West Ham United v Bolton Wanderers
Barclays Premier League
Boleyn Ground
Saturday 6 March 2010
Kick-off: 3pm
Referee: Lee Probert
Final score - West Ham United 1-2 Bolton Wanderers
96 mins - That is it. Referee Probert blows for full-time. Stanislas was injured just before the end and collapses to the turf, where he receives some attention from the physio. Bolton's players are understandably delighted, and a few of them throw their shirts into the travelling fans. The home players look absolutely gutted.
95 mins - Another half-chance for the hosts. Upson curls in a cross and Cole heads goalwards, but it bounces through to Jaaskelainen.
94 mins - Oh dear, oh dear! Diamanti curls a great ball in, Knight heads it straight to Stanislas, who controls on his chest and nearly breaks the crossbar with a rising half-volley. How unlucky was that?
93 mins - West Ham have a free-kick just inside their own half. Green launches it into the box and Dyer is penalised for a foul.
91 mins - We're going to have five added minutes. Davies nearly celebrates by making it 3-1 from Knight's low cross, but he can only divert his shot against the top of the crossbar.
90 mins - We should have a fair bit of added time with the sending-off of Cohen and all the substitutions we've had.
88 mins - GOAL! Right, let's have a grandstand finish. Spector's cross is half-cleared to Diamanti, who cuts inside Robinson and curls a superb shot into the far corner.
87 mins - Diamanti finds Stanislas and he forces Steinsson into conceding a corner. Stanislas crosses and the ball is cleared at the near post.
84 mins - Jaaskelainen is booked for time-wasting, much to the delight of the home supporters.
83 mins - Mido finds Diamanti, who tricks his way past Robinson before curling the ball in right-footed. Dyer heads goalwards, but his effort does not possess either the direction or power to beat the goalkeeper.
81 mins - A nice piece of play ends with Stanislas being fouled by Lee about 25 yards from goal. There is a bit of discussion about who is going to take the free-kick. Stanislas shoots and the ball dips just too late and flies over the top.
79 mins - Another yellow card, this time for Diamanti, who is penalised for a foul on Davies.
78 mins - Time is running out here. Bolton make a second change, bringing on the experienced Matthew Taylor for Wilshere.
76 mins - An attacking change from West Ham, who replace Kovac with Junior Stanislas, who gets a good cheer from the home fans. Stanislas has gone wide on the left, with Diamanti wide on the right.
74 mins - A defensive change from Bolton, who replace Elmander with Ricardo Gardner.
73 mins - Wilshere is booked for going in a bit too aggressively on Diamanti. Spector picks up the ball and his pass is flicked on to Cole, whose header is held by Jaaskelainen.
71 mins - Cohen is sent-off for bringing down Parker. So, with 19 minutes to go, West Ham will play against ten men.
67 mins - Parker races clear and latches on to Spector's pass. His first touch takes him away from goal, so he lays the ball to Franco, who screws his shot over the top. Seconds later, Franco is replaced by Mido.
65 mins - Elmander is down injured and has the physio on. Before that, Jaaskelainen had raced out and got to the ball in front of Franco. As the goalkeeper raced to clear, Cole challenged him and knocked the ball out for a throw-in.
63 mins - Cohen is booked for bringing down Behrami. That wasn't the first time he'd been penalised, to be fair.
62 mins - Diamanti picks up the ball from Behrami and turns towards goal, but his shot from 30 yards is wide of the target.
60 mins - Upson comes close to scoring with an acrobatic header...at the wrong end! Luckily, his effort flies over the top. From the ensuing corner, Green is fouled.
58 mins - No. The shot hits the wall. Elmander concedes another free-kick and Diamanti collects the ball short. He finds Parker, but his cross is too short and is easily headed clear.
56 mins - A lucky ricochet falls to Franco, who plays in Parker. The midfielder touches the ball into the box and is brought down by Knight, who is booked. Third-time lucky for Diamanti?
54 mins - Bolton are on top again. They win a free-kick deep inside the West Ham half that Upson can only hack out for a throw.
51 mins - There are 33,824 fans here today, and they have just seen Elmander pass up a good chance to make it 3-0 to Bolton. Fortunately the Swede delayed his shot long enough for Upson to get back in and make a block.
49 mins - Parker is caught in possession and the ball breaks to Cohen, who screws his shot over the top from 25 yards.
48 mins - Behrami has gone to right-back, with Dyer playing wide on the right of midfield. He has a chance with his very first touch. Cole flicks on Parker's pass and Dyer can only divert the ball over the top from six yards.
47 mins - Franco and Parker combine to find Spector, who is crowded out by Steinsson and the ball goes out for a throw-in. Faubert has hurt himself there, and Dyer is on in his place.
46 mins - Bolton kick-off towards the Sir Trevor Brooking Stand end.... No changes at the break. Faubert breaks forward immediately and Ricketts slices behind for a corner. Diamanti curls the ball in and Jaaskelainen catches.
Half-time score - West Ham United 0-2 Bolton Wanderers
47 mins - We're into the second of two added minutes. As I type, referee Probert blows for half-time...
45 mins - Cole heads down to Parker, but Ricketts does well again to concede a corner. The initial cross comes to nothing, but West Ham work the ball back out to Diamanti. He beats Muamba and drives the ball across. It hits Cole and loops into the air off a defender before dropping near the goalline where, Jaaskelainen, Robinson and Knight combine to hack it away. Bolton break up the other end and Elmander somehow shoots over from eight yards.
44 mins - Action at both ends. First, Wilshere heads Lee's cross straight to Green, then West Ham break. Cole finds Behrami, who feeds Parker, but his shot is weak.
42 mins - Hmmm... Miscommunication maybe? Upson flicks the ball straight to Lee, who has time to pick his spot, only to slice his shot well wide from 12 yards.
39 mins - Frustration for Cole, who burst on to Parker's through ball but delayed his shot long enough to allow Ricketts to make a fantastic goal-saving challenge. Replays suggest the ball just would not come out of his feet far enough to allow him to get a clean shot away. That was a fantastic chance, nonetheless.
37 mins - A chance for Wilshere to double his tally there. Lee picks the ball up in midfield, drives forward and finds the youngster, who controls and shoots too close to Green from 18 yards.
34 mins - Kovac is booked for a high challenge on Wilshere. Replays show it wasn't a great tackle and the yellow card was fair enough.
33 mins - Franco finds Cole, who turns Ricketts, but the defender gets back in to concede a corner. It comes to nothing again, though.
31 mins - West Ham are getting plenty of men forward, but just can't create a clear cut chance. The Hammers win a corner, but it comes to nothing initially. A second corner is won and worked short to Faubert, whose cross is not very good.
29 mins - Cole is fouled wide on the right. Diamanti curls the ball in but it clears everybody.
25 mins - Diamanti works Jaaskelainen with his free-kick, but the Finn is equal to it. Franco hooks the ball back into the danger zone, but Jaaskelainen is there again to paw the ball to safety. Moments later, Diamanti has possession again just outside the box, but can only drag his shot wide of the far post.
24 mins - Robinson is booked for bringing down Behrami just outside the area as he attempted to latch on to Franco's pass. A Diamanti special here and West Ham are right back in it.
22 mins - Wilshere curls the ball in, Green and Tomkins go for it and it drops to Elmander, who takes a touch before shooting into the side-netting.
21 mins - Davies holds off Upson and finds Lee, whose cross is blocked behind by Diamanti.
18 mins - Bolton's tails are up here. Davies wins another knock-down and the ball drops to Elmander, who skips past a challenge before forcing Green into a save low to his left.
16 mins - GOAL! Mountain to climb now... Davies gets a toe in to loft the ball into the area as Tomkins tries to shepherd it out. Cohen knocks it down and Wilshere acrobatically volleys the ball past Green.
15 mins - Close call! The Italian gets it up and over the wall, but the ball lands on top of the net rather than in it. In fairness, Jaaskelainen had it covered.
14 mins - A good piece of play from West Ham ends with Cohen bringing down Parker 25 yards from goal. Diamanti loves it from this sort of range...
13 mins - Hmmm... Steinsson throws the ball in from the right and Elmander flicks it goalwards with his head, but Green is there to save.
12 mins - Cole and Franco combine before Parker lofts a volley wide of the target. The Hammers need to regroup and get back on level terms as soon as possible.
10 mins - GOAL! Out of nowhere, Bolton lead. Diamanti was tackled by Muamba in the centre circle. The ball was worked wide right to Lee, whose cross was powered home by Davies.
9 mins - Diamanti teases Steinsson before whipping in a cross from the left, but it is just too high and flicks off Behrami's head before being cleared.
7 mins - Superb football from West Ham. Franco finds Behrami wide on the right, who feeds the ball to the rampaging Faubert. The Frenchman flicks the ball back to Behrami, who finds Cole, but the striker is crowded out on the edge of the area.
5 mins - Oooh, so close to being a great chance for Cole. Franco battles and wins the ball on the edge of the penalty area, but his pass for his strike partner is too strong and the ball rolls through to Jaaskelainen.
4 mins - Muamba barges Franco over inside the Bolton half. Diamanti is standing over the free-kick. Upson and Tomkins trot forward. Upson wins the initial header and Kovac diverts the ball into the box, but Bolton are able to clear.
3 mins - Kevin Davies leaves Faubert in a heap with a sliding challenge. That was a bit late, but no booking for Davies and Faubert is quickly back on his feet.
2 mins - James Tomkins concedes a corner with a backwards header. Wilshere takes and the same defender clears with his head.
1 min - Scott Parker announces his arrival back in the side with a crunching challenge on Lee. The Hammers midfielder is wearing tape around his ankles, which is something new.
3pm - And we're off and running...
2.58pm - The two captains line up with the mascots for the traditional pre-match photos with Steve Bacon. West Ham are going to kick-off, shooting towards the Sir Trevor Brooking Stand end.
2.56pm - 'Bubbles' rings out around the stadium and here come the two teams. The Boleyn Ground is sold out this afternoon, bar a few seats either side of the Bolton fans. Let's hope a near-capacity crowd will go home happy this afternoon. West Ham have not conceded a goal in four home league matches, while Bolton haven't scored away from home since 20 January, so the omens look good.
2.53pm - Matthew Upson has issued a rallying cry to the home fans ahead of this afternoon's game. The centre-back looks menacing on the big screens, with his face set against a dark background. Both sets of players have headed back inside and the sprinklers are on. The groundstaff are prodding away at the pitch with their forks to ensure there is no standing water on the playing surface, which looks in good nick.
2.45pm - It's a bright and sunny, if a little bit chilly, afternoon here in east London. Both sets of players are going through their final pre-match warm-up exercises on the pitch here at the Boleyn Ground. West Ham's players are all wearing Sport Relief t-shirts in support of the charity cause. The Sainsbury's Sport Relief Mile will take place at various locations across London and the rest of the country on Sunday 21 March. All the money raised through both Sport Relief and Comic Relief will be spent on helping vulnerable people at home and abroad. For more information, click here.
West Ham United will go for a fifth straight home Barclays Premier League clean sheet when they host Bolton Wanderers this afternoon, with a victory strengthening Gianfranco Zola's side's 13th place in the standings.
The Trotters themselves have failed to score in their last five away matches in all competitions - a run stretching back to a 4-2 loss at Arsenal on 20 January.
The Hammers are seeking to end a run of five consecutive defeats at the hands of Bolton, having not tasted success against them since a 3-1 victory on 5 May 2007. Zola's team will also be keen to gain revenge for the 3-1 defeats suffered in the league and Carling Cup third round earlier this season.
Team news-wise, West Ham welcome back Hammer of the Year Scott Parker after the England midfielder was rested for the recent trip to Manchester United. Parker replaces arm injury victim Mark Noble in the starting XI. On the substitutes bench, Jack Collison is replaced by Junior Stanislas.
Manuel da Costa is available, despite his sending off for the reserves in the recent 2-1 victory over Chelsea. The Portuguese defender's suspension will rule him out of the club's next three first-team matches against Chelsea, Arsenal and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
West Ham United: Green, Faubert, Tomkins, Upson, Spector, Behrami, Kovac, Parker, Diamanti, Franco, Cole
Subs: Stech, Daprela, Da Costa, Dyer, Stanislas, Ilan, Mido
Bolton Wanderers: Jaaskelainen, Steinsson, Knight, Ricketts, Robinson, Lee, Muamba, Cohen, Wilshere, K.Davies, Elmander
Subs: Al Habsi, A.O'Brien, Taylor, Gardner, Weiss, Riga, Klasnic