22nd December, 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

HO Houston EG Eggy WH Whizzy ZM Zam LA Law DC David Cross
LA Laffers NY Nicky RB Rob NB Neil Bob BU Bubbles MA Matt TE Tel

Sky Sports: Ashton, virtually anonymous for the rest of the half, then produced a fine equaliser. The ball was lofted high and hopefully towards the Middlesbrough area when Camara stood firm to lay the ball into Ashton's path. With several red shirts in attendance, Ashton surged through to drive powerfully past Schwarzer and into the bottom left corner... Ashton then showed another side to his game, foregoing brawn to dummy the Boro defence with some trickery of his own. But when the ball broke to Solano he fired low and wide... Parker then won it in the finest of fashions, collecting the ball on his chest before using both feet to scythe into the danger area and curl the ball into the far corner.

BBC Sport: Stuart Downing's free-kick to the far post was knocked back by Aliadiere into the path of defender Wheater, who tapped home. But it was only a short-lived lead, as Camara's lay-off from a long ball forward found Ashton on the edge of the box, and he buried the ball in the bottom corner. Schwarzer was called into action after the break as he kept out Solano's curling free-kick with a full-stretch save, but Boro's dangerous wingers Downing and Adam Johnson meant the home side always posed an attacking threat. Neither side ever really dominated the match but they both tried to take all three points. Ashton's physical presence was a constant worry to the Boro defence but when Camara limped off late on to be replaced by defender Pantsil, it looked like the visitors were happy with a draw. But in the final minute, the replacement set up Parker, who controlled the ball well, dribbled through the defence and produced a composed finish to ensure West Ham's first win at the Riverside Stadium.

Hammers Mad: The goal came from a Stewart Downing free-kick following a foul by Jonathan Spector on Jeremy Aliadiere. Aliadiere was on the spot to connect with the free-kick and head into the six-yard area where Wheater connected. Middlesbrough deserved the goal but they were stunned just before the break when West Ham drew level with a superb Dean Ashton volley. The former Crewe and Norwich striker hit a shot of tremendous power and accuracy into the corner of the net, leaving Schwarzer with no chance of stopping it... A last-minute goal by Scott Parker gave West Ham United their first win in ten visits to Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium. The game looked to be heading for a draw until former Chelsea and Charlton midfielder Parker weaved his way through the Boro defence before shooting past Mark Schwarzer and into the far corner of the net for a brilliant goal.... After the final whistle jubilant West Ham players threw their shirts to fans who had made the 500-mile round trip to the north-east on a bitterly cold day.

Sunday Mirror: England Under-21 defender David Wheater had shot Boro ahead on 40 minutes. But Dean Ashton equalised just before the break with his fifth goal of the campaign, and the away-day specialists just about deserved Parker's well-taken winner. Hammers boss Alan Curbishley paid tribute to Parker, who has struggled with injuries since his big-money move. Curbs said: "Scott Parker deserved that goal for the way he has worked to overcome his injuries. He has had to get his fitness by playing in the first team. "I have told Scott to be more offensive than he was at Newcastle. I've asked him to get into the box and pinch us a goal. He delivered today. "Let's hope that goal is the start of something. We scored two great goals because Dean Ashton's effort was a super strike." (Brian Mcnally, 23rd December, 2007)

Daily Telegraph: Curbishley said: "When he was coming through the ranks at Charlton, he was an attacking midfielder who scored his share of goals. But at 18 he came to me and asked, 'How do I get into the first team? What do I have to do?'?" Charlton needed a holding midfield player and Parker's career took its first detour. Luke Young, a team-mate at Charlton, now at Middlesbrough, said: "That's not really his position. He is a fine creative player and his display against us showed that. He can do amazing things on the ball. I just wish it hadn't been against us." Parker was involved in a slightly messy, 90th-minute triangle with John Pantsil and Lucas Neill, who released him into the penalty area, where he drew a rash challenge from David Wheater before depositing the ball inside the far post. Young said: "I know when he goes on a run like that, he is difficult to stop. There was a bit of naivety on our part because we could have brought him down before he got into the box, taken a yellow card and got a point out of the game." Curbishley said: "It could be a new role for him now. Hayden Mullins is more of a 'sitter' [in the hole], so we're asking Scott to get into the box more. I'd like to think the stronger he gets, and more games under his belt, the more goals will come." (Martin Smith, 24th December, 2007)

Daily Mirror: From misfit at Chelsea to missed opportunities at Newcastle and misadventure with England (tactical genius Steve McClaren's bungle in Zagreb), Parker's talent has been in danger of withering on the vine. To his credit, however, he does not do sour grapes - and his cool finish was a throwback to the days when Parker was the hottest property on the south side of the Blackwall Tunnel. He said: "When you've been out for so long and had a lot of disappointments, it doesn't get much better than scoring a last-minute winner. "This moment has been a long time coming and I've had to be patient. I got injured in pre-season with a medial ligament problem and although I was supposed to be out for between four and six weeks, it just dragged on and on. It only added to the frustration that there were a couple of setbacks along the way, but the fans have had to wait until nearly Christmas for me to get off the mark and I hope it was worth the wait. Give or take a couple of miles, I'm back where I started in my career, playing in a side managed by Alan Curbishley. He nurtured me as a young lad and brought me through at Charlton - he knows me and I know him, which is not a bad thing. People say it never quite happened for me at Newcastle but I had a good first year up there, I was a firm favourite, and I was rewarded with their player-of-the-season award. Then, after a good start last year, I got injured and for some reason it turned for me. I can't put my finger on it but it was a difficult time and, having been made captain, some of the stick was channelled through me." (Mike Walters, 24th December, 2007)

The Times: Nobody, in the immediate future, will mistake Curbishley for King Midas, but West Ham’s 2-1 victory over Middlesbrough featured goals for Dean Ashton and Scott Parker, whose dominant statistics at Upton Park have been in medical reports. In terms of away form, sickness has dissipated; 16 points have quietly been hoarded this season. Saturday began in familiar fashion – George McCartney and Matthew Upson underwent fitness tests – but hardship brought inspiration. “It’s been the story of our season,” Curbishley said. “People who thought their chances might be limited have played regularly, others have been chasing fitness in the team. We had a rallying call before the game, because we knew we had to go out and get on with it.” If the effect was far from spellbinding, complaints were absent from West Ham supporters, who launched into a rendition of Jingle Bells when Parker began a 90th-minute move on the right, collected a return pass from John Paintsil and scored with a right-foot shot. It was Parker’s first goal for the club and his side’s first league win on Teesside since 1990. It was a boost for Parker’s career, which stalled at Chelsea, tailed off at Newcastle United and is yet to recommence with any significance because of a lingering medial ligament problem. “When you’ve been out for so long, it doesn’t get much better than a last-minute winner,” Parker said. “It’s good to be back; this moment has been a long time coming. I’m back where I started in my career, playing in a side managed by Curbs. He nurtured me as a young lad and brought me through at Charlton.” (George Caulkin, 24th December, 2007)

The Guardian: Dean Ashton is not fat, according to one West Ham United supporter who sprang to his defence at The Riverside, it is just that he wears white. "Can a fat guy wear white?" might be a perennial debate in the fashion industry but this was probably the first time it had ever been used in defence of a Premier League striker. As Ashton strolled through the first half to the derision of Middlesbrough supporters, there was a powerful case for West Ham to come to his mercy and dress slim in an emergency switch to claret and blue stripes. And they would have been wise to remove the XL sponsors' logo while they were at it. Then the joking stopped. With half-time imminent, Lucas Neill lobbed a hopeful ball forward, Henri Camara let it run loose and Ashton cracked in an equaliser from 20 yards. The outsize striker had gained a clinical revenge. He had even walked very slowly from an offside position to do it. Total calories expended: about 2½. Total Middlesbrough fans silenced: about 24,000. "That's what I'm about," said Ashton. "Sharpness is not just about running. You can run all day and get nowhere. If I'm scoring goals, everyone says I'm fit; if I'm not scoring goals, then I'm unfit. Hopefully this can now be put to bed." Ashton deserves patience as he gradually fights back from a prolonged absence with a serious ankle injury. "I've got to get games under my belt," the former Norwich City player said. He could find a better place to keep them... On the whistle West Ham players stripped off their shirts and threw them into the crowd; Ashton sensibly kept his vest on. A local radio commentator scoffed that he was carrying "a lot of timber" but it was Middlesbrough who had been felled. (David Hoppes, 24th December, 2007)

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