10th November, 2007

KB: KUMB; HM Hammers Mad; ST Sunday Times; SE Sunday Express; SM Sunday Mirror; OB Observer;
DM Daily Mirror; GU Guardian; TM Times; HD Hammers Diary; SK Sky; DE Daily Express

DC David Cross JT JT-whufc GA Gavin LE Lee QH Qatar Hammer GL Gary Loughran
AN Antony OD Oldun AL Albie NE Neil VG Viking LA Law JS John Simkin

West Ham v Derby: Video Highlights

Sky Sports: Luis Boa Morte went close to opening the scoring, bursting clear down the right side and leaving Marc Edworthy - making his first appearance of the season - on the deck in the area. The Portuguese's left-foot finish was blocked but only to Carlton Cole, whose follow up was saved by Stephen Bywater. West Ham were looking increasingly threatening as the half wore on, their best move of the match almost releasing Cole but still resulting in a free-kick inches outside the box. It looked too close for a direct strike but Solano did his best to prove otherwise with a delightful effort against the crossbar. With half-time approaching, the visitors finally took the lead they deserved. Solano's cross found Cole in the box and his nod down allowed the criminally unmarked Bowyer to sweep the ball through Bywater's legs and into the net.

BBC Sport: Etherington made them pay almost immediately when John Pantsil played the ball into him in the box and, after a one-two with Bowyer, the winger drove home. It got even worse for Derby when they failed to clear a Solano corner, Lucas Neill headed the ball back in and it broke to Spector, whose shot was deflected in by Lewis for an own-goal. Bowyer then surged through unmarked to rifle in number four after Solano played in Cole to lay the ball across to the midfielder. With the game over as a contest, West Ham had time and space to knock the ball around. Solano put the seal on a comprehensive triumph and had his own reward for an outstanding display when he curled another delightful free-kick into the far corner to send some of the home fans towards the exits. West Ham boss Alan Curbishley said on being without 11 senior players: "I have to give all credit to the players who have come into the side and I'm delighted with them. We had people playing in positions that they are not familar with but they have done a job there. When I get the other players fit I will have a selection headache because there is competition for places."

Hammers Mad: Nolberto Solano had hit the bar with a superb 20-yard free-kick before man-of-the-match Lee Bowyer gave West Ham the lead they richly deserved. Solano's cross was headed down by Carlton Cole and Bowyer ran unmarked into the box to slide the ball home. The opening minutes of the second half was a nightmare for Derby as West Ham created chances at will. Luis Boa Morte was unlucky not to score in the 46th minute and from the resulting corner Matthew Upson rattled the Derby woodwork. Then three goals in just eight minutes put the game beyond doubt. Kenny Miller had missed Derby's best chance, squandering a free header, before West Ham put the matter beyond doubt. John Paintsil found Matthew Etherington in the box and after a clever one-two with Bowyer, Etherington swept the ball home. A minute later Jonathon Spector saw his goalbound shot carried over the line by the unfortunate Eddie Lewis for an own goal. Bowyer then ran through unmarked on the hour to score number four after Solano played in Cole, who neatly crossed into the midfielder's path. With the game won West Ham indulged in some passing football as Derby desperately tried to salvage some pride. But there was worst to come on 68 minutes when Solano curled another delightful free-kick into the net, beating both the wall and the keeper from 20 yards out.

Sunday Times: Having flirted with a solitary striker in recent weeks, Curbishley introduced Jonathan Spector into the centre of midfield for the first time in his career, started with Luis Boa Morte alongside Carlton Cole and reverted to the ever-trusty 4-4-2. Derby, who used three different attacking combinations at Villa Park last week, chanced a fourth, with Giles Barnes deployed just behind Kenny Miller. They were still getting to grips with their formation five minutes in when Spector ploughed through a defence so uncertain of just who should pick him up, that nobody did, setting a template for the afternoon. With Matthew Etherington unmarked in the penalty area and screaming for a simple pass, the American selfishly shot wide. The early skirmishes were full-blooded but whenever West Ham strolled over the halfway line, panic coursed through the home ranks. Soon Cole’s cute headed flick was enabling Boa Morte to charge through on Edworthy. The makeshift centre-half promptly fell over. Boa Morte’s shot was blocked and erstwhile Hammer Stephen Bywater expertly pawed aside Cole’s follow-up. (John Aizlewood, 11th November, 2007)

Sunday Mirror: Solano thought he had opened the scoring when his beautifully struck free-kick curled around the wall, but it hit the underside of the crossbar. The inevitable opener came just before half-time. Luis Boa Morte found Solano, whose chip was headed down by Cole to the unmarked Bowyer. He took his time before slotting the ball through Bywater's legs. Soon after the restart Matthew Upson met a corner with a first-time half-volley which crashed against the bar. But West Ham's' second was not long in coming. When Boa Morte played the ball in, Etherington exchanged passes with Bowyer before sliding it past the sprawling Bywater. It was 3-0 when Derby failed to clear a corner and the ball fell to Jonathan Spector, whose shot deflected in off Lewis. The farcical defending got worse as Solano put Cole through and his first-time cross was slid in by an unmarked Bowyer. Solano then struck home a 25-yard free-kick to complete Derby's misery. (Anthony Clavane, 11th November, 2007)

KUMB: The ineffectual Miller was taken off on 74 minutes for Fagan, and the latter did make a good run and shot a couple of minutes later which Green held well down low. The rest of the half was really uneventful apart from Fagan fouling Matty and Neill and getting away with it. The match fizzled out with the travelling fans taunting Billy Davies with a chorus of “You’re getting sacked in the morning”. It took a time to get out and we saw a few West Ham players do their ‘warm-down’. Limping along in slow motion was a spent Nobby Solano who had played a highly influential role in the game along with the tireless Carlton Cole. I now ask all those who were berating this player just a few weeks ago to send in their apologies c/o Chadwell Heath. You know who you are. (East End Martin, 11th November, 2007)

The Times: Lee Bowyer for England? There may have been a time when the West Ham United midfield player was a contender for a place in the national squad, but with the likes of Steven Gerrard, Gareth Barry, Frank Lampard and Owen Hargreaves ahead of him in the pecking order, a call-up is extremely unlikely. And yet the idea is not as crazy as it sounds. Bowyer is West Ham’s leading scorer in the league and his two goals on Saturday helped a team who are missing 13 players to climb into the top half of the table. He is in the kind of form that persuaded Leeds United to pay Charlton Athletic £2.8 million for his services in 1996. But an England call-up? Even Bowyer thinks that is a dream too far. “I don’t think I will ever get called up again,” he said. “I scored 17 goals in one season and I didn’t get called up, so why would I get called up now?” There is no bitterness in that statement, just an acceptance that things have changed. For Bowyer, life has moved on and this season is all about redemption: for a season of failings last year, for a poor first spell at Upton Park in 2003 and for a player who has much in his past that needs redeeming. “My most important thing, especially with the disappointment of last season, is I just want to do well for West Ham,” Bowyer said, “and prove to everyone that I am better than what they’d seen the first time around. That’s why I came back a second time. I just want to play for the club. It’s the club I love and, hopefully, it will carry on.” At the start of the season Bowyer was not first choice, with Mark Noble and Hayden Mullins in the queue ahead of him. But injuries have changed that and his contribution has not gone unnoticed. “Lee is playing fantastically well at the moment,” Matthew Upson, the West Ham defender, said. “I think he feels that he has to prove people wrong. Maybe he has to prove himself more than others. Some people have already made their minds up about him, but I don’t think he can continue to be overlooked for long.” As well as scoring twice, Bowyer was booked, his fifth yellow card of the season. But his one-match suspension coincides with a hernia operation that will keep him out for a month. With 13 players already missing because of injury, Alan Curbishley, the West Ham manager, will be hoping that no one else goes lame during the two-week international break. (Josh Ball, 12th November, 2007).

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