West Ham Till I Die
Comments
Match Report

West Ham 2 FC Astra 2

Your reaction please.

I don’t know what happened with James Collins’ sending off, but to get three red cards in five Europa League matches is going some, especially for a team which qualified uner the Fair Play League. This is what James Collins told the London Evening Standard today. You couldn’t make it up…

“We’ve had a couple of tough games and tonight will be no walkover. Everyone expected us to steamroller Birkirkara [West Ham won the tie on penalties] but they were doing everything to get under our skin. We have to be streetwise. James got sent off in Malta and Diafra Sakho the previous match. That can’t happen. We must be more professional."

And to top it all, Slaven Bilic was also sent off.

Apart from if we had lost, this couldn’t have been a worse evening. We now have to go to Romania three days before we got to the Emirates. A 2-0 victory, which looked likely at one stage, would have meant we could send a slightly under strength team. But now we have both Tomkins and Collins suspended, along with Joey O’Brien. Just as well we have a surfeit of central defenders. Sakho will be back, which is just as well as goodness only knows how bad Enner Valencia’s injury is. We really are unlucky aren’t we?

The dreadful BBC London commentator reckoned at one stage that FC Astra were worse than FC Lusitans. As soon as he said that, I thought that comment might come back to bite him on the arse. Or ours. And what a pity that he seemed unable to pronounce the names of most West Ham players. Cresswell became Crezwell. Maiga became Mayger. Adrian because Aydrian. Honestly, does the man not have a shred of professionalism?

I guess the bright spots were the two goals scored by Enner Valencia and more especially Mauro Zarate, which from the commentary I heard sounded a peach of a goal. Valencia is a confidence player and his header will certainly put a spring in his step, assuming he recovers quickly from the injury. From whay I heard Dimitri Payet had a very bright competitive debut, and laid on Valencia’s goal, and sixteen year old Reece Oxford’s confident performance showed yet again that he has an old head on young shoulders.

In the second leg, it’s quite simple. We have to win or draw 3-3. This European lark is a bit more challenging that some people first thought, I suspect.

About us

West Ham Till I Die is a website and blog designed for supporters of West Ham United to discuss the club, its fortunes and prospects. It is operated and hosted by West Ham season ticket holder, LBC radio presenter and political commentator Iain Dale.

More info

Follow us

Contact us

Iain Dale, WHTID, PO Box 663, Tunbridge Wells, TN9 9RZ

Visit iaindale.com, Iain Dale’s personal website & blog.

Get in touch

Copyright © 2024 Iain Dale Limited.