The Hammers have recorded only their second draw of the season away at the Britannia Stadium. In what would have been an almost certain capitulation if the game was played within the context of last season, West Ham have managed to claw back a well deserved draw after going 2-0 down. Whilst many optimistic Hammers fans were eyeing a win in this fixture, most of us would have taken a draw seeing as Diafra Sakho was out injured with a shoulder problem.
Sam Alladyce’s side suffered a seriously slow start to Saturday’s match and were subsequently punished for their approach. Goals either side of half time, from Victor Moses and Mame Biram Diouf respectively, gave the Potters a promising lead. The Hammers looked a different side after the break however, with Stewart Downing proving instrumental in orchestrating the come-back. The in-form midfielder scored West Ham’s second after providing an assist for Enner Valencia in the second half. This was a game made up of bad tactics and poor performances, but ultimately West Ham done themselves proud in the end.
Adrian – West Ham’s Spanish shot-stopper was pretty much the only Hammers player to come away from this match with his reputation intact. Adrian proved his worth as a keeper with good reactions after keeping out several Stoke attempts. His save against Diouf just before the half time interval acts as his finest moment, whilst also keeping his side in the game.
Carl Jenkinson – Unfortunately Saturday’s performance from Jenkinson really showed that he was an Arsenal player, but not in a good way. It was a rare occasion to see him make a successful tackle and he often shied away from some 50/50 challenges. Carl Jenkinson looks like a very useful player at Upton Park, but his vulnerabilities may continue to be exposed in these northern away fixtures. As the 22 year old is still adjusting to his new club however, West Ham fans are willing to give Jenkinson the benefit of the doubt at the moment.
James Collins – As was the case with Adrian, James Collins gave a good offering away at Stoke. He continued to display his blocking prowess, as triumphantly shown against Manchester City, with numerous last ditch tackles and defensive headers. Collins may not have been at full concentration for the whole 90 minutes however, but he nevertheless became an important factor in making sure West Ham didn’t lose in the second half.
Winston Reid – The Kiwi centre-back was taken off very early on Saturday with a dead leg. Thankfully it was not a serious injury with Reid being back in contention for West Ham’s next match against Villa. James Tomkins replaced Reid in the first half, and whilst we conceded two poor goals whilst he was on the pitch, the English defender wasn’t directly to blame for either of them.
Aaron Cresswell – Whilst the 25 year old left back has made a flying start to his West Ham career, unfortunately against Stoke we saw Cresswell’s worst performance of the season so far. Jonathan Walters seemed to have him on lock the whole match, and as he will certainly face better players than the Irish international during his time in the Premier League, perhaps some work needs to be done on Cresswell’s defensive game. This performance aside however, the former Ipswich Town man has undoubtedly been one of the club’s stand-out players this season.
Mark Noble – As has been said before, when Mark Noble has a bad game, West Ham usually have a bad game. The man from Canning Town simply took too many touches in the wrong direction whilst providing no purposeful threat whatsoever. Big Sam was right to substitute him for Kevin Nolan in the second half, who provided a bit more of an attacking outlet for the Hammers.
Cheikhou Kouyate – Like with the rest of Allardyce’s starting XI, Kouyate only found his momentum in the second half when the Hammers were 2-0 down. The big man from Senegal did show glimpses of his usual offering, but unfortunately they were scarce at best.
Alex Song – In similar fashion with Kouyate, Song only really got into the game after the interval. Once West Ham found their feet however, Song was somewhat instrumental in overseeing his side’s impressive come-back. It was nevertheless disappointing to see a midfield three of – Noble, Kouyate and Song – not take control of the proceedings earlier on.
Morgan Amalfitano – Whilst the flairy Frenchman has popped up with some good goals, and even better performances recently, Stoke away was just not the fixture for him. Amalfitano was replaced as the second half begun by Carlton Cole, whose presence alone was enough to make a difference even though he didn’t see too much of the ball. Incidentally, this was Carlton’s 200th appearance in the claret & blue of West Ham.
Stewart Downing – In the first half of the match Downing was taken out of his new found central role and placed within the isolation of the wing. We saw from last season that the 30 year old gets a bit lost when not protected, so when he moved back to the top of the diamond in the second half it was nothing but good news. From here Downing simply bossed the match and was the defining factor behind West Ham’s come-back. He was head and shoulders above the rest as West Ham’s man of the match, and it is no surprise that he has been called up to Roy Hodgson’s latest England squad as a result.
Enner Valencia – Like with Downing’s situation, Enner was completely isolated on his own in the first half, playing up top against Stoke’s four man centre -back wall of Geoff Cameron, Ryan Shawcross, Marc Wilson and Eric Pieters. Whilst that says a great deal about the extent of Stoke’s desire to play football, it meant that Valencia barely got a sniff before the second half turn-around. After the interval, and with Carlton Cole taking markers away from him, Enner came into his own and kept up his goal scoring habit with a sweetly taken header.
Sam Allardyce – This Saturday saw Big Sam go into the match with the wrong tactics. West Ham reverted to their formation of last season and were punished as a result. We now know that the side’s recent form completely dissipates when it is not matched with the correct formation. As Diafra Sakho was missing through injury however, this time Allardyce’s mishaps can be forgiven. He didn’t wait to his usual 60 minute mark to change it up, putting another striker up top in the second half and giving Stewart Downing more creative lisence in the middle. Mark Hughes’ side exploited the wings in the opening moments, but after the interval Sam Allardyce’s changes made all the difference. Normal service should thereofre resume next Saturday with Sakho returning from injury.
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