell, so nothing to remember.
Song was human. By his standards, that’s terrible.
Yet we pulled together to grind out a point when we truly didn’t deserve it. Good teams do that. And we may actually be a good team.