Sunday, January 7

Bore draw at Shrewsbury

Shrewsbury Town 0 West Ham 0 (FA Cup)

The only positive is that West Ham are still in the 4th round draw. It's off to the Stapleton Tavern to meet Matt and Lisa who have just been dining on Ken's Cafe-style sourdough hummus toasties in The Deli at 80.

Shrewsbury have two good chances in the first half with Hart forced to make decent saves, though on both occasions he palms the ball back into the danger area. West Ham look lethargic, with Kouyate playing almost at walking pace. A total lack of creativity in midfield means Hernandez and Ayew don't get a kick up front. Yes, it's the Hammers' third game in six days, but even the squad players are poor.

The most interesting incidents are the injuries. Ayew clashes heads with Town's Sadler, who plays on on in a blood-soaked bandage, while poor Josh Cullen has two teeth knocked out after a high boot connects. Cullen bravely plays on but should surely have been subbed at that point. And while Josh is being treated the cameras also get a prime-time shot of his pants as he changes his shorts. The other bizarre incident is Joe Hart having to borrow a cap from a home fan in the first half — couldn't he have used one his England ones?

Shrewsbury nearly win it at the end as Nolan blazes over when well-placed. So now it's a replay Moyes didn't want and a much better performance is needed from our side. Full marks to Joe Hart for giving a rare honest assessment from a footballer — "We were terrible."

2 comments:

mj said...

Another top international player we are wasting. High balls and no service make Hernandez look bad. He'll be off soon.

Pete May said...

Yes he looks a Little Pead off...