Uncategorized

Rovers V West Ham

|
Image for Rovers V West Ham

After a convincing win against Newcastle, Blackburn looked to continue their up and down season against an injury ravaged West Ham squad. The game kicked of with the much anticipated booing of Lucas Neill by the home crowd.

The first moment of any excitement came from a David Dunn strike 35 yards out, clipping the top of the crossbar. Tugay followed up with a bender, unfortunately bending away from goal. Apart from these two moments, the first half provided little form of entertainment.

Changes were made to both sides at the break, with Mokoena making way for Savage, and Dean Ashton making his return to the West Ham line up.

The game definitly increased in tempo, Tugay pulling the strings in midfield, and Benni McCarthy showing the Razzle Dazzle up front. However, West Ham took the lead following some sloppy defending on the Right Flank by Rovers. The ball was cut in, with Dean Ashton left to tap in from 6 Yards out.

Rovers were left chasing the game, with the best of chances falling to Roque Santa Cruz. Of a Pedersen cross, Santa Cruz glanced his header wide of the far post. Moments later, a delighful throughball by the Maestro left Roque with only the keeper to beat, however, his lack of confidence led to the ball landing in row Z.

Dunn made way for Reid whilst Roberts replaced a dissapointing Morten Gamst Pedersen. These changes had little affect on the outcome, with Dean Ashton almost claiming a double, however he blasted over the goal.

Tugay almost sealed a draw with a trademark volley, however Green made a superb save for the Hammers.

A dissapointing performance from the Rovers, who would of been looking to make ground on the top 6. Injuries to Ooijer and Samba will pose concern for Mark Hughes with the busy festive period ahead.

Player Ratings

Brad Friedel 7
Kept Rovers alive with a string of saves

Brett Emerton 6
Sloppy defending at times however he did deliver some superb crosses

Christopher Samba 7
Solid display, did not stop, could of scored a goal. Picked up a knock but finished the game.

Andre Oijer 6
Good positioning throughout the game, however he went down with a hamstring injury

Stephen Warnock 5
Not one of Warnocks best performances. Wasted several opportunities to deliver decent crosses and was caught out in defence

David Dunn 6
Drifted in and out of the game, Sparky would have been looking for Dunn to lift his game in replacement of Bentley

Aaron Mokoena 5
Poor passing, poor tackling and caught out several times. Really needs to return to the form of late last year to cement a starting spot

Tugay 8
Pulled the strings in midfield, should of had a assist and almost scored another stunner. Give him another contract

Morten Gamst Pedersen 5
Taken of with 15 to go, however we didnt really notice much of him. Did provide a couple of decent crosses, had a chance to score, but when the confidence is down, nothing will go right

Roque Santa Cruz 4
Poor, poor display. Missed the best opportunities of the game, gave up possession too many times. Should of been substituted earlier

Benedict McCarthy 7,5
Worked hard, chased up and down the field, fed the wingers, kept the crowd entertained however he didnt get any sight on goal

Robbie Savage 7
Typical Savage performance, chased, chased and chased.

Steven Reid
Given 20 minutes, not much of an impact
Should of been brought on earlier for a lack lustre Santa Cruz

Sasmans Verdict
A dissapointing loss. We should of come out firing in the first half, was really hoping for Savage to start as he really did have an impact on the game in the second half.

Its time for a change up front, whilst we cant judge Santa on one performance, i think he might need a rest. Both our strikers have not scored in recent weeks, however Santa did have clear chances today.

Share this article

The Man for All Jobs

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *