FULHAM v WEST HAM UNITED
BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
WEDNESDAY 30 JANUARY 2013
KICK-OFF: 8PM
REFEREE: CHRIS FOY
FULL AUDIO AND TEXT COMMENTARY - WEST HAM TV
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Final score - Fulham 3-1 West Ham United
96 mins - Diame ends the game on the turf as a clearance belts him in the face. That just about sums up West Ham's night. The final whistle blows and the Hammers have lost. We'll have post-match reaction soon. Swansea City on Saturday. Join us then.
94 mins - Fulham are enjoying this now. Petric dances past at least two defenders before his shot is blocked by Reid. West Ham break and a Jarvis cross drops onto the arm of Riise. Again, I am not sure that was deliberate, despite the claims of Carroll. The ball goes behind for a corner, which Cole flicks on but off target.
93 mins - West Ham attack. It peters out when Tomkins heads aimlessly into the box and Schwarzer collects. West Ham need to buck their ideas up. Tonight's defeat drops us down to 13th in the table.
91 mins - GOAL! Fulham keep the ball near the corner flag before Dejagah finds Riether. He runs into the box all too easily and passes to Rodallega. His shot is parried by Jaaskelainen, but not very far. Petric gets there first and his shot hits Jaaskelainen and the post and goes in off O'Brien. Game over.
89 mins - It's looking like another fruitless away day for West Ham. They are now just pumping balls high into the box. Cole challenges for a ball and the ball hits Senderos on the hand, but it's not handball. Moments later, Diame concedes a goal kick.
87 mins - Is that the chance? Tomkins has ages to chest down a header from Carroll, but elects to head on goal. It comfortably clears the bar. Goal kick.
85 mins - Taylor's cross is easily cut out again. Fulham clear and Reid's slip allows Rodallega to get goalside. He elects to shoot early, but misses the target. Time running out for the Hammers.
83 mins - Nolan collects after a clearance hits Jarvis. He is offside, but the assistant doesn't flag. Nolan finds Carroll in space 25 yards out. He shoots, but it's too high.
82 mins - Senderos has the physio on and he has to jog off to get more treatment. While Fulham are down to ten, they win a corner through Dejagah's cross hitting Taylor.
81 mins - Diame loses out to Sidwell. Is it a foul? Not according to the referee. Rodallega finds Petric and he has Reid one-on-one. He shoots, Jaaskelainen spills and Tomkins has to hack away for a throw.
80 mins - Jarvis loses out to Riether and Fulham switch play left. Riise cuts inside but his shot is too high.
78 mins - I'm not too sure what shape West Ham are playing now, but it's safe to say they might be hitting a few balls forward in the final 12 minutes or so.
76 mins - Joe Cole goes off and Carroll is on. He is immediately involved as Cole runs down a ball from Nolan before laying back for the No8, whose low shot forces Schwarzer to dive low to his left to save. He holds on.
75 mins - Taylor lifts a ball in and Carlton Cole heads down. Joe Cole gets the touch and then goes down under a challenge from Hangeland. Claims from behind the goal, but nothing given. Berbatov is replaced by Petric.
73 mins - Berbatov pulls up wihle chasing a through ball. West Ham kick the ball out as he hobbles around, but Berbatov isn't going off. We waste at least 30 seconds while the two teams work out what is going on. Berbatov is still on the pitch.
72 mins - Jarvis wins another corner, but again Joe Cole's delivery to the near post is easily headed away. Fulham break through Dejagah. The Iranian finds Berbatov, who curls a delicious shot just wide with the outside of his right foot.
70 mins - So close to an equaliser for Nolan, who spins away from Senderos and aims for the far corner. Schwarzer gets a touch and diverts the ball just wide of the far post. Tomkins wins the header from the corner, but heads over.
69 mins - Noble and Joe Cole get themselves in a pickle and Berbatov streaks away again down the left. He spins and wins a corner. It is headed clear and Joe Cole breaks away and wins a throw inside the Fulham half.
68 mins - Into the final quarter. Spurs have drawn level at Norwich and Chelsea now lead 2-0 at Reading. Taylor's cross loops over Riise but then bounces over Joe Cole.
66 mins - A defensive change from Martin Jol, with Karagounis being replaced by Chris Baird. The Greek is not exactly rushing to the touchline. Ruiz is also replaced, with Dejagah coming on. West Ham bring on Taylor for Demel. O'Brien to right-back and Taylor to left-back.
65 mins - There are 24,791 fans inside the stadium tonight.
62 mins - Demel collects from Diame and finds Joe Cole. His cross is low, Nolan flicks it on and Schwarzer catches. Fulham then struggle to clear from the next Hammers attack and Nolan shoots again, but it's straight at the goalkeeper.
60 mins - Diame fouls Berbatov. Karagounis curls the ball over and it's just too strong for Hangeland at the far post. Goal kick and a let-off for West Ham.
58 mins - Another driving run from Diame is ended by a Riether challenge. That's a booking for the right-back. Noble to take the free-kick from the same area where he found Nolan from earlier. Noble delivers and the ball pinballs around. Claims for handball, but it wasn't clear cut and certainly didn't look deliberate.
57 mins - A Jarvis cross hangs in the air and is easily caught by Schwarzer. West Brom have a goal back at Everton and Chelsea lead at Reading.
56 mins - Chamakh is replaced by Carlton Cole. Can he maintain his recent fine run of scoring against Fulham? Elsewhere, Chamakh's parent club have come from 2-0 down at home to Liverpool to draw level.
54 mins - West Ham win a throw after more good work from Diame. It initially comes to nothing but Noble retrieves before burrowing along the edge of the box. The ball breaks left to Jarvis, but his cross is straight into the arms of Schwarzer.
53 mins - That Fulham goal has completely knocked the stuffing out of West Ham. Noble and then Diame fail to clear before the No21 fouls Karagounis within shooting range. Ruiz hits the wall with the free-kick and the Hammers escape.
49 mins - GOAL! Oh dear, oh dear. Fulham attack down their left and Duff is allowed to cross left-footed. The ball clears Tomkins and Rodallega gets above Reid to head in from six yards. Fulham lead again.
48 mins - GOAL! It's chicken dance time! A free-kick is played into the near post by Noble and Nolan spins away from Berbatov and finishes superbly across Schwarzer. Great strike.
47 mins - West Ham with the wind at their backs and they already look far more threatening. Demel gets to the by-line and crosses, but Senderos heads away.
46 mins - Chamakh does well initially from a long ball forward. Diame picks up possession and Jarvis runs at Riether again. His cross finds Cole, who lays back for Noble but his pass is cut out.
No changes from either manager at the break.
Half-time score - Fulham 1-0 West Ham United
45 mins - Diame finds Jarvis, who takes on Riether and wins a corner off the German. Come on West Ham! Cole's corner is cleared back to him. His follow-up is cut out and Fulham break. One minute of added-time to be played. Demel crosses again and Schwarzer claims. The Aussie clears and the half-time whistle is blown. Needless to say, West Ham must improve after the break. Join us then.
44 mins - Berbatov is hardly a speedster but he bursts away from Nolan and runs at Reid before unleashing a low drive that clips the outside of the post. Fulham are the only team that look like scoring. Berbatov is 32 today and he's certainly having a happy birthday so far.
42 mins - Cole is caught offside after another forward run by Diame and a pass from Nolan. Still no shots on target from West Ham.
41 mins - Diame does well initially to hold off two Fulham players, but as soon as he breaks into space, he launches a pass for Chamakh that carries harmlessly through to Schwarzer.
40 mins - Rodallega nearly gets on the end of a scooped pass by Ruiz after some fantastic interplay between the Colombian and Berbatov. Jaaskelainen is out to collect.
36 mins - West Ham put another free-kick into the box and it's headed out. Rodallega turns Demel on halfway and the home crowd want a foul for a pull by the Ivorian. They might have a point! Nothing given except a Fulham throw. The Cottagers keep up the pressure and Karagounis sees his shot well blocked by Tomkins.
35 mins - Everton are now 2-0 up against West Brom, while Manchester United now lead Southampton 2-1. Leighton Baines and Wayne Rooney both have two goals.
33 mins - Diame is now the pantomime villain, but he is involved again as West Ham win another corner. Cole's delivery is poor and headed away. West Ham win a throw on the other touchline and then needlessly get caught offside. This is so frustrating to watch.
32 mins - Sidwell and Diame clash after a full-blooded challenge. Diame doesn't like it. The players gather for a bit of a chat on halfway before Mr Foy calls Sidwell over and books the Fulham man. That was a hefty tackle.
30 mins - An attempt from Nolan. Jarvis creates space for Diame to cross left-footed. He does, first-time, but Nolan cannot direct his header on target from level with the near post. Head in hands for the captain and 'Oohs' from the away end, but I think Schwarzer had it covered.
29 mins - Two more crossing chances for Jarvis after Chamakh wins the race to the loose ball with Hangeland. The first one is low and headed out by the Norwegian, before the second skips away from O'Brien.
28 mins - Jarvis crosses from the left from another pass from Cole. It hangs in the wind and Schwarzer collects easily enough.
27 mins - Fulham are winning the midfield battle overall, though, and Duff collects a pass in space on the left. He has Cole isolated and controls before shooting low and hard. The angle carries the ball across the face of goal and out for a goal kick.
25 mins - That's better. Quick interplay involving Cole, Noble and Nolan creates a crossing chance for Demel. He curls it over to the far post, where Jarvis has to stretch a bit and heads over. West Ham had three men in the box, too.
24 mins - West Ham are still struggling to combine in the Fulham half. They need a spell of sustained pressure and to work Schwarzer. At present, the long balls forward against the wind are meat and drink to Senderos and Hangeland.
22 mins - Southampton were winning at Manchester United but it's now 1-1. Norwich City are 1-0 up at home to Tottenham Hotspur. Everton are 1-0 up at home to West Brom.
20 mins - Joe Cole has gone central in search of the ball. He is the one looking most likely to turn this game around for the Hammers. He is involved again here, collecting a first-time pass from Nolan before curling a left-foot cross towards Jarvis. Riether stretches and heads the ball away.
19 mins - There we go again. Jarvis lays the ball straight back to Rodallega. He turns and runs at Reid before shooting narrowly off-target. West Ham have got to take better care of the ball.
18 mins - I hate to say it, but this is looking like so many away games so far this season. Attacks are petering out before West Ham can get enough players forward, and they are making unforced errors at the back. That said, the game should be goalless.
15 mins - Cole takes and Hangeland heads out only as far as Demel. He holds off Karagounis and then crosses into the stand. Disappointing.
14 mins - Diame drives forward down the left and wins a throw near the corner flag. He is then involved again and wins a corner off Karagounis.
13 mins - Replays show Berbatov was offside from both the initial free-kick and the flick-on, if there was one...
12 mins - A loose pass from Tomkins nearly allows Duff to play in Rodallega, but thankfully the ball skips far enough forward for Jaaskelainen to collect.
10 mins - GOAL! Fulham lead through a set piece... Duff takes, Ruiz flicks on and Berbatov heads in at the far post. If Ruiz touched that, Berbatov was offside. Even the Bulgarian looks over to the assistant referee, but there is no flag and the home side lead.
10 mins - Reid is penalised for blocking off Rodallega and Fulham have a dangerous free-kick wide on their right.
8 mins - Karagounis bursts through a gap between two West Ham players and goes to ground. Mr Foy waves play on and Ruiz collects and tests Jaaskelainen with a drive that the Finn parries. Demel clears for a throw. West Ham then try to break out but Chamakh's short pass allows Duff to come forward and shoot, but he drags the low effort wide with his left foot.
6 mins - The wind is going to make this a difficult game to control, but Jarvis does superbly to bring down O'Brien's long ball down the left. He then wins a corner from Riether. Cole takes it but it's headed clear from the edge of the six-yard box. Tomkins and Noble combine to knock the ball back to Demel, but his punt into the box is again headed out.
4 mins - Diame is tackled on the edge of the Fulham box and the hosts attack down their right. Rodallega leads the charge. Berbatov is involved again but when the cross comes back towards him, Reid slides to intercept. The ball goes out to Ruiz inside the box, but his control lets him down at the vital moment and the ball rolls away for a goal kick.
2 mins - Fulham are playing with the wind at their backs and it is a strong one. A throw in for Rodallega skips off the turf and speeds away for a goal kick. Jaaskelainen's kick is caught on the wind and Berbatov collects and tries to send Duff away. Demel concedes a throw. It's into Berbatov, but he loses out and West Ham can clear.
20 secs - West Ham have the first shot of the night. Demel gets forward down the right and crosses for Chamakh. He chests down for Cole, who shoots low and wide of the right-hand post from about 18 yards. Decent start for the Hammers.
8pm - Fulham get the game underway....
7.57pm - And here comes Fulham's larger-than-life Mohamed Al-Fayed, who gets introduced by the PA announcer and waves a massive Fulham scarf as he ambles across the pitch. There are officially 1,800 Hammers fans here tonight, but many more are sitting in the Barclays Premier League's only 'Neutral' area. Fulham to kick-off...
7.56pm - Here come the two teams, led by captains Nolan and Hangeland...
7.54pm - We'll keep you updated with what is going on elsewhere in the Barclays Premier League. It might not have any direct bearing on West Ham, but Liverpool are 1-0 up at Arsenal through Luis Suarez. Who else? We have a Facebook gallery from tonight's game up and running here.
7.50pm - It says a lot for West Ham's strength in depth that they can leave Jack Collison and Wellington Paulista out completely tonight, while George McCartney, James Collins and Dan Potts are all unavailable. With so much competition for places, the Hammers have no excuses tonight. They have had a full week to prepare for tonight's game, while Fulham were at Manchester United in the FA Cup with Budweiser fourth round on Saturday.
7.45pm - It is a chilly and windy night here on the banks of the River Thames. There is a blustery wind blowing into the stadium and that can only benefit teams attacking from set pieces. It's going to be a testing night for the goalkeepers and centre-backs, that's for sure.
7.20pm - Fulham have changed their system tonight. They are going to go 4-2-3-1 with Berbatov through the middle and Duff Rodallega and Ruiz behing the Bulgarian. Sidwell and Karagounis will sit deep to protect the back four.
7.05pm - The teamsheets are in. Marouane Chamakh returns to lead the line, with Andy Carroll and Carlton Cole on the bench. Jack Collison, Ricardo Vaz Te and Matt Taylor also make way, with Mohamed Diame, Matt Jarvis and Joe Cole recalled to the starting XI.
West Ham United: Jaaskelainen, Demel, Reid, Tomkins, O'Brien, Noble, Diame, Nolan, Jarvis, J.Cole, Chamakh
Subs: Henderson, Pogatetz, Taylor, O'Neil, Vaz Te, Carroll, C.Cole
Fulham: Schwarzer, Reither, Senderos, Hangeland, Riise, Karagounis, Sidwell, Berbatov, Duff, Ruiz, Rodallega
Subs: Etheridge, Baird, Petric, Frimpong, Hughes, Dejagah, Davies
Good afternoon and welcome to Craven Cottage for tonight's Barclays Premier League fixture between Fulham and West Ham United.
The Hammers have travelled 26 stops down the London Underground District line in search of their third away victory of the 2012/13 campaign.
However, should West Ham remedy their own travel sickness, they will have to improve a division-worst goalscoring record that has seen them net just six times in eleven away league matches.
If they are going to return to winning ways, then Craven Cottage is the perfect venue to do so. The Hammers have scored six Premier League victories on the banks of the River Thames and have won eight of the last 13 meetings between the two clubs.
Carlton Cole particularly enjoys scoring against the Cottagers and did so twice on West Ham's most-recent visit on Boxing Day 2010, when the Hammers defied freezing temperatures to net a 3-1 Premier League victory.
Team news-wise, Sam Allardyce has a relative embarrassment of riches at his disposal. A 21-man squad selected for tonight's game is full of experienced first-team players, with three seniors set to miss out on even a seat on the substitutes' bench this evening. New signing Emanuel Pogatetz is in the squad for the first time after joining on loan from German club VfL Wolfsburg on Monday.
Among those in the reckoning are England striker Andy Carroll, who is back in full training following a knee injury, and Brazilian forward Wellington Paulista, who bagged his first goal in claret and blue in Monday's Barclays U21 Premier League Elite Group Stage victory at Arsenal. Gunners loanee Marouane Chamakh is also available again after missing last Wednesday's defeat at his parent club.
Big Sam is still without long-term injury victims George McCartney (knee) and James Collins (hamstring), while Dan Potts is not available after suffering a head injury at Arsenal a week ago.
Fulham manager Martin Jol could hand a debut to Arsenal loanee midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong.
The teams will be confirmed at just after 7pm and news will be published first on the Hammers' official twitter feed @whufc_official