West Ham United 2-2 Fulham FT

Barclays Premier League
West Ham United v Fulham
Boleyn Ground
Sunday 4 October 2009
3pm
Referee: Phil Dowd

WHUTV - LIVE COMMENTARY

 

Full-time score - West Ham United 2-2 Fulham

95 min - Eight seconds past four minutes of added-time and referee Dowd blows for full-time.

94 min - How did Johnson not score that!? Murphy sends the ball forward and Green comes out to clear. Johnson charges the ball down and has only Upson to beat to find the empty net. He delays too long and allows Green to get back into his penalty area, then drags his shot wide of the near post. He really should have scored.

92 min - GOAL! Cruel on Fulham, but vital for West Ham. Stanislas rounds Gera and shoots. The ball hits Hughes and flies past Schwarzer.

92 min - West Ham continue to press, but they can't get a clear shot at goal...

90 min - Fourth official Taylor holds up the electronic board. West Ham have four extra minutes to save their skins. As he does so, Hughes heads Faubert's cross behind for a corner. Diamanti scuffs it, though, and Fulham clear.

88 min - Cole holds the ball up superbly before finding Jimenez. The Chilean feeds Stanislas, whose shot is deflected over. Diamanti swings over the corner, but Fulham are able to head clear.

86 min - Pantsil tries to clear in his unique acrobatic style and only manages to put the ball out for a corner. Schwarzer punches the ball clear and Riise races off up the right touchline. Stanislas tracks him all the way and finally gets a tackle in, but only at the expense of a corner. Fulham work it short, but Johnson ends up fouling and is booked for his troubles.

83 min - Dempsey is felled by Jimenez and immediately signals to the bench that he will need to be replaced. Bjorn Helge Riise is on for the final seven minutes plus added-time.

81 min - Decent counter-attack from West Ham. Noble sprays the ball out wide to the left and Faubert cuts inside, but his shot is too close to Schwarzer. Fulham make a second change, with Kamara being replaced by Eddie Johnson.

80 min - Dempsey shoots and Green claws the ball behind for a corner, which Tomkins heads clear.

78 min - Fulham break away through Kamara, only for Behrami to sprint back 50 yards and win the ball off the African. Great work.

77 min - Good from Cole, who picks the ball up just inside the box, cuts back on his left foot and wins a corner. The ball is worked back to Diamanti, who gives Konchesky a headache with a well-struck shot.

76 min - Every player bar Green is inside the Fulham half as Tomkins strides forward and shoots from 30 yards. Schwarzer dives, but does not need to touch the ball as it flies wide of the post.

75 min - Fulham have set up with two banks of four and Kamara ploughing a furrow as a lone front man. West Ham are trying manfully to play through the massed ranks of white shirts. 15 minutes to go...

73 min - Tactically, Jimenez is now supporting Cole, with Behrami and Noble in the centre of midfield and Stanislas out on the left wing.

71 min - Two changes for West Ham. Parker and Hines are the players replaced, with Behrami and Stanislas on in their respective places.

70 min - Faubert finds Diamanti down the right. He cuts inside his marker and shoots, but the ball is never threatening Schwarzer's goal and the Australian allows it to bounce wide for a goal kick.

67 min - Diamanti lets fly with a low shot, but it bounces wide of the far post. Ilunga and Jimenez had combined to set up that chance for the Italian. West Ham need some inspiration from somewhere. It looks like Behrami will be on soon.

65 min - 25 minutes to go. Will Zola call for a substitute soon? He has Behrami, Spector and Stanislas warming up on the touchline.

62 min - Cole is brought down just outside the penalty area. Jimenez looks like he wants to take this one. It certainly favours a right-footed player. Diamanti takes and the ball hits the wall.

61 min - A tactical change from Zola. Hines joins Cole up front, with Diamanti wide on the right and Jimenez wide on the left.

59 min - Faubert is booked for throwing the ball in the direction of Faubert after being adjudged to have tripped the forward.

57 min - GOAL! Fulham's ten men take the lead. Konchesky's corner looped over Green to the back post and Gera volleyed home.

56 min - Upson brings down Dempsey 30 yards out. Konchesky fancies this one. It takes a big deflection off the wall and Green scrambles across his goal to push the ball out for a corner.

55 min - Fulham still carry a threat on the break. Dempsey turns and hits the ball on the volley, but it flies over the top.

54 min - Kamara carries the ball clear from the flag-kick and Jimenez trips him, earning a booking.

53 min - We've got 32,612 fans inside the Boleyn Ground today, but they are not making much noise. West Ham are doing all the attacking here. Faubert curls over a cross and Pantsil heads it behind for a corner.

50 min - A nice piece of skill sees Diamanti scoot past two Fulham defenders, but he is unable to open up his body enough and his weak shot is easily saved by Schwarzer.

49 min - Fulham's 1,000-strong support are making plenty of noise in the away end, as you might expect. Fulham are sitting really deep here and trying to keep hold of what they have got.

47 min - GOAL! Murphy sends Green the wrong way and the scores are level.

46 min - Disaster for West Ham 30 seconds into the second half as Upson fells Kamara inside the penalty area and Dowd points to the spot. Murphy to take..

Fulham make a half-time change, bringing off striker Johnson for defender Chris Baird, who is confusingly going to line up in central midfield alongside Muprhy.

'Stone Cold' Steve Austin earns a loud cheer when he announces he is supporting West Ham today. The former wrestler-turned-actor is in the UK to promote his new film 'Damage'. Austin is in fine form, whipping up the crowd and telling West Ham to 'open a can of whoop ass' during the second half, which is the 46-year-old's legendary catchphrase, for those not educated in wrestling parlance.

Half-time score - West Ham United 1-0 Fulham

49 min - Referee Dowd brings the opening half to a close. That certainly livened up as it went along.

48 min - West Ham are all over Fulham here. Hines' first-time cross hits Pantsil and goes out for a corner. Noble rolls the ball into Diamanti's path, but he slices the ball wide of the target from 20 yards.

45 min - Three minutes of added-time will be played and Hodgson will be desperate to get his players into the away dressing room. West Ham threaten twice within the space of a few seconds. First, Noble shoots straight at Schwarzer, then Hines fires wide of the far post.

44 min - West Ham need to put this game to bed now and clinch a first home league win of the season. They are trying to do just that as Faubert rampages down the right flank before seeing his cross deflected into the hands of Schwarzer.

40 min - Confusion here. Parker is booked following an off-the-ball incident involving Dikgacoi, who also appears to be shown the yellow card. Referee Dowd then goes over to the touchline and talks to fourth official Anthony Taylor before showing the South African a red card. So, Fulham are down to ten men...

38 min - West Ham are playing well now. Faubert finds Jimenez with a neat, lofted ball and he clips it through for Cole to chase. The big man is only denied a clear shooting chance by Hughes' alert defending. Cole reacts quickest, but his left-foot shot is blocked out for a corner. Fulham clear the resulting set piece.

36 min - So close to a second for the Hammers. Jimenez's shot is blocked and spins wide right to Diamanti. The Italian drops a shoulder to make himself a bit of space before clipping in a right-footed cross that Pantsil can only hack clear to Parker 25 yards out. The midfielder hits his shot well, but Schwarzer is able to gather diving low to his right.

35 min - Fulham launch a counter-attack and Kamara is allowed to shoot from 25 yards, but the ball thuds into Green's midriff.

34 min - Good stuff again from West Ham. Hines gets away down the left flank and feeds Parker, who skips around one challenge before squaring to Cole, but the striker's shot flies wide of the near post.

32 min - Murphy is slightly fortunate not to see yellow there after pulling back Diamanti just inside the West Ham half.

31 min - Neat skill from Jimenez takes him away from two Fulham players, but he chooses to pass to Cole instead of shoot from 25 yards, and the chance is lost. Shame.

30 min - Ironic cheers for Tomkins as his clearance lands on the roof of the East Stand.

28 min - Nice football again there. Jimenez clips a neat ball into Cole with the outside of his right foot. The goalscorer chests down into the path of Noble, who appears to be impeded by Dikgacoi as he shoots, but referee Dowd gives nothing.

26 min - Superb football from the home side earns a round of applause from the stands. West Ham work the ball from back to front and side to side with a real fluency. Hines is just unable to divert his header goalwards, but the new England Under-21 call-up is having a lively game so far.

23 min - Lucky, lucky West Ham. Jimenez concedes a free-kick in the midfield. Murphy takes it quickly and Johnson escapes Upson's clutches, only to drag his shot wide of the far post with only Green to beat. To be fair to the defender, he got back in and put the striker off at the last minute.

21 min - Roy Hodgson clearly isn't too impressed with what he is watching. The Fulham manager sends out three substitutes to warm up. Jonathan Spector is also jogging along an increasingly crowded touchline.

19 min - That goal has given West Ham a real shot of confidence. They are knocking the ball around nicely now, and Faubert wins a corner on the left off Konchesky. So close to a second goal! Diamanti's corner is driven rather than curled and clears the head of Hughes, allowing Tomkins to nod goalwards, but his effort bounces a yard wide of the far post.

16 min - GOAL! I told you it was potentially dangerous, didn't I! Diamanti whips the ball into the near post and Cole outjumps Hangeland to head the ball in at the near post, giving Schwarzer no chance whatsoever. Four goals in seven league games for the England man.

15 min - Nice play from Upson finds Faubert on the right. The Frenchman swaps passes with Diamanti before being unceremoniously brought down by Hangeland near the corner flag. The Norwegian is booked for his troubles, and West Ham have another potentially dangerous set piece.

12 min - Good work from Faubert prevents a corner after Gera's shot had deflected off Upson.

11 min - Noble rolls the ball to Jimenez, who does likewise to Diamanti, but the Italian's first-time shot is wayward and flies into the Sir Trevor Brooking Stand.

10 min - The game has yet to catch light as yet. Both teams are, to use a cliche, feeling each other out, whatever that means! West Ham get the ball down for the first time and spread play from touchline to touchline. Diamanti finds Ilunga with a delightful crossfield pass, and the DR Congo man is felled by Pantsil. Free-kick four yards outside the box.

8 min - Jimenez loses the ball in midfield and it is worked forward to Kamara, but the Senegal man's shot is, to put it bluntly, poor, and rolls out for a goal kick.

7 min - Kamara chases another hopeful ball down the left channel, forcing Tomkins into conceding the first corner of the game. Murphy takes and Green claims with ease above his head.

5 min - Behrami heads back to take his seat on the bench. You can see the Switzerland midfielder is itching to get into the action! On the pitch, Gera picks up possession in midfield before sending a bouncing shot straight at Green from 25 yards.

4 min - Parker is back on. Aaron Hughes launches a long ball forward down the inside-right channel. Kamara gets there first, but Tomkins eases the forward off the ball before clearing.

3 min - Scott Parker appears to have picked up head injury and is receiving some treatment. Valon Behrami, sporting some fetching red boots, is sent out to warm-up. It looks like Parker will be okay to continue, though.

2 min - Jimenez has dropped back into midfield, with Hines and Diamanti supporting Cole up top. Diamanti is playing on the right, and Hines to the left.

1 min - West Ham get the ball forward quickly to Cole, who fires a snap shot over Mark Schwarzer's crossbar. More of the same please.

3pm - Luis Jimenez and Carlton Cole get us underway...

2.58pm - Paul Konchesky and John Pantsil get a decent round of applause as the two teams are read out. Upson and Danny Murphy are called forward by referee Phil Dowd for the pre-match photographs and coin-toss.

2.56pm - And here come the two teams... Matthew Upson leads out West Ham, which is a sight for sore eyes. The England defender has been missed in recent weeks and will be a welcome sight for Hammers fans.

2.55pm - Herbie the Hammer is doing some limbering up exercises along the touchline to Fatboy Slim's 'Right here, right now'. Interesting... West Ham's substitutes are taking their seats in the dugout. Manuel Da Costa takes the opportunity to sign a few autographs.

2.50pm - Two ex-Hammers in the Fulham team today, but no Bobby Zamora, who is ruled out through injury. A bit of a shame for Zamora, who was a hero during his time at the Boleyn Ground. The striker not only scored the goal that took the Hammers to the Premier League in 2005, but also netted plenty more to help keep them there in 2007.

2.45pm - A host of former Hammers stars have turned out for today's London derby. Tony Cottee and Boys of 86 team-mate Ray Stewart are down pitchside being interviewed over the public address system. Alan Devonshire and Julian Dicks have both been spotted in the lounges, too. The biggest star, literally, to turn out this afternoon is WWE superstar 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin. The big wrestler is a guest of West Ham midfielder Kieron Dyer, who is a huge fan of the sport.

Good afternoon from the Boleyn Ground.

Gianfranco Zola makes two changes from the team that lost at Manchester City six days ago. Captain Matthew Upson is fit enough from to return from the calf injury that kept him out of that game, while further forward Zavon Hines is recalled in place of the injured Radoslav Kovac. Valon Behrami returns to the bench.

Fulham make seven changes from Thursday's UEFA Europa League win over Basel, recalling former Hammer John Pantsil, Aaron Hughes, Brede Hangeland, Zoltan Gera and Diomansy Kamara and handing a first Premier League start to South Africa international Kagisho Dikgacoi.

West Ham United: Green, Faubert, Tomkins, Upson, Ilunga, Parker (Behrami 71), Noble, Jimenez, Diamanti, Hines (Stanislas 71), Cole
Subs: Kurucz, Spector, Da Costa, Payne, Nouble

Fulham: Schwarzer, Konchesky, Hughes, Hangeland, Pantsil, Dikgacoi, Gera, Murphy, Dempsey (Riise 83), Kamara (Johnson 81), Johnson (Baird 46)
Subs: Zuberbuhler, Kelly, Greening, Nevland