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Irons Match verdict: Give it up for the boys!

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Match verdict

Irons 2 Saints 1

Michail AntonioFirst things first – heartiest congratulations Michail Antonio on your man of the match – thoroughly deserved…

Welcome back Manu Lanzini – you made the difference…

…very well done Andy Carroll – we are delighted for you….

…and finally we are back up to seventh place with 29 points!

That was one hell of a game – we were utterly hopeless in the first half which for very good reasons we will forget but with the arrival of Carroll and Lanzini after half time absolutely everything changed.

The ball carrying Argentinian appeared for the entirely ineffective Alex Song and coupled with the fearless and direct running of Antonio we suddenly looked fearless, dangerous, gutsy and exciting.

With Lanzini’s skill and invention coming to the fore the Saints team – who had ruled it over us in a one sided first half – were pushed further and further back and it was only going to be a matter of time before Jenkinson’s own goal from the 13th minute was going to be cancelled out.

carrollPoor Jenks had been launched into the left back position as the patched up Hammers went looking for their first win in two months and it was almost par for the course that his would be the final boot on a ball in from Shane Long’s cross  which first was touched on by Tanic – Adrian was left with no chance.

But Antonio, as he had promised, came to the party and fulfilled his promise that he could scare Premier League defences.

And he scored the luckiest goal ever when he charged into the box on 68 mins, lost control, appealed for a pen, saw had the ball crashed back against him   and watched in wonder as it looped over the keeper and into the net.

The Hammers were rampant after that with Valencia – showing some real form at last – seeing a low shot well saved before we should have had a spot kick when Carroll was blocked off by Bertrand only for the ref to give a foul the other way.

It was to make no difference because 11 minutes from time Valencia curled in a wicked ball, that man Antonio  headed against the bar and AC waltzed in to head the rebound into the corner of the net.

There were a couple of scares towards the end but the amazing second half heroics of every Iron on the pitch ensured that we hung on for our first win in two months.

A victory  on the final day of the old year is precisely what we required.We have our best players coming back but I’ll tell you this – Antonio is becoming a better and better player and Slav will have a hard time dropping the boy.

One run right at the death from his own penalty area, 70 yards down field before his legs turned to jelly and he fired over was a sight to behold.

Make no mistake – there’s nothing to worry about in this squad – it was just the lads took too long to show the impetus we’ve been crying out for.

But it’s back and we look great.

Give it up for the mighty Irons everybody! Remember this was the team that had beaten the Gooners 4-0 a couple of days ago.

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Hugh Southon is a lifelong Iron and the founding editor of ClaretandHugh. He is a national newspaper journalist of many years experience and was Bobby Moore's 'ghost' writer during the great man's lifetime. He describes ClaretandHugh as "the Hammers daily newspaper!"

Follow on Twitter @hughsouthon

6 comments

  • oldgit says:

    Christ did we need those three points and weren’t we so lucky not to be 3 or 4 down at the break? Yes we have injuries that affect our game but there is no excuse for the utter non performances like most players gave against Swansea and Villa. Replacement players may nor be as good but their motivation and commitment to the cause needs to be questioned. Still, enough of the negatives… just thankful to get 3 points nearer safety.

    • WHU647580 says:

      Safety?

      Not once have I even considered the R word this season!

      Away draws at MUFC, Swansea and Villa are valuable and not normally achieved. Stoke have shown to be a good side as well recently.

  • canchaz says:

    There was a very good and obvious reason the ‘lads’ took so long to show the impetus, as you say. Lanzini wasn’t on the itch in the first half. I’m pleased for Antonio and think he’s well earned a regular starting g spot but it was Lanzini who showed once again why he is one of the four players who are key to any success.
    And Andy did a great job of proving what many of us have been saying, that he works perfectly as an impact sub. I’m more than convinced he’ll score more goals playing this way and would do more good for his chances of pulling on an England shirt again

  • aykay says:

    I read a michail antonio interview before the villa game where he said its been a few games and to expect a goal from him because he nevers goes this many games without a goal! …im glad hes got off the mark for us and lets hope this can be the start of lots more from him..i truly believe he has all the attributes to displace moses from the starting 11 , now hes got his chance and a run in the side to acclimatise to the premier league i believe with his direct running , all power and pace , he can thrive from the returning payet and lanzini creativity

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