West Ham United v Chelsea
Barclays Premier League
Boleyn Ground
Saturday 11 September 2010
Kick-off: 3pm
Referee: Chris Foy
Final score - West Ham United 1-3 Chelsea
93 mins - The game is nearly up here. If only Piquionne had headed that downwards... Chelsea have one last effort, but Drogba can only flash his half-volley over the top from an acute angle. See you all at Stoke City next Saturday lunchtime.,,
91 mins - We're into the first of three added minutes and a few players are engaged in some afters for no reason. It all ends with Noble being booked.
89 mins - You could not make it up. Obinna cuts inside and crosses, the ball flicks off Cole and Piquionne somehow heads against the crossbar from a yard out with the goal gaping. Piqiuionne was offside, but the assistant referee had not flagged. If that had gone in, we'd have had a barnstorming finish. As it is, Chelsea should be home and hosed.
86 mins - Parker fells Essien, who was bent slightly lower and was caught in the face with a shoulder. Essien needs some treatment.
85 mins - GOAL! If only that had come three minutes earlier. Parker scores another blinder against his former club. Noble's corner is punched clear to the No8 about 20 yards out and he cushions a volley superbly over the heads of the goalkeeper and defenders into the net. Great goal, but it's surely too little, too late.
83 mins - GOAL! Good cross from Ferreira on the right and Essien gets up well above Ben Haim to power the ball past Green from six yards. Obinna wins the West Ham man of the match award. Malouda replaces Kalou.
82 mins - Drogba fashions a shooting opportunity, but his effort is not strong enough to beat Green, who holds on to the ball at his near post. Chelsea make a change, replacing Terry for Alex.
78 mins - Essien works a bit of space 30 yards out, but his shot is not well hit and easily saved by Green low down.
77 mins - I hate to say it but this has been yet another hugely frustrating afternoon. The second goal was a complete freak, and it has given the Hammers a mountain to climb. They have really stuck to their task, but Chelsea have stood firm and not allowed the hosts to create enough clear-cut chances to get back into the game with a goal.
76 mins - Anelka is replaced by Gael Kakuta.
73 mins - Piquionne replaces Behrami, who applauds the crowd as he takes his seat in the dugout. Obinna has gone wide left and Piquionne to the right of the three. Chelsea win another free-kick and Drogba floats it over the wall. Essien flicks it to Ivanovic, who is surely offside, but Green is out smartly to scramble the ball behind at his near post. The corner comes to nothing.
72 mins - The No30 is ready for action, but first Chelsea have a free-kick about 35 yards out. It comes to nothing.
71 mins - Piquionne has been summoned back to the dugout.
69 mins - West Ham win a throw and the ball is worked back to Noble, whose long-range shot bounces wide of the left-hand post. No sign of either Barrera or Piquionne coming on just yet. The pair have been warming up for about 15 minutes on the touchline now.
68 mins - If only West Ham could get one goal... Dyer finds Obinna, whose drive is blocked and headed out by a diving Terry.
67 mins - Obinna gets free again down the right but has only Cole to aim for in the middle. He crosses low, but it's too close to Cech again and the keeper gathers easily.
66 mins - Ilunga finds Obinna again but he can only help the ball behind for a goal kick. The crowd today is 33,014.
65 mins - Green does well to save from Drogba before Kalou hits the rebound behind. The goalkeeper clears instantly upfield to Cole, who is fouled cynically by Ivanovic. The Serb is booked and gestures to referee Foy that it is a fair decision. Obinna wants to shoot from about 30 yards... He does, but it's straight at Cech.
63 mins - The Hammers are still giving this a go but Chelsea are just too well-organised. West Ham are getting to the edge of the penalty area again and again but they're meeting a solid wall of blue shirts. Maybe some more width would help them to get in behind again?
58 mins - Better again from West Ham. Dyer gets to the byline, but his cut-back is too close to Ivanovic. The Hammers had played some nice football to get in behind, with Jacobsen and Noble involved. The crowd has come to life. There is a bit of belief around the place as Ilunga crosses but Terry gets a big boot in to clear.
56 mins - Obinna and Jacobsen have both looked good on their debuts. To be fair, they are up against one of the best sides in the world and both have looked at home straight away. The Nigerian almost gets his toe to another through ball, but Cech claws the ball away from him.
54 mins - Ben Haim does well to block at the feet of Terry before Dyer completes the clearance. Good defending.
53 mins - Cech could be tested again here as Ramires is penalised for handball. Noble's cross is not great, though, and is behind everyone. Obinna tries to keep it alive, but Chelsea clear and win their own free-kick deep inside the Hammers half.
52 mins - Noble lifts the ball over and Cech does well to claim above the head of Obinna. The goalkeeper has looked very solid today.
50 mins - Ramires has the time and space to shoot again from 25 yards, but again the Brazilian can't find the target. This time, his powerful shot is too high.
49 mins - Dyer breaks well and finds Obinna, who wins a throw-in off Terry. Jacobsen keeps the pressure up with a cross, but it's too close to Cech, who gathers high above his head.
48 mins - Good from Obinna again, who runs across the Chelsea back four before slotting the ball through for Cole. It is just over-hit and Cech gathers, but that was nice build-up play again.
47 mins - Ramires does well to cut on to his right foot, but he drags his shot well wide from about 25 yards.
46 mins - Dyer is going to play on the left. Cole and Obinna kick-off. West Ham need an early goal to make a game of this.
Half-time score - West Ham United 0-2 Chelsea
I would not be at all surprised if Kieron Dyer was sent-on before the second half starts, or at least early in the second 45 minutes. He is out on the pitch going through some exercises with fitness coach Eamon Swift. Dyer is indeed coming on in place of Boa Morte at the break.
47 mins - The half-time whistle goes.
46 mins - Hmmmm... Boa Morte suddenly comes to life, beating two challenges before slipping the ball through for Cole, who finishes past Cech. The crowd erupt, only to spot the assistant referee's flag raised for offside. Replays show the decision was the correct one.
44 mins - Parker follows Cole into the book for a lunging tackle on Anelka.
43 mins - Ilunga does well to drop his shoulder and beat Ferreira. The DR Congo man lifts the ball over and Cech punches clear. Obinna does well to hold off Cole and cross for Cole, but Essien gets in first and coolly nods the ball back to Cech. Classy play from the Ghanaian.
40 mins - Ilunga does well to head the ball clear from in front of Drogba. Parker does a little turn and finds Behrami, who is brought down by the retreating Cole. The England left-back becomes the first man booked.
39 mins - Ben Haim, Jacobsen and Cole combine to release Parker down the right channel. Terry comes across and forces the No8 to stab his cross too close to Cech.
37 mins - Terry is up after some treatment. He'll be OK to continue.
35 mins - Noble finds Jacobsen wide right. His cross nicks off Cole and is caught by Cech. Terry is caught, perhaps by his goalkeeper or Carlton Cole, and is down with a facial injury.
33 mins - Parker concedes a corner. Drogba lifts it deep and Ivanovic helps it on to Mikel, who rattles the angle of post and crossbar with a first-time shot. Another let-off for the Hammers, just when they looked like getting back into the game.
31 mins - Better. Much better. Ben Haim finds Obinna with a 50-yard pass, the Nigerian runs at Ferreira and gets a yard of space before smashing the ball a couple of yards past the far post. Good work.
30 mins - West Ham are giving it a go, here. Cole shoots on the turn and the ball hits an unwitting Ivanovic on the head. Obinna tries to latch on to the loose ball but is crowded out.
29 mins - Cole wins a free-kick from Ivanovic. It didn't look like a foul, but West Ham have a shooting chance 25 yards out. Obinna is favourite to take it... His shot hits the wall, while Parker's follow-up effort is low and easily cleared by Terry.
27 mins - Good football from the Hammers should result in a goal, but it doesn't. Cole turns and picks out Obinna with a fantastic pass over the head of Ivanovic. The No33 chooses to take the ball first-time on the volley but can only guide it wide of the post. Maybe he should have taken a touch?
25 mins - Anelka is fouled about 35 yards out and Drogba fancies another long-range effort. This time, he can't keep the ball down and Green is able to watch it fly into the fans behind his goal. West Ham need to up their game here.
23 mins - Anelka takes a corner conceded by Ben Haim, Cole heads half-clear and Mikel lashes a volley high and not very handsome into the Bobby Moore Stand.
22 mins - A half-chance for the Hammers as Cole heads Boa Morte's lofted ball into the arms of Cech. To be fair to the No9, he was under pressure from Terry.
21 mins - Behrami loses possession and Kalou almost has another, cutting on to his left foot and seeing his shot spin past the far post off Upson.
18 mins - GOAL! Boa Morte brings down Drogba about 40 yards from goal. The Ivorian looks like he fancies shooting here... He does, Green fumbles and Upson tries to clear up the loose ball, only for the ball to cannon off Kalou and into the net. Ridiculous goal. Replays show the ball hit Kalou's right heel.
15 mins - Aside from Obinna's volley, West Ham haven't created an awful lot so far. The Nigerian does well again to find Cole, but the striker is crowded out by Ivanovic as he tries to run the Serb. Seconds later, Parker crunches Anelka with another superbly-timed challenge.
12 mins - Cole is down as he tries to hold off Ivanovic. The Serb accidentally treads on the striker's heel as they battle for a high ball. After a quick rub of the affected area, Cole is up and able to continue.
10 mins - Parker does well again, taking a pass from Ilunga before being felled by Ramires ten yards inside the Chelsea half. The initial free-kick comes to nothing but the ball is worked out wide left to Obinna, who cuts inside but slices his shot out for a throw-in.
9 mins - Chelsea's passing and movement is good, but West Ham are competing for everything, with Parker snapping away at every opponents' heels. West Ham are just struggling to maintain possession in the attacking third at present.
6 mins - Better football from the hosts, with Parker getting in ahead of Essien before swapping passes with Boa Morte and Noble. Unfortunately, Parker's ball for Ilunga is too strong and goes behind for a goal kick.
5 mins - Upson tries to find Cole, but Terry just nips in ahead of his England team-mate and forces the defender to hurry his pass back to Cech, who clears.
4 mins - West Ham need to recover fast. Parker is fouled by Kalou and the Hammers have a chance to clear the ball upfield. It nearly generates an equaliser for Obinna, who smacks a volley into the ground and into Cech's hands after Noble had headed down Jacobsen's right-wing cross.
2 mins - GOAL! Chelsea are first to show, with Kalou winning a left-wing corner off Parker. Drogba will take...and Essien rises highest to head the ball down powerfully past Green. That is not the best of starts, to say the least.
3.01pm - Off we go!
2.58pm - The new boys - Ben Haim, Jacobsen and Obinna - and Hammer of the Year Scott Parker, who has signed a new long-term contract, get a loud reception from the home fans. The mascots make for the touchline and we're almost ready for kick-off. Chelsea will get us started.
2.55pm - There is a proper atmosphere inside the Boleyn Ground this afternoon, as you might expect. The stadium is full to bursting and both sets of fans are in good voice. Both sets of players are lined up in the tunnel and we're nearly ready for the off as the sun comes out and 'Bubbles' starts to play.
2.50pm - Kieron Dyer has just been presented with his SBOBET Player of the Month award. The No7 has been in superb form this season and will hope to get involved today from the substitutes' bench. Di Canio's presence is announced and met with a loud cheer from the home fans. The floodlights are being switched on here. The weather is a lot better than advertised - the sun is trying to poke through the clouds here in east London, when rain was widely predicted.
2.45pm - Paolo Di Canio is here to open his new lounge in the West Stand. The Italian was in good form when interviewed for WHUTV earlier this afternoon. Hammers fans will recall that Di Canio was on target when the club last tasted victory over Chelsea on 3 May 2003, scoring the only goal of the game at the Boleyn Ground. A little bit of Di Canio magic and passion are the order of the day this afternoon, that's for sure.
Good afternoon and welcome to the Boleyn Ground for this afternoon's mouth-watering clash between West Ham United and Barclays Premier League champions Chelsea.
Hammers manager Avram Grant and Scott Parker will both face their former club, while John Terry and Yossi Benayoun return to east London. Frank Lampard is ruled out of today's match through injury.
West Ham and Chelsea have made contrasting starts to the season, with the hosts losing all three league matches so far and the visitors winning all three without conceding a goal. That said, the Hammers had much the better of a 1-1 draw in the respective fixture last season.
Grant has handed debuts to two of his summer signings this afternoon, with Denmark international Lars Jacobsen starting at right-back and Nigeria forward Victor Obinna supporting Carlton Cole up front. In total, the Hammers boss has made four changes, also bringing in Valon Behrami for his first appearance of the season and Tal Ben Haim for his Premier League debut. Danny Gabbidon, Jonathan Spector, Julien Faubert and Kieron Dyer are the quartet who drop out of the starting XI from the 3-0 defeat at Manchester United a fortnight ago.
Obinna becomes the second Nigerian-born player to turn out for the Hammers - the first being Manny Omoyimni. Jacobsen is the second Dane to play in claret and blue following Marc Rieper.
West Ham United: Green, Jacobsen, Ben Haim, Upson, Ilunga, Behrami, Parker, Boa Morte, Noble, Obinna, Cole
Subs: Stech, Faubert, Tomkins, Kovac, Dyer, Barrera, Piquionne
Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Ferreira, Terry, A.Cole, Essien, Ramires, Mikel, Anelka, Kalou, Drogba
Subs: Turnbull, Alex, Zhirkov, Benayoun, Malouda, Kakuta, Sturridge