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Post by Premier League News on Feb 11, 2015 22:27:26 GMT
Southampton 0 - 0 West HamIt may not have been very sophisticated, but Sam Allardyce will care little. West Ham fought for a valuable point here in a game that will be forgotten in a hurry, a dull goalless draw that only came to life once the Hammers goalkeeper, Adrián, was sent off in the second half for handling the ball outside the area.It should have been the turning point in an otherwise uneventful contest, but from the 61st minute onwards West Ham had everyone bar Andy Carroll behind the ball. In the end you had to admire their discipline, creating an insurmountable blue wall that Southampton were unable to penetrate. It seemed like a missed opportunity for Ronald Koeman’s side, who had few clear opportunities on a night when they slipped behind Manchester United in the Premier League table, the Saints often guilty of over-elaborating in attack. Ronald Koeman made two changes to the Southampton team which secured a late victory at Queens Park Rangers on Saturday, with the young midfielder Harrison Reed and the defender Florin Gardos coming in. West Ham also made two alterations after drawing with Manchester United: Carlton Cole and Morgan Amalfitano starting in place of Mark Noble and Kevin Nolan. Southampton had the better of the scoring opportunities in a first-half that failed to ignite. There were ironic cheers from the West Ham supporters whenever their side opted for a ball long out of defence, following a week in which Sam Allardyce and Louis van Gaal have shared terse tactical views. Yet, in truth, neither set of fans had much to cheer early on. Southampton certainly looked more dangerous in attack but could not capitalise on their pressure in the opening 20 minutes, with the referee, Craig Pawson, coming in for some stern criticism from the crowd. Sadio Mané was Saints’ best player and it was his jinking run into the area following a smart backheel after 13 minutes that resulted in their best chance. Mané looked to have overrun it but beat his man before squeezing the ball across goal into the path of Eljero Elia, but Carl Jenkinson was well-placed at the far post to hack clear. West Ham countered and Amalfitano’s goalbound shot from 20 yards was headed away well by Steven Davis, before Koeman’s side threatened again. This time it was from a set-piece down the left, a deep ball that Davis lofted into the penalty area and on to the head of Graziano Pellè, with the Italian’s flick met by Gardos, whose tame effort was cleared in the six-yard box. Mané and Elia, both with tricky low centres of gravity, were causing problems but neither could test Adrián. Elia cut inside off the left but sliced a fizzing effort wide before Pellè set up Mané with a deft flick, but his low curling shot drifted narrowly wide. Again Mané was the danger man after half-time. He broke down the right in the 54th minute and slid a ball inside to Pellè, but the striker duffed his shot which looped into the arms of Adrián. West Ham countered through the half-time substitute Matt Jarvis – soon joined by Carroll from the bench – and he pulled back for Stewart Downing on the edge of the area, but his effort deflected wide. Cole was perhaps fortunate not to receive more than a yellow card for a high boot on the Southampton left-back, Maya Yoshida, and it proved to be his last act of the evening. He was replaced by Jussi Jaaskelainen following the red card to Adrián, an incident as calamitous as it was avoidable. The Spanish goalkeeper received the ball on the penalty spot and instead of clearing, attempted to drop his shoulder and turn past Mané. The Senegal international read the dummy and got his body in between the ball and the despairing keeper, who proceeded to handle outside the area as he tumbled to the turf inside the D. Pawson delivered the red card, but the decision was not without West Ham protests as Adrián was under pressure as he went down. Southampton, though, could not break down the West Ham wall. They barely had a chance after the dismissal, Jaaskelainen only really called into action when turning away a stinging effort from the substitute Filip Djuricic. There were too many missed passes, too many bad decisions in the opposition penalty area, and in the end West Ham almost stole a remarkable win when Amalfitano flung himself at Jarvis’ cross late on, unable to make decisive contact. Source: Guardian
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