Stoke 3-1 West Ham – e-West Ham Review

Article by e-West Ham Correspondent Brandon Freeman

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After a lacklustre display at Goodison Park and a week without a game, I was expecting to see a sharp, energetic display from West Ham at The Britannia Stadium, but unfortunately for the second game in a row West Ham have gone back to East London empty handed.

Although the game got off to a perfect start, with Andy Carroll bagging his first goal since making his move permanent, we just didn’t kick on from there and really did struggle to get a foothold on the game. Unlike previous matches where we’ve managed to go ahead and hold on for the rest of the game, the 2-0 win over Aston Villa being one of the best examples, as soon as we went ahead we just couldn’t control the game and after a sustained period of Stoke pressure we buckled as a corner was turned in by Peter Odemwingie and we went in at half time all square. Despite being level at half time it was disappointing to see us concede from a set piece given the work the team put in on the training ground at attacking and defending set pieces.

However, it was the second half which really killed the game for us; firstly with Marko Arnautovic driving into the box before placing a shot past Adrian, then when we were denied a penalty from referee Craig Pawson. The decision not to award a penalty after the blatant handball from Muniesa was abysmal and definitely would have set the game up for an exiting finish if it had been given, but perhaps more importantly it would have meant that we may have perhaps been happy with the draw, and may not have pushed as many players forward as we did. It was throwing too many players forward which ended the game for us as Stoke hit us on the counter and Odemwingie smashed home his second goal with an acute finish.

Even though a defeat was hard to take, especially given the fact that we were unbeaten in eight trips to The Britannia, it was the manner in which we lost which really made the journey home at lot longer for the travelling fans. Defensively we were just not good enough, Reid and Tomkins were unimpressive, as was Antonio Nocerino who just didn’t look up for the game, which was hugely disappointing given the fact that he was given his first start since his loan move in January. Speaking to BBC sport after the game Big Sam was also disappointed by our defensive display: "Our defending for the second goal was pathetic. That has been our strength this season. Unfortunately today it has let us down badly." But perhaps more disappointing than our defensive players was Adrian, although I find it hard to criticise a player who has become a hammers hero in the last few weeks, the Spaniard conceded two soft goals which given his recent form should have been kept out.

Possibly more worrying than out poor defensive display against Stoke, was the fact that most of the teams below us won, which has dragged us right back into the thick of the battle to survive with just seven points separating us from bottom of the league. With games quickly running out we really need to pick up our performance starting with Manchester United on Saturday and make sure we pull away from the teams scrapping for survival.

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