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West Ham 0-1 Ipswich: You Get What You Give

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A late strike by former Hammer Lee Bowyer saw Ipswich clinch a thoroughly deserved 1-0 victory against uninspiring ‘title favourites’ West Ham United at Upton Park.


Vital Report:

Ipswich boss Paul Jewell stuck with the same Town side for the third game in a row after seeing them pick up four points from their last two matches. Former West Ham player Lee Bowyer was included in the four man midfield diamond, whilst the hosts included one time Town loanee Mark Noble in their starting lineup as well as ex-Norwich duo Robert Green and Henri Lansbury.

West Ham were the pre-season favourites for the Championship title, but it was the in-form Blues that started off better. Carlos Edwards crossed for Michael Chopra who looked almost certain to open the scoring within 5 minutes, but his volley was superbly saved at the near post by Green. Soon after, Jimmy Bullard had a shot deflected over for a corner, then Green was called into action again to tip away another dangerous delivery from Edwards.

Eager to make their dominance count after the weekend’s goalless draw at Middlesbrough, the Blues came agonisingly close to a goal on 20 minutes, Bowyer lobbing Green on the rebound only to see the ball bounce out off the inside of the far post before being scrambled away.

That proved something of a wake up call for West Ham, who saw their first proper shot struck wide from distance by Lansbury before Abdoulaye Faye headed over from a corner. It wasn’t long before Town were back on the attack though, Jason Scotland setting up Grant Leadbitter to fire over the far post before hitting another low shot straight at Green on the half hour mark.

Clear chances became somewhat thin on the ground as the first half drew to a close, Danny Collins doing well to rob Lansbury after Bullard had lost possession cheaply to Carlton Cole. Bowyer was then booked for sliding in on Lansbury before Blues keeper David Stockdale saved from the resulting free kick as the half time whistle blew with Town very much on top.

Ipswich have been known to fade after the interval in recent games, and West Ham certainly began the second half in brighter fashion. Cole fired a low drive at Stockdale and David Bentley sent a free kick wide before Joey O’Brien blazed well off target from the edge of the area.

Town started to regain some momentum as the hour mark approached. Edwards’ throw-in sent Leadbitter forward to shoot low at Green before Scotland had two attempts, the first being deflected wide before the Trinidad striker turned and struck a second over. It took a crucial intervention from Collins however to prevent Sam Baldock charging in on the Town goal at the other end a minute later.

Hammers boss Sam Allardyce made a double change on 64 minutes, replacing Cole and Lansbury with John Carew and Jack Collison. By now the game was looking much more even than it had been in the first half, Stockdale parrying away Bentley’s cross before Edwards fired a long drive wide. The former Sunderland midfielder then blocked a shot at the other end before Leadbitter saw a long-range effort deflected behind for a corner.

With the match entering its final ten minutes, both teams were still looking for a breakthrough. Green had to tip over Aaron Cresswell’s 25 yard free kick before the ex-Tranmere Rovers defender struck another wide two minutes later. Blues manager Jewell swapped Scotland with Nathan Ellington before Hammers midfielder Bentley had a shot knocked wide off one of his own players for a goal kick.

Just as the Blues looked destined for a second successive goalless draw however, they popped up with a late winner. Bullard’s corner was headed against the post by Keith Andrews, but Lee Bowyer was on hand to stick the knife into his old club with a low strike past Green to make it 1-0 with one minute of normal time left, much to the delight of the visiting supporters behind the goal in the Sir Trevor Brooking Stand.

Both managers made changes as stoppage time arrived, Damien Delaney boosting Town’s defence in place of Chopra while Noble was replaced by Julien Faubert for the hosts. The Hammers did push for a late equaliser, substitute Collison drawing a save from Stockdale before James Tomkins headed beyond the far post from a corner. There was to be no further twist in the tale however as referee Keith Stroud brought the game to a close to give Ipswich three well deserved points.

West Ham were by no means at their best on Tuesday night, lacking much creativity and giving the ball away easily. However, nothing should be taken away from Town, who looked the better side for the majority of the match and would have felt a little hard done by again to come away without the win. Jewell’s men look to be zipping the ball about much more effectively now and, with a third successive clean sheet – something Ipswich haven’t done since 2005 – it is clear that the defence has been much improved since the start of the campaign.

Collins and Ibrahima Sonko again looked strong at the back for most of the match, while Edwards and Scotland also put in impressive shifts once again. Perhaps most of all, match-winner Bowyer will be relieved to have finally gotten his first Ipswich goal after an otherwise slow start to his Town career affected by fitness problems.

The result makes it 7 points from 9 for Ipswich and seems to confirm opinions that Jewell’s team have finally found their feet after a shaky start to the season. The Blues are now in 11th, level on 13pts with Peterborough United who currently sit just below the playoff places. More importantly however, Ipswich have made a bold statement with a win from one of the toughest trips in the Championship, and having previously taken a point from Middlesbrough, Town will be hoping to maintain their good form in the third of their tricky run of fixtures when newly promoted Brighton and Hove Albion visit Portman Road on Saturday.


West Ham: Green, McCartney, Tomkins, Faye, O’Brien, Nolan, Bentley, Noble (Faubert 90), Lansbury (Collison 64), Baldock, Cole (Carew 64) – Not used: Boffin, Diop

Ipswich: Stockdale, Cresswell, Collins, Sonko, Leadbitter, Edwards, Bowyer, Andrews, Bullard, Chopra (Delaney 90), Scotland (Ellington 85) – Not used: Lee-Barrett, Emmanuel-Thomas, Murphy


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