Middlesbrough 1 - 3 West HamAndy Carroll brace sinks Middlesbrough as West Ham continue to climb table
Home team scorersChristian Stuani 27
Away team scorersAndy Carroll 9
Andy Carroll 43
Jonathan Calleri 90 +3:47
Andy Carroll not only scored twice but made a compelling case for an England recall as West Ham United’s winter revival continued amid growing Teesside gloom.
As hard as Adama Traoré tried – and, illuminating the bleakest of January afternoons, Aitor Karanka’s winger played like a man auditioning for a role at Chelsea next season – Middlesbrough could not avoid a defeat that leaves them far too close to the bottom three for comfort.
The bad news for Karanka was that Carroll had recovered from the whiplash he sustained in the course of scoring that acrobatic volley against Crystal Palace. Indeed, it did not take the centre forward long to demonstrate that his neck was in perfect working order and show precisely why Boro’s manager had dubbed him an “amazing” player.
His first goal here was rather more quintessential Carroll than last week’s and involved him out-leaping both Calum Chambers and Ben Gibson before connecting with Manuel Lanzini’s corner and powering an unstoppable header past the helpless Victor Valdés and into the top corner.
Karanka is fond of the word “amazing” and frequently uses it to describe Adama Traoré – or, more specifically, his extraordinary pace – and, sure enough, in the 27th minute the former Barcelona winger’s amalgam of rapid acceleration and a clever trick destabilised Slaven Bilic’s defence to the point where Chambers was able to cross menacingly from the right. All that remained was for Cristhian Stuani to cut in from the left and side-foot a shot beyond Adrián.
With the premable a pleasing team passing move – Adam Forshaw, Bernardo, Marten de Roon, Adam Clayton and Álvaro Negredo were all involved – the goal showcased Boro’s football at its best.
Perhaps inspired by the news that Chelsea’s Antonio Conte is an admirer of his talents, Traoré – whose final ball and reading of situations can be wayward – was having one of his better games, with Bilic’s backline looking almost as nervous of his shoulder-dropping advances as Karanka’s were of Carroll’s manoeuvres.
Such wariness did not prevent George Friend denying Carroll a near-certain second goal courtesy of a superbly timed tackle or Bernado making a similarly key interception to prevent Lanzini scoring
Happily for West Ham’s no9 no one could prevent him pouncing on the rebound after Valdés could only parry Michail Antonio’s low shot from the edge of the area. As Carroll extended his left boot to steer the ball into the net, Valdés must have rued his failure to push Antonio’s effort around the post. Karanka, meanwhile, had surely come to regard Caroll as a hugely debilitating pain in the neck.
When, just before the interval, Friend seemed to go through the back of Sofiane Feghouli and sent him crashing in the area, West Ham thought they should have had a penalty but Martin Atkinson, the referee, decided the tackle was legitimate.
A nasty, cynical, foul on Bernardo’s part saw Mark Noble hobble off nursing an ankle injury early in a second period which also featured Ádrian performing wonders to dive low keep De Roon’s header out following Traoré’s cross.
With Lanzini having failed to make the most of an inviting chance after being put through by Carroll, Bilic’s players were living dangerously. So much so that when Traoré, yet again, and Negredo provoked penalty-area havoc, only Stuani’s body and the bar rather fortuitously came between Aaron Cresswell and an own goal as the left-back’s attempts to clear almost went disastrously wrong.
Badly missing Noble’s intelligence in midfield, West Ham received a further setback when a knock forced Carroll to follow him to the treatment room. Sensing opportunity, Karanka introduced Patrick Bamford – newly signed for £6m from Chelsea – and Rudy Gestede.
Although Gestede went close with a late volley, it was the visitors who scored the final goal, Jonathan Calleri’s shot deflecting in off Clayton as West Ham registered a fifth win in seven games.
Guardian
