HULL CITY v WEST HAM UNITED
BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
SATURDAY 28 SEPTEMBER 2013
KICK-OFF: 3PM
REFEREE: KEVIN FRIEND
FULL AUDIO AND TEXT COMMENTARY - WEST HAM TV
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Final score - Hull City 1-0 West Ham United
97: It's another fruitless afternoon for West Ham as the final whistle blows. Reid belts the ball away in sheer frustration. I know how he feels. Yet again, an inability to convert chances and a set-piece goal costs the Hammers dear. We'll have reaction and more on West Ham TV and whufc.com soon. Thanks for joining us this afternoon. On to the next one...
96: There can only be seconds remaining as McGregor pumps the ball forward. Vaz Te and Rosenior are back on.
94: A late free-kick and Rat pumps the ball forward. Vaz Te and Rosenior challenge and clash heads. Vaz Te has blood coming from his forehead. He is patched up on the touchline while Hull's No2 gets his treatment on the pitch. He too has some blood coming from a cut to his head.
93: It's not happening. A loose header from Davies gives Nolan a chance to keep the ball inside the Hull box, but he handles. That could be that.
91: Into four added minutes... Downing crosses for Nolan, but it's too strong. Goal kick.
90: Morrison's run is superb and carries him 50 yards into the box. He crosses and Vaz Te hits the overhead kick, but it's again a routine save for McGregor.
89: West Ham have had 57 per cent of possession, put in twice as many crosses and have had 17 shots to Hull's ten, but the all-important stat is the scoreline, as we all know...
88: O'Brien runs the ball out for a goal kick. Hull use the break in play to replace Aluko with George Boyd.
85: West Ham do not deserve to lose. Downing wins a corner this time after his initial shot had been blocked. Petric just cannot get a shot away and Morrison finds Downing again. He crosses, but it's too high. Frustration is not the word.
84: No. He clears the bar by a few yards. Ironic cheers from the home fans.
83: West Ham pressing again, but Petric's touch gets away from him. The Hammers keep the ball though and Vaz Te is fouled by Livermore 25 yards out. Can the No12 repeat his trick from the Cheltenham cup tie?
80: Another chance... Rat collects after O'Brien's cross had flicked off the head of Huddlestone. He controls on his chest and volleys a yard wide. The Romanian punches the turf in frustration. It's been that sort of afternoon. Hull bring on Meyler for Brady. There are 2,337 Hammers among the 24,291 here at the KC Stadium. They are going to have a long journey home unless West Ham can fashion an equaliser.
78: Two more half-chances. First, O'Brien's cross just eludes Petric, then Downing picks out the run of Vaz Te, but he cannot get enough purchase on the shot to beat McGregor. It's on target, but a simple save.
77: Nolan is now penalised for a foul inside the Hull box. That won't help his mood.
75: West Ham should have a penalty for a blatant handball by Livermore from Vaz Te's cross. Instead, Mr Friend points for a corner. Nolan is incensed. He is right to be. Livermore stuck his elbow out to block the cross. The corner from Vaz Te is cleared.
74: Vaz Te collects a pass from Rat on his chest and turns before crossing left-footed, but it's high and an easy claim for McGregor.
73: Morrison is caught by Livermore but stays on his feet. Mr Friend gives nothing. When Hull clear for a throw, Morrison complains and gets booked for dissent.
70: Another half-chance missed as Petric crosses and Nolan heads over. Diame is replaced by Downing. Jarvis is replaced by Vaz Te. Hull replace Graham with Yannick Sagbo.
67: Vaz Te will be on too. A double change at the next break in play. That break could have been for a second Hull goal, but instead the Tigers hit the woodwork for a third time as Graham sets up Livermore, whose shot hits the base of the left-hand post. West Ham scramble the ball clear. Tomkins thought he had been fouled by Graham, but nothing was given. Still we wait for Downing and Vaz Te to be introduced. First, Rat is going to try another long throw. He finds Noble, who plays the ball to Morrison inside the box. He gets to the byline, but his cutback finds only an orange and black shirt.
65: West Ham have been the better side since half-time, but they need to work McGregor more often. Jarvis has the ball inside the box following a Diame cross, but he is crowded out. Here comes Downing...
63: Petric is fouled by Faye. West Ham have a free-kick about 35 yards out. It's easily cleared. West Ham win the ball back and Morrison brings it forward before finding Nolan. He tries to return the favour but the pace on the pass makes it difficult for Morrison to control and the ball clips his foot and goes out for a goal kick.
61: Rat is bemused as Elmohamady goes to ground about a yard from the assistant, who gives nothing. The referee, 30 yards away, gives Hull a free-kick... Brady's free-kick finds Graham at the far post, but his right-foot shot is poor and flies into the stand.
59: Maiga is off and Mladen Petric is on. Can the Croatian make himself a hero? His first touch goes out for a throw!
57: Aluko is full of confidence and he is heavily involved in an attack before collecting a pass on the corner of the penalty area and smashing a shot narrowly past the angle of far post and crossbar.
54: Chances at both ends! Aluko crosses and West Ham somehow survive as O'Brien clears. The Hammers break and Maiga wins the ball from Rosenior before finding Diame inside. He creates space for a shot and smacks the ball hard towards goal, but McGregor is there to parry in front of his face.
52: West Ham have a free-kick near the corner flag following a foul by Figueroa on O'Brien. Noble's initial free-kick is cleared, but the Hammers keep the pressure on and win a throw before Morrison wins a corner off Huddlestone. Jarvis's corner is cleared but Morrison recovers the ball before being shoved to the ground by Huddlestone.
50: No chances yet for either side, although Hull have had the ball in the net. The 'goal' from Aluko was ruled out by the assistant's flag for offside.
47: Joey O'Brien heads behind for a corner, Robbie Brady delivers but Tomkins is there to head clear. He got good distance on the header and the Hammers survive.
46: We're back underway for the second period. No changes for either side as the Hammers look for a response to Robbie Brady's 12th minute penalty.
48: That's half-time. West Ham will be kicking themselves for going in behind because they've had more than enough opportunities to be ahead. The Hull goal was avoidable, too. Anyway, we have 45 minutes to put things right.
46: We're going to have two added minutes. It begins with Graham being booked for dissent. The striker threw the ball and it hit the assistant referee! Only a yellow card for the Hull No9, though. He had the hump as he thought Rat had pushed him over.
42: Brady is again lucky to escape a booking after catching Noble late. Mr Friend waves play-on and Diame crosses, but Maiga's header from the penalty spot flies well wide. Moments later, Diame finds Rat in space on the left, but he over-hits the cross.
40: West Ham have had nine shots to Hull's three, including three on target. Five of West Ham's shots have been blocked. Is it going to be one of those days?
37: Chances everywhere. O'Brien collects from Nolan and curls in a superb cross that is a yard in front of the sliding Maiga! Jarvis collects on the far side and curls the ball over, but it's too high for Maiga or Diame. Goal kick. Brady caught O'Brien late after that cross and he has the physio on. In hindsight, he could easily have been booked there. I would suggest he'll be absolutely fine to continue...
35: Maiga hits the crossbar! Unfortunately it's his own one as he somehow clears Davies' header off the line and it spins up and over. The second corner is won by Elmohamady and Hull hit the woodwork again via a West Ham player as Jaaskelainen claws the ball onto the post and behind for a corner. The third corner is cleared. Thank goodness!
34: Hull have another free-kick inside the West Ham half as Jarvis is penalised for catching Elmohamady on the ankle. Aluko shoots and Jaaskelainen dives to his left to push the ball away. Morrison completes the clearance.
32: Another chance goes begging as Diame's cross is headed out by Faye as far as Noble, who hits it well but the shot flies a couple of yards wide of the far post.
31: Hull have a corner now as a Brady shot is deflected over the crossbar by Reid. Tomkins heads the corner clear but West Ham are unable to break. Huddlestone wins the ball back but his cross goes behind for a goal kick.
29: West Ham are wasting their chances. Nolan finds Jarvis with a nice ball in behind. Jarvis cuts the ball back to the unmarked Diame, who air-kicks. Noble wins the ball back and finds Morrison, whose shot hits Maiga and is caught by McGregor. Great opportunities.
28: Another half-chance for Maiga as he tries to control Rat's cross, but the ball skips far enough away for Faye to nick the ball from his fellow African.
25: West Ham on top now as Noble and Maiga combine. Rat crosses and Diame's header is deflected wide. Noble's corner is to the edge of the box and easily cleared. Replays show Tomkins' header got a deflection off Faye on its way to the line. The benefit of having a man on the post...
24: The Goal Decision System shows Elmohamady blocked the ball on the line with his chest. The ball was right smack bang on the line. West Ham could not have come closer to an equaliser.
22: Davies fouls Morrison about 45 yards out. Noble lifts the free-kick in and Tomkins' header deflects wide for a corner. The delivery is again won by Tomkins, whose header bounces past McGregor but is blocked right on the line!
20: Maiga has a chance as Jarvis intercepts on halfway and sends the No11 away. Maiga is clear for a while but shoots as he is closed down on the edge of the box. McGregor dives to his left and holds on. It was on target, but fairly routine for the Scotland international.
17: Watching replays of the penalty decision again, it was needless. Tomkins would have easily headed the ball away. Anyway, West Ham need to re-group and put Hull under some pressure. As it is, Hull have a dangerous free-kick wide on the left. Brady's initial delivery finds Aluko, who eventually crosses, but the ball is caught by Jaaskelainen.
15: Jarvis and Maiga combine down the left before the latter wins a throw near the corner flag. Rat throws the ball into Morrison, who loses possession.
12: Goal! West Ham give away yet another goal from a set piece. Brady steps up an slots the ball into the bottom right-hand corner as Jaaskelainen dives the other way. Hull's No11 wheels away to celebrate with the Tigers fans. Not the ideal start.
11: Brady flies to the ground under a high cross under a challenge from O'Brien and Mr Friend points to the penalty spot! Hull with a great chance to go ahead. Brady himself will take. There were no complaints from the Hammers.
10: Maiga jumps for a header and Morrison cushions a volley wide to Diame, who crosses left-footed, but it's headed away by Faye.
8: Brady's free-kick is awful and hits the wall. The ball spins back to halfway where Nolan slides in and catches Rosenior late on the ankle. Yellow card for the skipper. Not the ideal start to Nolan's afternoon. The free-kick is lifted high to the far post from Rosenior and Davies wins it, but his header drops safely to Jaaskelainen.
7: It's been a really encouraging start from West Ham, who have hardly let Hull out of their own half so far. I typed too soon! Tomkins is penalised for jumping on Aluko as he challenges for a high ball. Thankfully, this looks to be too far out for Hull to attempt a shot on goal...
5: Good stuff. Rat hurls it in, Maiga flicks on and Nolan just cannot get on the end of it. Maiga then wins the ball back and finds Jarvis. He crosses and Diame rises, but his header is deflected wide for a corner. Noble's corner is to the far post, where Tomkins rises highest and nods into the six-yard box, but McGregor is there to collect the ball.
4: Maiga almost benefits from a short backpass from Rosenior. McGregor is out quickly and slices the ball into the crowd. Rat to deliver a long throw...
2: Tomkins nips in smartly and wins the ball in front of Aluko before finding Diame. He beats one man and is fouled on halfway. Tomkins lifts the ball into the box and Nolan leans on his man. The clearance is short to Maiga, who controls and then sees his low shot blocked.
1: West Ham control territory in the early running, probing first down the right, then down the left-hand side. Everyone getting a touch will help the Hammers to settle down.
3pm - We're underway, with West Ham kicking-off shooting from left to right as I look at it.
2.57pm - Here come the teams to the strains of 'Eye of the Tiger' by Survivor. Last time I heard that Raymond van Barneveld was about to throw a few darts. Can the Hammers hit the bullseye this afternoon?
2.55pm - The sprinklers are on and the pre-match Hull Tigers anthem is playing over the PA system. The KC Stadium is not full, far from it in fact, but I'm sure the atmosphere will still be good. I can see fans streaming towards the turnstiles outside, so maybe we'll be full by kick-off? If you're on the move, you can follow updates live on our Twitter feed @whufc_official
2.50pm - The long climb to the Press Box at the KC Stadium has been scaled and we're now rapidly approaching kick-off here. The sun is shining brightly. In fact, there isn't a cloud in the sky here in Hull. It's a beautiful afternoon. Let's hope we all feel the same way come 5pm!
2.40pm - West Ham are a 9/4 shot to win with our Stadium betting partner Sportingbet, while Hull are 13/10 and the draw is 9/4. Our European betting partner Bet365 offer first goalscorer bets, with Nolan 15/2, Petric 8/1 and Maiga 9/1. If you fancy an outside, Joey O'Brien is 40/1.
2.15pm - James Tomkins starts a league game for the first time since 13 April, when he was in the side that drew 1-1 at Southampton. In fact, that is the defender's most-recent league appearance. He has not featured in the top-flight in any of West Ham's last eleven matches. However, the No5 has impressed in the Capital One Cup victories over Cheltenham Town and Cardiff City. He is far from inexperienced, of course, as today marks Tomkins' 117th league start for the Hammers.
2.05pm - The team news is in and West Ham have made one change from the 3-2 home defeat by Everton. James Tomkins replaces James Collins in central defence. Stewart Downing is back on the bench, as is Guy Demel. Hull have made two changes from the side that won 3-2 at Newcastle last weekend, with Maynor Figueroa and Abdoulaye Faye in for Quinn and the injured Chester.
Hull City: McGregor, Rosenior, Figueroa, Davies (c), Faye, Elmohamady, Huddlestone, Livermore, Brady, Aluko, Graham
Subs: Harper, Bruce, Meyler, McShane, Boyd, Sagbo, Quinn
West Ham United: Jaaskelainen, O'Brien, Rat, Tomkins, Reid, Noble, Diame, Morrison, Nolan (c), Jarvis, Maiga
Subs: Adrian, Demel, Collins, Taylor, Downing, Vaz Te, Petric
1.55pm - Big Sam and Steve Bruce are good pals and have shared a glass of red on many an occasion during their careers. Unsurprisingly, Bruce is effusive in his praise for Big Sam in his programme notes: "Sam and I have been mates for years. Like me, Sam has spent a lot of time in the Manchester area over the years and we go back a long way. I have enormous admiration for him as a manager and he has done a fantastic job at West Ham."
1.50pm - We have played Hull 41 times in total, but just four of those fixtures have come in the top-flight. In the Premier League, we've won two, drawn one and lost one to the Tigers. The only defeat came in October 2008, when Michael Turner's goal sent Hull up to third in the Premier League table. Our most-recent Premier League visit came in November 2009 and it was a thriller as the Hammers went 2-0 up and 3-2 down before securing a draw through Manuel da Costa's equaliser. Of the 13 Hammers who appeared that day, only Jack Collison remains at the Club.
1.45pm - The Hammers have arrived safe and well at the KC Stadium and a number of players have gone out to have a look at the pitch. Among them were Razvan Rat, who will never have played here before, and Ravel Morrison, who scored against Hull for Birmingham City at St Andrews during his loan spell last season. Both will hope to start this afternoon. Before the teams are announced at 2pm, how about checking out our Facebook photo gallery from the KC Stadium by clicking on the link above?
1.20pm - The Hammers should arrive at the KC Stadium in the next ten minutes. Before then, I can bring excellent news from Little Heath, where the U18s scored a fantastic 5-0 victory over Liverpool in the Barclays U18 Premier League. Kieran Bywater and Jordan Brown both scored twice, while England U18 call-up Reece Burke was also on target. We'll have exclusive reaction from manager Steve Potts soon. Meanwhile, you can watch highlights of yesterday's 5-0 U21 friendly win over Ipswich Town at Rush Green Stadium on West Ham TV now!
Good afternoon and welcome to the KC Stadium, where West Ham United will seek to extend their unbeaten away run to three Barclays Premier League matches against in-form Hull City.
West Ham are the only team in the Barclays Premier League not to have conceded a goal on their travels this season following goalless draws at Newcastle United and Southampton.
On the flip side, the Hammers are without a league win since the opening day of the season. However, Sam Allardyce's players will have had their confidence boosted by a 3-2 win over Cardiff City in the Capital One Cup third round on Tuesday night.
Further confidence can be taken from the fact that West Ham are unbeaten in their last five matches against the Tigers stretching back to January 2009. The Hammers won 2-1 on their most-recent visit to the KC Stadium in November 2011. Big Sam is also without defeat in his last five matches against Hull - three with Blackburn and two with the Hammers.
As for the home side, following Hull's promotion to the Barclays Premier League last season, Steve Bruce's side have picked up seven points from five games, leaving them eleventh in the table. A 3-2 win away at Newcastle last Saturday followed a 1-1 draw with Cardiff in their most-recent home fixture. The Tigers also progressed in the Capital One Cup this week, defeating Huddersfield Town 1-0 to set-up a fourth round trip to Tottenham Hotspur next month.
Team news-wise, Big Sam will have a welcome selection headache, with the likes of Guy Demel, James Tomkins and Stewart Downing all available and pushing for starting places. Midfielder Mark Noble is also available again after serving a one-match ban for being sent-off in last weekend's home defeat by Everton. However, Joe Cole (hamstring) will not be risked, while Andy Carroll (foot) is continuing his rehabilitation. Alou Diarra (knee) also remains sidelined.
As for Big Sam's good friend Bruce, he will have to select a new centre-back after James Chester was ruled out for eight weeks with a pulled hamstring. His place is set to go to former West Ham defender Abdoulaye Faye. Tigers captain Robert Koren is also definitely out with an ankle problem. Bruce could recall left-back Maynor Figueroa after the Honduras international was granted compassionate leave.
We will have the confirmed team news at just after 2pm. For now, you can enter our two matchday competitions on our official Twitter page. The #WHULINEUP competition sees you guess West Ham's starting XI, while #WHUGOAL sees you guess our first goalscorer. Both winners will receive a signed prize!