CRYSTAL PALACE v WEST HAM UNITED
npower CHAMPIONSHIP
SATURDAY 1 OCTOBER 2011
KICK-OFF: 3PM
FULL AUDIO COVERAGE - WEST HAM TV
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Full Time - Crystal Palace 2-2 West Ham United
That's it. A good point in the circumstances for the Hammers after twice being behind. However, better finishing in the first half might have made it a different story. Big Sam's men are unbeaten in five matches away from home now and will hope to build on that when Blackpool arrive on 15 October.
94 mins - Half-chance for Palace there but Easter just misses. Seconds later he is booked for a foul on Lansbury. This is the last chance coming up but the free-kick into the Palace box is greeted by the referee spotting a Hammers infringement.
93 mins - Palace deal with another Hammers ball forward. We are into the last minute now. There are 20,074 fans here, more than 4,000 of whom are Hammers supporters.
92 mins - Disappointing free-kick from Faubert that comes to nothing. In fact, Palace nearly got a chance to counter. This is tense stuff.
91 mins - So near for Carew. The ball dropped for him in the area but the Palace defender just scrambled it away. Good free-kick chance for Faubert now though to pump it into the box.
90 mins - Free header for Murray but the Palace man cannot keep it down. We are going to have four added minutes.
89 mins - Lansbury has a go from range but cannot direct it on target.
88 mins - Jedinak picks out McCarthy at the back post but the defender's shot is wide. Sears is on for Bentley.
87 mins - McCartney fouls Murray in a dangerous position. Bentley had put him under pressure by giving the ball away. This is a worrying moment.
86 mins - Baldock has been a livewire since coming on. Can he just get one chance to go for glory? The Hammers are trying to give him the opportunity.
85 mins - Big Sam has talked a lot about respecting the point. There are a big five minutes coming up.
83 mins - Parr wins a free-kick from Faubert. Palace have a chance to put the Hammers under pressure. Jermaine Easter is coming on for Zaha first. Jedinak takes the free-kick. McCarthy knocks it down but Murray cannot keep his effort down.
82 mins - Lansbury nearly creates a repeat of the goal. He crossed in brilliantly for Carew but this time the flicked header was just wide. Speroni was worried.
80 mins - GOAL! Carew! Great ball in by McCartney from the left wing and the Norway striker flicked into the goal. Terrific finish from the striker.
78 mins - It was a short corner that eventually finished up with a great opportunity for Faye at the back post. The big man could not direct his header on target and another chance went begging.
78 mins - A golden chance for Lansbury at the back post from Faubert's cross. The England U21 midfielder just hesitated though and a Palace man blocked the ball. The Hammers have a corner, though....
77 mins - It is all a bit scrappy now, which will suit the home team much more than the visitors. Sears and Guy Demel are warming up in the hope of being Big Sam's last change.
75 mins - The Hammers need a bit of inspiration from somewhere. They haven't really worked Speroni at all in this half.
74 mins - Lansbury heads over the Palace defence and Baldock nearly gets on the end of it. At least the No7 is making a nuisance of himself in the box.
73 mins - Baldock shoots in a central position when Bentley is unmarked out to the left of goal. Wasted opportunity there.
72 mins - Baldock does well to bring in Bentley out wide. The ball comes in and eventually falls for Nolan, who wins a corner with his attempted pass forward. It comes to nothing.
71 mins - Carew is penalised for a shove on Gardner which he disputes. Baldock would have been in there had the referee not blown up for a foul.
70 mins - Another change for Palace. Ambrose comes off to be replaced by Peter Ramage.
69 mins - Tomkins does well to deny Zaha getting away to the left of the Hammers goal. Baldock had tried to get on a ball forward seconds before but couldn't bring it under control.
68 mins - Collison and Cole are off to be replaced by Baldock and Carew. The manager needs a goal.
68 mins - Cole tries to win another ball forward but is out-muscled. He's not having much luck in the second half.
66 mins - Palace make a change. Jonathan Williams is coming off to be replaced by Sean Scannell.
65 mins - Tomkins steps out from the back. He goes all the way to the opposition area but the ball never comes. The attack breaks down and the No5 has to get back quickly.
64 mins - Sam Baldock, John Carew and Freddie Sears are warming up. Zaha nearly gets another chance to pick out a team-mate in the Hammers area but Faye reads the danger.
63 mins - Collison seizes on a loose ball out by Speroni and surges forward. A last-ditch Parr tackle just prevents him getting through on goal.
63 mins - The Hammers have a throw deep in Palace territory. McCartney takes it short to Bentley, who cuts inside and flashes a shot wide from 20 yards.
61 mins - Palace are countering well on West Ham but luckily their final ball is lacking at the moment. West Ham need to get a grip of the game in midfield.
59 mins - Another good move by Palace finishes with Almunia grabbing the ball gratefully after a wide-right cross. They are on top here.
57 mins - The Hammers have lost their way a bit here. No substitutes warming up yet but the manager must be thinking about it.54 mins - The ball is worked out to Diop on the edge of the area from the corner but the Senegalese midfielder slices his effort wide. The Palace fans are singing now
53 mins - Can the Hammers come from behind again? Cole wins a corner from the restart. Bentley takes but Patrick McCarthey heads away under pressure from Cole. Another corner.
52 mins - GOAL! - Murray is left unmarked at the back post to slot in from 15 yards. The Hammers didn't deal with the ball out in the right-back area and the No17 had the easiest of chances when the ball was slid into the area by Zaha.
50 mins - Alert play from Tomkins again to snuff out another Palace attack. They look dangerous when Zaha gets on the ball.
49 mins - Tomkins does well to head away a rare Palace ball forward. Faubert then does even better to tidy up after a loose Palace pass.
48 mins - The home support are pretty quiet. Hopefully the Hammers will give them no reason to get excited this half. Certainly it is all West Ham in the opening minutes.
47 mins - All you can hear is Bubbles from the sizeable away contingent. Bentley is fouled on the halfway line. Tomkins pumps it forward for Cole to flick on to Nolan. The ball is worked to Bentley and he crosses for Collison at the back post but the Welsh international cannot direct an effort on target.
46 mins - Collison and Lansbury get us under way. The ball is sent forward straight away for Nolan but he cannot stop it running through to Speroni.
Half-time
46 mins - We are playing one minute of added time. Big Sam will be the happier of the two managers going into the break but Palace nearly stole a goal. Zaha and Parr combined before Murray got a chance at the backpost. He looked offside but hooked the ball wide in any event. That was close.
45 mins - Lansbury does brilliantly to evade two defenders in the box. He slips the ball to Nolan unmarked 15 yards out but the No4 blasts the effort over. Another great chance.
43 mins - Palace pump it into the box and the ball falls to Murray. He goes for goal but it is not a good connection and the ball bounces off Faye's thigh. The home crowd shout for 'handball'. Up the other end go the Hammers and Faubert crosses for Nolan to head straight at the keeper. What a chance.
42 mins - Cole rises to meet a ball forward but only manages to head softly towards Speroni.
41 mins - Bentley takes it and finds Cole at the near post but the No9 cannot angle his body to get a good connection. Palace goal-kick.
40 mins - Lansbury goes down under Jedinak's challenge in midfield. The 20-year-old does several rolls before coming to a stop. He felt that. McCartney's free-kick tries to pick out Tomkins and Palace head behind for a corner.
39 mins - Another good cross from Faubert is claimed by Speroni. The Frenchman has done well at right-back and is bombing forward at will. 'Julien, Julien' rings out from the away support. They certainly recognise how well he is playing.
38 mins - Faye clears the danger as Zaha looks to race on to a punt forward. Well timed that from the big centre-back. Parr takes the throw on to Zaha but Collison helps McCartney out and wins a free-kick in his own area.
37 mins - Once again, Bentley and Faubert combine down the right. Most of the Hammers forays forward are coming down that side.
35 mins - Palace put a move together but it ends when Parr's over-hit cross runs behind. Almunia was never worried about that. The Spanish keeper has had nothing to do on his debut apart from that early goal, which he could certainly do nothing about.
34 mins - Speroni comes and claims the ball just in front of Cole from a threatening Faubert cross.
33 mins - News from Hereford, Robert Hall has scored again for Oxford United. Big Sam singled him out as one to watch in the week and he is certainly rising to the challenge of League Two football. Back here, Bentley and Faubert combine before the Frenchman's deep cross nearly sparks another opportunity.
32 mins - A tidy tackle from McCartney stops Zaha getting into full flight. Tomkins then reads the danger from a Gardner ball forward. Allardyce's men are working hard.
31 mins - Palace give away possession cheaply when high up the pitch. The Eagles fans are getting frustrated. All good news for the visitors, who have been the better side since the goal.
29 mins - Lansbury lofts one up for Cole to chase. The England striker brought it under control and fed Nolan, but the skipper's shot was wayward.
28 mins - Cole forces Speroni to rush a clearance. The No9 is having an impact and getting about the pitch, even if he is not getting the ball in the final third.
26 mins - Cole wins a free-kick after being bundled over as he won a header. Bentley takes it but Nolan's flick on doesn't have the required effect. Palace clear. Diop fouls Williams in midfield. The home fans weren't happy with that.
25 mins - Bentley's corner is easily cleared. The Hammers go again but lose possession when Lansbury over-hits a ball to Nolan in a wide-right position.
23 mins - Well done Collison. He wins a corner with some tigerish work in the Palace area. Faubert and Nolan had combined in the build-up. Come on you Irons rings out.
22 mins - Faubert's pass is short and leaves Bentley exposed. James Tomkins, coming back from an attack, helps out and the ball goes out for a Palace throw in midfield. Diop is penalised for a strong challenge in midfield.. Palace have a chance to pump one deep into Hammers territory but take it short and McCartney wins back possession.
20 mins - Faubert's free-kick picks out Cole in the area. He wins the header but no one is coming in behind. Diop is down after a late challenge in midfield. Free-kick to West Ham.
19 mins - Bentley and Faubert are doing well on the right flank. Lansbury then picks out Nolan with a cross-field ball before Collison gets involved. Palace snap around the homegrown Hammer and get the ball away.
18 mins - Nolan is penalised for a foul as Faubert crosses into the area. This has been better from West Ham and the goal came about after the best passing move of the match.
17 mins - Wilfried Zaha sets up Ambrose but this time the No7's effort is off target.
16 mins - GOAL! Nolan! McCartney cuts inside the full-back and crosses to the near post. The ball is flicked on by a defender and Cole headed back across the face of goal for Nolan to tap in from close range.
15 mins - Diop breaks up the play again. He is getting i
14 mins - Jonathan Williams is upended deep in the Hammers own half but the referee waves that one away too. The Hammers break quickly and a forward surge finishes with Cole flashing a shot wide from the right of goal.
13 mins - Two good bits of play in quick succession from Papa Bouba Diop in central midfield before Collison goes down in the area. No foul says the referee.
12 mins - Faubert tries to pick out Kevin Nolan in the area but Palace get it away.
11 mins - Bentley takes it from a central position but the set-piece flicks off Mile Jedinak in the Palace wall and goes behind. Corner to West Ham. Gardner just beats James Tomkins to it and Palace get the danger away.
10 mins - The travelling fans are all having to shield their eyes from the sun. Lansbury is fouled by Anthony Gardner on the edge of the area after being picked out by Jack Collison.
8 mins - Palace had done nothing up to the goal but neither had the visitors in truth. Henri Lansbury tries his luck after cutting in from the right but the effort trickles wide from20 yards.
6 mins - GOAL! Darren Ambrose puts Palace in front. A long ball forward went through to Glenn Murray. He showed good footwork to evade the Hammers central defenders and fed Ambrose to score from barely ten yards out.
6 mins - Cole does well to win posession. He brings in McCartney yet again but the Northern Irishman's ball forward runs into Julian Speroni's grateful grasp.
5 mins - Cole over-hits a ball out to McCartney. Crystal Palace regroup but a long punt forward from Jonathan Parr goes straight through to Almunia.
3 mins - West Ham have had all the play so far. It is a fairly frenetic start but how long either side can keep that up in this heat is debatable.
2 mins - Manuel Almunia has had a couple of touches of the ball now. The latest sets the visitors away and Carlton Cole brings in George McCartney up from left-back. He feeds Kevin Nolan who crossed to the back post from a deep position but it just eluded David Bentley.
1min - All you can hear is the Hammers fans in the first minute. The Hammers are wearing all-white, no bad thing in this weather.
3.02pm - The game has kicked off.
2.58pm - The teams are out and Kevin Nolan leads the way over to the 4,000-plus Hammers fans.
2.50pm - The two squads have been replaced on the pitch by the Crystal Girls dance troupe. Think Hammerettes in red and blue rather than claret and blue.
2.40pm - Mark Noble has a toe injury, in case you were wondering where he is today. Joey O'Brien has a hamstring problem, while Robert Green has a knee cartilage injury. Of the teams above the Hammers in the standings, Middlesbrough and Derby County face tricky trips to Reading and Leicester City respectively, while leaders Southampton host Watford.
2.35pm - It is rather hot in the Press Box, which is behind glass here at Selhurst Park. I shouldn't complain too loudly, though - just think what it's like for the two people dressed as giant eagles wandering round on the pitch!
2.30pm - Three changes for Palace - Norway international Jonathan Parr in for Peter Ramage at right-back, Sean Scannell is replaced by Darren Ambrose in midfield and centre-back Tunchev is replaced by Anthony Gardner.
2.25pm - The Hammers head out of the tunnel, which is in the corner of the stadium here at Selhurst Park, and are welcomed on to the pitch by some of the 4,000-plus West Ham fans here this afternoon.
2.15pm - So, that's four changes from the side that lost 1-0 at home to Ipswich Town on Tuesday night. The injured Robert Green misses out, as do Joey O'Brien, Mark Noble and Sam Baldock. In come loanee Manuel Almunia and Papa Bouba Diop for their debuts, as do Julien Faubert and Jack Collison.
2.10pm - The teams are in -
Good afternoon and welcome to a hot and sunny Selhurst Park for this afternoon's npower Championship fixture between the Eagles and the Hammers - the first meeting between the two clubs since the 2004 Championship Play-Off final.
Crystal Palace, of course, won that afternoon, so there is plenty of incentive for West Ham United to get one over on their south London rivals this time around. At the same time, Sam Allardyce and his side will be anxious to get back to winning ways after losing out 1-0 at home to Ipswich Town on Tuesday evening.
A win for West Ham could take them top of the standings if results elsewhere go their way.
Palace enjoyed a fine 3-1 win at Brighton & Hove Albion on Tuesday, scoring three goals in the final ten minutes to rise to ninth in the table. Should the hosts be victorious today, they could go as high as sixth.
Team news-wise, Big Sam could be without Matt Taylor, who missed Tuesday's defeat with a calf injury. Winston Reid and Joey O'Brien (both hamstring) will hope to be fit, while Papa Bouba Diop and John Carew could make their full league debuts. Frederic Piquionne is available again after a three-match ban. Finally, goalkeeper Manuel Almunia is in line to make his debut after signing on an emergency loan from Arsenal.
Palace manager Dougie Freedman will be without Lee Hills, Owen Garvan, Alex Marrow and Kagisho Dikgacoi, but highly-rated full-back Nathaniel Clyne is available again after missing the opening weeks of the season with a foot injury. Midfielder Darren Ambrose is also pushing for a start after scoring as a substitute at Brighton.
The two lineups will be confirmed at around 2pm and will be confirmed here and on the club's official twitter feed.