MATTY Etherington believes Hammers solid display earned them the
break that led to their second goal in the 2-1 win over
Middlesbrough on Sunday.
And the midfielder felt West Ham's stroke of luck made up for
Nigel Reo-Coker's first half strike not being allowed to stand.
He said: "I think we fully deserved the victory whether it was
a goal or not. We didn't think there was anything wrong
with Nigel's strike earlier, so maybe it was a case of
things levelling themselves out.
"Overall we were always the better side and I don't think
Boro could grumble about the result. With the goal we all know
these things can go for and against you."
Matty also felt that although they had to break down Boro before
Teddy Sheringham's second-half goal, the belief they could win
the match was never in doubt.
He added: "They put a lot of men behind the ball in the
first-half and made it a bit difficult for us. But we were still
creating chances and got on top in the second-half and deserved to
get all three points."
The Hammers have a busy week ahead, with a Carling Cup clash at
Bolton and then an away trip to Liverpool next Saturday. The squad
departed for the North West on Tuesday and will remain there until
after the clash at Anfield.
And Matty believes bouncing back straight away from the Man City
defeat was vital going into two tough matches in the North West.
He said: "It was important we got another win at home before
going away again, but we have kept on believing in ourselves and we
were confident that we could bounce back against Middlesbrough.
"There are more tough games coming up, but if we can keep the good momentum going, then there's no reason why we can't continue to get the results."