WEST HAM UNITED v TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
MONDAY 25 FEBRUARY 2013
KICK-OFF: 8PM
REFEREE: HOWARD WEBB
FULL AUDIO AND TEXT COMMENTARY - WEST HAM TV
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95 mins - Time is almost up. West Ham have lost for the fourth time at home this season - and on every occasion they have led. The players will have to re-group as they go to Stoke on Saturday. Join us then. Before that game, we'll have highlights and reaction from tonight's game on whufc.com and West Ham TV.
92 mins - Two minutes into four of added time. West Ham are going to have to show some stomach to come back from this body-blow. To lose this game from 2-1 up is going to take some getting over psychologically.
90 mins - GOAL! You cannot make it up. Bale. His initial run is stopped before he receives the ball back from Carroll. O'Neil allows Bale too much space and he spanks a shot into the top right-hand corner from 25 yards. It was unstoppable, but he should not have been allowed to shoot.
88 mins - A cross from the left finds Carroll with his back to goal. He tries the spectacular overhead kick, but it flies high into the Bobby Moore Stand. Parker is replaced by Livermore
87 mins - Taylor does well to win the ball back just outside the Spurs box. He finds Cole, whose clip floats wide of the far post.
85 mins - A chance for West Ham as Carroll wins a flick-on and the ball then drops back at his feet 12 yards but it's on his left foot. He tries to switch the ball to his right, but it is poked away and Spurs survive. They then go on the attack and Lennon and then Walker cross, but Jaaskelainen is again there.
84 mins - A third and final change from Big Sam sees Diame replaced by Collison.
82 mins - Bale crosses, Adebayor wins the header and Jaaskelainen makes another decent stop. An infringement hands West Ham a free-kick, but the pressure is not lifted for long as Bale is fouled by Collins. A yellow card is shown to the centre-back.
81 mins - Lennon flies past Pogatetz and crosses low. The shot comes in from the corner of the box and Jaaskelainen parries again before O'Brien sweeps the ball out for a throw.
79 mins - Spurs are on the attack again, with Villas-Boas waving his players forward. Cole tracks his man, though and wins a goal kick. Ten massive minutes remain. The attendance is 35,005.
76 mins - GOAL! West Ham should clear Bale's free-kick, but O'Brien's header hits a team-mate. The ball lands on Caulker's back and eludes Collins. It bounces just wide of Jaaskelainen and Sigurdsson converts from three yards. So frustrating.
75 mins - Tom Carroll makes it two Carrolls on the pitch as he replaces Dembele.
74 mins - Big chance. Cole slides a pass through to Taylor, who beats the offside trap and is in on goal. Lloris is out like lightning and makes a smothering save. Good stop.
73 mins - Carroll wins a header and then traps the ball himself. He shoots from 25 yards and the ball deflects high and into the hands of Lloris.
72 mins - Pogatetz is on for Demel. O'Brien to right-back, with Pogatetz to left-back.
71 mins - Bale has another chance from a free-kick as O'Neil brings another run from the Spurs No11 to an end. This one is from a bit closer in. Again, he fires over the top. That's four efforts he has had from set plays.
69 mins - Jaaskelainen is on fire. Lennon's cut-back to Bale allows the Welshman time to shoot. He does and the Finn flies to his right to fingertip the ball over the bar. The corner is cleared. Walker picks up the ball and shoots from long-range, but it's wide. Sigh of relief from the home fans, but there is still 20 minutes to go.
67 mins - Sigurdsson is all over the pitch at the moment. He cuts inside one man and then sees his shot deflected wide. Bale's corner finds Caulker unmarked again, but again Jaaskelainen is equal to it, pushing the ball around the post. Bale whips another corner in and Jaaskelainen catches. Caulker could have had a hat-trick.
66 mins - Amazing quick feet from Diame near the Spurs corner flag. Sigurdsson then tries the same and nearly falls over the ball. West Ham win a throw. Demel then tries one trick too many and concedes a goal kick. He wants a foul, or a corner, or anything.
64 mins - The picture below shows the scene just before kick-off. What a tribute to the greatest captain in English football history.
63 mins - He gets this one wrong. It dips, but about ten yards over the crossbar.
62 mins - Bale gets up a head of steam before going to ground under a challenge from Diame. Yellow card for the No21 and another chance from 30-plus yards for Bale.
61 mins - A slight delay before the re-start as Jaaskelainen needs something fixed on his boots. Anyway, when we start again, Lennon gets forward and wins a corner off O'Brien. West Ham stand firm but Demel cannot prevent the second corner. Bale takes again, but this time it's low and cleared.
58 mins - GOAL! Joe Cole! O'Brien lifts the ball in for Cole, who collects in space after a fine diagonal run from the right into the box. He spins and shoots low into the bottom left-hand corner. A yellow card for the goalscorer, who rips his shirt off and runs towards the corner of the Alpari and Bobby Moore Stands. Can the Hammers do this?
56 mins - Holtby is replaced by Sigurdsson. Spurs almost benefit straight away as Sigurdsson's shot is pushed onto the post by Jaaskelainen. Adebayor follows up and has the gaping net to head into, but the goalkeeper is up quickly and makes another stunning save before pouncing on the ball.
55 mins - It's a bit fortunate, but Caulker intercepts as Carroll turns inside and the ball rolls 20 yards out for a corner. It's cleared again but West Ham soon have the ball back in the box. Carroll wins the header and Collins nods it back into the six-yard box, but Spurs clear again.
52 mins - Nice stuff as Reid stops a Parker run. West Ham switch play quickly right to Demel, who wins a corner off Lennon. It is headed clear. The cross comes back in and Lloris catches. He tries to send Holtby on his way, but the German goes to ground and no foul is given against O'Brien. West Ham quickly burst forward again and Walker concedes a throw, but it's wasted.
50 mins - It's too high again and Lloris catches. The Frenchman has showed assured handling in cold and blustery conditions tonight.
49 mins - Dembele must be on a last warning as he fouls Cole outside the box. Mr Webb talks to the No19 after his latest misdemeanour, but no card is produced. Taylor to take the free-kick...
47 mins - Bale starts another move. Diame loses Vertonghen and the Belgian's cross-shot hits Demel and spins to the near post. Jaaskelainen can only parry behind. Bale's corner finds Caulker again and his powerful header is on target. Jaaskelainen makes another fine save to push the ball away before Collins completes the clearance.
46 mins - With bubbles floating through the air, the game is back underway. Diame wins the ball in midfield from Holtby, but then loses out as he tries to trick his way into the box. Collins wins a couple of headers before O'Neil finds Demel. He crosses but Carroll's header does not trouble Lloris.
Here come the two teams. It is absolutely freezing here today. I'll let on that I considered wearing some thermals today, but as I don't own any, I didn't. Anyway, Spurs will kick-off...
Half-time score - West Ham United 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur
Sir Trevor Brooking, Brian Dear, Martin Peters MBE, Eddie Bovington, Eddie Presland, Joe Kirkup, Alan Stephenson and Alan Dickie are introduced to the crowd. They receive a great reception, as you would expect. Before that, Bill Mummery presents a cheque for £5,000 to the Bobby Moore Fund, who are represented by Bobby Moore's nephew Lloyd.
47 mins - Tottenham have their first free-kick from Bale-range. It's at least 30 yards out but in the centre. Bale will undoubtedly shoot. Surely time is almost up... He shoots and the ball dips violently...wide! Half-time. The home fans have got to be happy enough with that, considering they fell a goal down. The Bobby Moore tribute continues at half-time with a presentation by SBOBET Executive Director Bill Mummery and a line-up of Bobby Moore's contemporaries, one or two of whom may speak to the crowd.
46 mins - West Ham have a corner. The right-wing cross to the near post is flicked on by Cole and pushed behind by Lloris. The corner is again cleared.
45 mins - A low one from Bale this time and the ball rolls out to Holtby on the edge. His shot is deflected behind by a defender. The third corner is headed powerfully out for a throw. We'll have two added minutes.
44 mins - Spurs have a corner as No23 Holtby's shot takes a nick and flies high and wide. Caulker wins the header from Bale's corner and Jaaskelainen pulls of a fine save to claw the ball around the post. Fantastic save. Another corner...
42 mins - West Ham are clearly sitting deep when Spurs have the ball, trying to prevent the likes of Bale and Lennon having space in behind to exploit. To that end, it has largely worked. Demel does well to find Carroll's chest. He spins superbly and tries to send Diame away. Only Dawson's last-ditch lunge prevents a dangerous attack, but at the expense of a corner. Spurs clear their lines.
39 mins - Brilliant block from Walker. Cole spins and releases Jarvis with a superb pass. The No7 controls on his chest and looks to only have the goalkeeper to beat before Walker lunges in and blocks behind for a corner. So often, Walker can use his pace to get himself out of defensive trouble. The corner is caught by Lloris again.
38 mins - Dembele looks a bit nervous as he is robbed by Diame and then brings the No21 down. He has already been booked, remember. O'Neil's free-kick into the box is too high. Lloris collects.
36 mins - Taylor's first contribution is to be caught offside. Things can only get better for him, eh!
35 mins - Nolan is replaced. Taylor comes on. Reid takes the captain's armband. Nolan claps as he walks off and receives a decent ovation.
33 mins - Taylor will be on shortly for the skipper. Before that, Jarvis tries to beat Walker, but is tackled and the ball ricochets across the penalty area to safety. Moments later, a cross from Lennon is deflected high into the air. Bale tries an overhead but it simply loops to Jaaskelainen, who catches.
30 mins - Cole is involved again, firing a ball into Diame. He shoots but the ball is blocked high into the air and Lloris collects. Nolan is clearly struggling with an injury and has been for at least ten minutes. He is not the smoothest of movers at the best of times, but he has had a knock somewhere along the line. Meanwhile, Vertonghen gets to the byline and pulls the ball back, but O'Neil is there. Demel reacts and wins a throw off the Belgian.
29 mins - West Ham have their belief back. The movement is there as Carroll wins a flick-on and Diame tries to find Demel. Unfortunately, the ball spins away for a throw on the far side.
26 mins - GOAL! Pick that out! Lloris dives low to his right and Carroll smashes the ball high to the goalkeeper's left. Two in two home games for the No8. He runs to the old Chicken Run and almost jumps over the East Stand. He clearly enjoyed that. The home fans are making plenty of noise again, singing the Big Man's name.
25 mins - West Ham have a penalty! Nolan cannot get his shot away but finds Carroll. The England man is tripped by Parker. Carroll to take...
24 mins - That arguably should be 2-0. Bale shows he is human as he runs at the back three and shoots. To his left, Vertonghen is in acres of space on the edge of the box and surely would score?
22 mins - He might be chewing a little harder now as Spurs win a corner off Collins, but not before Diame spins away from Parker and so nearly slaloms his way through the visiting defence. Bale curls the corner over and Demel can only head high and behind again. The ball is taken short and worked to Walker, who balloons his shot over from 30 yards this time.
21 mins - Both managers are out in their technical areas. I can't see his face, but I'd expect Big Sam is chewing some sort of gum.
19 mins - Corner. O'Neil finds Jarvis wide left. He slides the ball through for Diame and Parker slides in to poke the ball behind. Cole takes the corner and hits it at pace, but it's just too high for Carroll and curls behind on the far side.
18 mins - West Ham seem to have lost a little bit of belief since Bale's goal. They had actually started the game quite well. As I type, Nolan tries to send Cole away, but Lloris is out smartly to hack clear outside his box.
15 mins - Hmmm. Spurs attack down their left and Vertonghen's cross is dangerous. It bounces along the six-yard line and O'Brien puts the ball behind for a corner. Bale takes and Carroll heads out as far as Walker, but the right-back cannot keep his long-range shot down.
13 mins - GOAL! No surprise. It's Bale. He has the ball 22 yards out, makes a yard to escape Collins and shoots early, low and hard to Jaaskelainen's left. The Finn can't stop it and the ball rolls into the net. Spurs lead.
13 mins - A moment of danger as Bale finds Lennon. He runs at O'Brien before firing the ball low into the box. I think it's on target. Collins blocks and the ball hits O'Brien on the arm before spinning away.
11 mins - Much better. Nolan and Collins combine to win the ball back before the skipper finds Cole on the centre spot. He spins into space and runs forward before feeding the faster Jarvis. He races into the box, cuts inside Walker and shoots low to the near post. Lloris is down smartly to make a fine save. He holds onto the ball, too.
9 mins - Better. Carroll bashes his way past Vertonghen with a superb header. The ball drops to Nolan, who finds Demel. His low cross is cleared, but an interception carries the ball back to Diame. He ignores the man to his right and shoots low, but it's straight into the arms of Lloris.
8 mins - Dembele is booked. He loses the ball to Diame fairly but doesn't like it. He complains to Mr Webb before tackling Nolan unfairly and late inside the centre circle. It's a foul and a yellow card. O'Brien lifts the free-kick into the box but it catches on the wind, skips off the head of Reid and goes behind for a goal kick.
7 mins - Demel attacks down the right after Diame robbed Parker in midfield. He collects a pass from Cole but then loses out with two defenders for company. Goal kick. Meanwhile, the home fans are singing Bobby Moore's name as we go past the six minute-mark
5 mins - Bale has his first attempt. He runs across the face of the D about 28 yards out. Collins tracks him before slicing his shot wide of the left-hand post. Both sets of fans greet the effort with a song.
4 mins - West Ham's first chance as they attack down the right. The ball is worked inside to Diame, who shoots left-footed but it's blocked. The ball comes back to Diame, but his attempted pass through to Jarvis is cleared away.
3 mins - A fairly nondescript opening despite the amazing noise inside the stadium. Bale finds Holtby, whose pass wide for Walker is blocked into the air by an O'Brien challenge. The right-back's control lets him down and Jaaskelainen collects.
8.01pm - A few seconds later, we are underway here in a cold east London.
7.58pm - The minute's applause is immaculate before the 'Moore 6' mosaic is formed by fans in the Bobby Moore Stand. It is some sight to behold. Fantastic stuff. A real proper tribute from a proper Football Club. Twenty years gone, never forgotten. Bobby Moore RIP.
7.57pm - We're going to have a minute's applause for Bobby Moore tonight before a special mosaic depicting his No6 shirt is formed in the Stand that bears his name. The atmosphere here is really special tonight, with 'Come on you Irons!' being sung with gusto before a chorus of 'Bobby Moore'.
7.56pm - Mark Noble misses out tonight with a shoulder injury, while James Tomkins has been laid low with a virus.
7.54pm - Here come the two teams to 'Bubbles', Tottenham led by Michael Dawson and the Hammers by Kevin Nolan. West Ham are led by some special mascots in the shape of Bobby Moore's three grandchildren Freddie, Ava and Poppy.
7.52pm - Now it's the turn of the present-day squad and staff to pay their own tribute to the great man. The tributes to Bobby Moore have all been heartfelt and truly moving. Now it's the turn of the fans, who are cranking up the noise level inside the stadium to the strains of 'Viva Bobby Moore'.
7.50pm - Bobby Moore's daughter Roberta is introduced to the crowd. She talks of her cherished memories of her late father, but with a smile on her face. You can't blame her - he was a special man and a special player.
7.45pm - West Ham's moving tribute to Bobby Moore begins with a video montage of interviews with his contemporaries and highlights of his amazing career. It is stirring stuff. West Ham are rightly so proud of their greatest-ever centre-half.
7.25pm - I am reliably informed that Lewis Holtby, the Spurs midfielder, wears a different shirt number depending on which competition he is playing in! Holtby wears No23 in England and No14 in the UEFA Europa League. Apparently Andy Carroll had the same issue when he joined Liverpool from Newcastle United, wearing No9 in domestic competition and No29 in the Europa League.
7.15pm - Tonight's team news is in. It is like Christmas here, with a Carroll in both squads! Four changes from the 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa 15 days ago. West Ham bring in Demel, Collins, Jarvis and O'Neil for Pogatetz, Tomkins, Taylor and Noble.
West Ham United: Jaaskelainen, Reid, Nolan, Jarvis, Carroll, O'Brien, Collins, Demel, Diame, J.Cole, O'Neil
Subs: C.Cole, Collison, Vaz Te, Taylor, Pogatetz, Chamakh, Spiegel
Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris, Vertonghen, Lennon, Parker, Adebayor, Bale, Dembele, Dawson, Holtby, Walker, Caulker
Subs: Gallas, Naughton, Sigurdsson, Friedel, Livermore, Assou-Ekotto, Carroll
6.35pm - There is some atmosphere building in east London tonight. There are lots of Hammers greats back at the Boleyn Ground - Martin Peters MBE, Eddie Bovington, Joe Kirkup, Phil Parkes, Brian Dear, Tony Cottee, Alan Taylor and Alan Devonshire are among those here to honour the memory of Bobby Moore OBE.
Good evening and welcome to the Boleyn Ground for what promises to be a special Barclays Premier League fixture between West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur.
Tonight, the club will be commemorating the 20th anniversary of the passing of West Ham United and England legend Bobby Moore OBE. Bobby, of course, passed away after a dignified battle with bowel cancer on 24 February 1993, aged 51. A short time afterwards, his widow Stephanie Moore MBE founded the Bobby Moore Fund for Cancer Research UK. Over the last 20 years, the charity has raised nearly £19m towards treatment and raising awareness of the disease.
In addition to a minute's applause prior to kick-off, supporters in the Bobby Moore Stand are invited to take part in displaying a mosaic depicting his famous No6 shirt. A 50p donation from the sale of every special 100-page Commemorative Programme will also go to the Fund, while a bucket collection is being held in and around the Boleyn Ground tonight. A complete rundown of all the charitable activity at Monday's game is available here.
Monday's game will also see the culmination of 11-year-old Jonjo Heuerman's latest charitable venture, the Big Football Tag. The hugely ambitious project saw a signed captain's armband collected from all 92 of England's Football League clubs. Jonjo himself walked over every bridge in London, before meeting Sir Trevor Brooking to collect the England captain's armband at Wembley. The armbands will subsequently be auctioned for charity.
Concentrating on the match itself, West Ham and Spurs both have good reason to go for the win tonight. The Hammers have slipped to 13th in the table following the weekend's results elsewhere, but a victory would lift them back up to eleventh and a three-goal success would take them above Stoke City into tenth. Spurs, meanwhile, dropped to fourth but will leapfrog Chelsea back into third if they win in east London.
Team news-wise, Sam Allardyce has a relative embarrassment of riches at his disposal. Defenders Joey O'Brien and James Collins are fit again, while Modibo Maiga is back from Africa Cup of Nations duty with Mali, leaving George McCartney as the only unavailable player this evening.
Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas has a few more injury concerns, with midfielders Sandro and Tom Huddlestone and centre-back Younes Kaboul all nursing knee problems. Former Hammers striker Jermain Defoe is also likely to be out after suffering an ankle ligament injury at West Bromwich Albion on 3 February.
The team news will be confirmed at 7pm on the club's official twitter feed @whufc_official and here on whufc.com