Alan Curbishley has called for his West Ham United side to get the credit they richly deserve after outplaying the champions at the Boleyn Ground.
The home side went into the contest as firm underdogs but, despite going behind, they survived a missed penalty to fight back with two late goals from Anton Ferdinand and Matthew Upson. "We played well today, I don't anyone to take anything away from what they have done," the manager said.
"With all the problems we have had, it is a fantastic result for us. The players have dug in, done fantastically well. I am delighted with 29 points and it is a fantastic way to finish the first half of the season.
"For the first time for a little while we heard the West Ham crowd. Once we got back into it, it gave everybody a lift." The visitors scored through Cristiano Ronaldo with a rare attack in the 13th minute but Curbishley said a subsequent penalty miss by the Portuguese as the game entered its final quarter galvanised the supporters. "We then put Deano on and the crowd got another lift and we just kept going."
Dean Ashton had been left on the bench deliberately by the manager for two reasons - resting him after four games in two and a half weeks in favour of the midfield energy of Mark Noble and also because of the success this campaign with Carlton Cole as a lone forward. "I wanted to start 4-5-1 and give us a bit of a start and I had no hesitation putting Nobes in. He had an excellent game."
On Ashton, Curbishley added: "Everyone is willing him to get a bit sharper. I saved him a bit today and we have got another game [away to Arsenal] on Tuesday." Squad rotation is a must this time of year, and United were not without their absentees with both Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick going down with a stomach bug before kick-off.
The manager continued: "It is a fantastic result, I think I had 16 fit players, I have now got 14 I think, and every week someone else pops up and at the end I have got Johnny Pantsil playing wide right, who is a right-back. I have got George McCartney playing wide left, who's a left-back - everybody else is just mucking in."
Nolberto Solano and Scott Parker both had to be replaced in the second half with hamstring and knee problems respectively. "We didn't want to take any more chances with it but we are struggling for Arsenal on Tuesday," said the manager. "The boys that have perhaps got a chance of coming back in the next few weeks probably won't be ready for that. We have just got to get on with it."
That is exactly what the team did this afternoon, even following the disappointment of conceding to Ronaldo's early header after a close-call at the other end for Hayden Mullins and Noble. "I thought we played ever so well first half and to go one-nought down, we were a bit disappointed at half-time. If we had nicked our goal who knows what could have happened?"
All eyes before kick-off had been on Carlos Tevez, who responded to a rapturous reception from the home crowd by acknowledging all four corners of the ground and crossing his arms in a Hammers salute. "It was never going to be any different," said Curbishley. "We kept him quiet actually."
Special mention was reserved for centre-back substitute Anton Ferdinand, fit again after two months out with a hamstring problem. "It is just good to have him back. He has been out for seven weeks. I had been a bit concerned about throwing him straight back in, that's why I have been playing Jon Spector there - because I don't want to lose anybody again. He was always going to get some games over this period."
Ferdinand's equaliser, like the winner from Upson, came from a Noble set-piece - a cause of much satisfaction for Curbishley, especially in the absence of the creative Solano. "We are delighted to score two set-plays, especially once Nobby came off and he's our set-piece taker. Mark Noble stepped up to the plate and it was two fantastic headers. It is a great result for us. I think the way we have had to deal with the problems we have had so far this season has been fantastic."