The Hammers secured a valuable away point following an impressive display at Old Trafford
West Ham United secured a valuable away point at Old Trafford following a 0-0 draw with Manchester United.
While the team and fans alike were satisfied with a point, it was testament to a committed performance that the Hammers could have been forgiven for wanting more than a solitary point.
From front to back, the claret and blues put in a terrific display, in particular Adrian and Winston Reid were talismanic at the back in ensuring a clean sheet.
Meanwhile upfront, they had a series of chances, most notably for Victor Moses after just 11 minutes, while Mauro Zarate had a similarly golden chance shortly after the re-start, both chances were thwarted by the ever impressive David De Gea.
Prior to kick off, Slaven Bilic made four changes to side that drew with West Brom. Mark Noble, Alex Song, Andy Carroll and James Tomkins all came into the starting line up in place of the injured Diafra Sakho and Manuel Lanzini, while Carl Jenkinson and Pedro Obiang dropped to the bench.
With the travelling Hammers’ fan in fine voice prior to kick off, the injuries to Sakho and Lanzini clearly hadn’t dampened their optimism and confidence; resounding renditions of ‘We’ve got Payet’, ‘Bubbles’ and ‘Let’s all do the Barthez’ could be heard loud and clear.
The hosts started the brighter, first Paddy McNair fired narrowly over from the edge of the box before Marouane Fellaini’s back post header nestled against the side netting.
However the Hammers responded with a golden chance of their own after eleven minutes when Victor Moses bore down on goal following an exquisite through-ball from Mark Noble. The Nigerian raced away from his marker yet David De Gea did brilliantly to parry the shot.
In a terrifically open and exciting encounter, Fellaini’s height and presence again caused problems, this time his knock down to livewire Anthony Martial was saved by a heroic block tackle from Winston Reid to maintain the stalemate.
Midway through the half, again the game turned. Cheikhou Kouyate bombed forward with typical gusto and laid off Aaron Cresswell who fizzed in a teasing cross. For once, De Gea fumbled it straight into Zarate’s path yet a ricocheted Chris Smalling clearance skimmed the post and out for a corner.
From the resulting corner, the visitors hit the post again, this time Reid’s towering header had the Spaniard beaten but the woodwork came to the host’s rescue.
The second half started much like the first had ended; with chances aplenty for both sides. The pick of the bunch fell to Zarate following superb link up play between Andy Carroll and Michail Antonio. The Argentine shot from six yards out, yet at an acute angle, he fired wide. The look of anguish on his face said it all.
Moments later Van Gaal’s side had a golden chance of their own, Jesse Lingard burst down the left and fed Martial who pulled it back to Fellaini. With the goal at his mercy, Adrian made an outstanding save when it seemed like the Belgian could not miss. Old Trafford was stunned.
With 20 minutes remaining, Van Gaal brought on Memphis Depay who posed the Hammers’ backline further problems, yet they stood up to the task manfully. Bilic responded by bringing on Pedro Obiang for Alex Song who had run himself into the ground on his first start of the season.
Despite pressure late on, the Hammers withstood the onslaught and were value for their point, taking them to a comfortable 23 points from 15 games.
Manchester United: De Gea, Darmian, Smalling ©, McNair (Varela 46), Blind, Schneiderlin (Carrick 43), Schweinsteiger (Memphis 72), Lingard, Fellaini, Mata, Martial
Subs: Romero (GK), Young, Borthwick-Jackson, Pereira
Bookings: Carrick
West Ham United: Adrian, Tomkins, Reid, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Noble ©, Song (Obiang 77), Kouyate, Moses (Antonio 37), Zarate (Jenkinson 86), Carroll
Subs: Randolph, Collins, Oxford, Jelavic
Referee: Mark Clattenberg
Attendance: 75,350
While the team and fans alike were satisfied with a point, it was testament to a committed performance that the Hammers could have been forgiven for wanting more than a solitary point.
From front to back, the claret and blues put in a terrific display, in particular Adrian and Winston Reid were talismanic at the back in ensuring a clean sheet.
Meanwhile upfront, they had a series of chances, most notably for Victor Moses after just 11 minutes, while Mauro Zarate had a similarly golden chance shortly after the re-start, both chances were thwarted by the ever impressive David De Gea.
Prior to kick off, Slaven Bilic made four changes to side that drew with West Brom. Mark Noble, Alex Song, Andy Carroll and James Tomkins all came into the starting line up in place of the injured Diafra Sakho and Manuel Lanzini, while Carl Jenkinson and Pedro Obiang dropped to the bench.
With the travelling Hammers’ fan in fine voice prior to kick off, the injuries to Sakho and Lanzini clearly hadn’t dampened their optimism and confidence; resounding renditions of ‘We’ve got Payet’, ‘Bubbles’ and ‘Let’s all do the Barthez’ could be heard loud and clear.
The hosts started the brighter, first Paddy McNair fired narrowly over from the edge of the box before Marouane Fellaini’s back post header nestled against the side netting.
However the Hammers responded with a golden chance of their own after eleven minutes when Victor Moses bore down on goal following an exquisite through-ball from Mark Noble. The Nigerian raced away from his marker yet David De Gea did brilliantly to parry the shot.
In a terrifically open and exciting encounter, Fellaini’s height and presence again caused problems, this time his knock down to livewire Anthony Martial was saved by a heroic block tackle from Winston Reid to maintain the stalemate.
Midway through the half, again the game turned. Cheikhou Kouyate bombed forward with typical gusto and laid off Aaron Cresswell who fizzed in a teasing cross. For once, De Gea fumbled it straight into Zarate’s path yet a ricocheted Chris Smalling clearance skimmed the post and out for a corner.
From the resulting corner, the visitors hit the post again, this time Reid’s towering header had the Spaniard beaten but the woodwork came to the host’s rescue.
The second half started much like the first had ended; with chances aplenty for both sides. The pick of the bunch fell to Zarate following superb link up play between Andy Carroll and Michail Antonio. The Argentine shot from six yards out, yet at an acute angle, he fired wide. The look of anguish on his face said it all.
Moments later Van Gaal’s side had a golden chance of their own, Jesse Lingard burst down the left and fed Martial who pulled it back to Fellaini. With the goal at his mercy, Adrian made an outstanding save when it seemed like the Belgian could not miss. Old Trafford was stunned.
With 20 minutes remaining, Van Gaal brought on Memphis Depay who posed the Hammers’ backline further problems, yet they stood up to the task manfully. Bilic responded by bringing on Pedro Obiang for Alex Song who had run himself into the ground on his first start of the season.
Despite pressure late on, the Hammers withstood the onslaught and were value for their point, taking them to a comfortable 23 points from 15 games.
Manchester United: De Gea, Darmian, Smalling ©, McNair (Varela 46), Blind, Schneiderlin (Carrick 43), Schweinsteiger (Memphis 72), Lingard, Fellaini, Mata, Martial
Subs: Romero (GK), Young, Borthwick-Jackson, Pereira
Bookings: Carrick
West Ham United: Adrian, Tomkins, Reid, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Noble ©, Song (Obiang 77), Kouyate, Moses (Antonio 37), Zarate (Jenkinson 86), Carroll
Subs: Randolph, Collins, Oxford, Jelavic
Referee: Mark Clattenberg
Attendance: 75,350