Fan blogger Ollie Knight looks back at Saturday's 2-2 draw with Norwich City
Fan blogger Ollie Knight looks back at Saturday's draw against Norwich City...
West Ham United demonstrated their fighting spirit against a resilient Norwich City team on Saturday.
Despite going two goals down early in the second half with goals from Robbie Brady and Wes Hoolahan, the Hammers showed their grit and determination by clawing back two goals from Dimitri Payet and the influential Mark Noble to gain a share of the points.
New loan signing Emmanuel Emenike came within inches of grabbing the winner, but he failed to make proper contact on the ball to nudge it past a scrambling John Ruddy.
The draw sees Southampton leapfrog us into sixth place, but with Big Sam's Sunderland side getting the better of Man Utd, there is just one point between all three sides in the battle for fifth place and Europa League qualification.
A fast paced first half ended 0-0 despite a powerful strike from Enner Valencia, which was tipped just over Norwich's bar by John Ruddy.
Dimitri Payet was rewarded with a new contract this week keeping him with the Hammers until 2021, Saturday's game proved just why he's thought of so highly as the Frenchman played a part in both goals, scoring the first and assisting Mark Noble for the second.
Inspired substitutions from Slaven Bilic saw Victor Moses, Andy Carroll and Emmanuel Emenike come on in the second half for Enner Valencia, Michail Antonio and Alex Song.
It was Moses that made the difference after a surging run stunned the Norwich defence before a powerful shot was parried away by John Ruddy into the path of Dimitri Payet who made it 2-1.
Payet then demonstrated his ability to create chances as well, as he laid a perfectly weighted ball across the box to Mark Noble, who smashed the ball into the top right corner.
West Ham showed no signs of tiredness following their 120 minute run out in the FA Cup win against Liverpool midweek, as they kept going until the 90th minute and came so close to clinching a winner at the end.
The Hammers travel to Blackburn in the FA Cup on Sunday and will be eager to put themselves in the draw for the quarter-finals. Up to 7,200 Hammers are expected to make the trip to Lancashire.
The FA Cup tie will be a good chance for Bilic to rest a few key players that could be tired following a congested fixture list. It could also be a good opportunity to give Andy Carroll a start following his return from a hamstring injury.
West Ham's next Premier League outing is a final return to the Boleyn Ground for Sam Allardyce's Sunderland team, which will be an excellent opportunity to pick up all three points and make fifth place our own.
The trio of Manuel Lanzini, Diafra Sakho and Cheikhou Kouyate are all expected to return from injury over the next few weeks in what will be the first time since the start of the season West Ham have had a full strength side at their disposal.
For more West Ham fan views or to join the conversation visit www.90min.com
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of West Ham United
West Ham United demonstrated their fighting spirit against a resilient Norwich City team on Saturday.
Despite going two goals down early in the second half with goals from Robbie Brady and Wes Hoolahan, the Hammers showed their grit and determination by clawing back two goals from Dimitri Payet and the influential Mark Noble to gain a share of the points.
New loan signing Emmanuel Emenike came within inches of grabbing the winner, but he failed to make proper contact on the ball to nudge it past a scrambling John Ruddy.
The draw sees Southampton leapfrog us into sixth place, but with Big Sam's Sunderland side getting the better of Man Utd, there is just one point between all three sides in the battle for fifth place and Europa League qualification.
A fast paced first half ended 0-0 despite a powerful strike from Enner Valencia, which was tipped just over Norwich's bar by John Ruddy.
Dimitri Payet was rewarded with a new contract this week keeping him with the Hammers until 2021, Saturday's game proved just why he's thought of so highly as the Frenchman played a part in both goals, scoring the first and assisting Mark Noble for the second.
Inspired substitutions from Slaven Bilic saw Victor Moses, Andy Carroll and Emmanuel Emenike come on in the second half for Enner Valencia, Michail Antonio and Alex Song.
It was Moses that made the difference after a surging run stunned the Norwich defence before a powerful shot was parried away by John Ruddy into the path of Dimitri Payet who made it 2-1.
Payet then demonstrated his ability to create chances as well, as he laid a perfectly weighted ball across the box to Mark Noble, who smashed the ball into the top right corner.
West Ham showed no signs of tiredness following their 120 minute run out in the FA Cup win against Liverpool midweek, as they kept going until the 90th minute and came so close to clinching a winner at the end.
The Hammers travel to Blackburn in the FA Cup on Sunday and will be eager to put themselves in the draw for the quarter-finals. Up to 7,200 Hammers are expected to make the trip to Lancashire.
The FA Cup tie will be a good chance for Bilic to rest a few key players that could be tired following a congested fixture list. It could also be a good opportunity to give Andy Carroll a start following his return from a hamstring injury.
West Ham's next Premier League outing is a final return to the Boleyn Ground for Sam Allardyce's Sunderland team, which will be an excellent opportunity to pick up all three points and make fifth place our own.
The trio of Manuel Lanzini, Diafra Sakho and Cheikhou Kouyate are all expected to return from injury over the next few weeks in what will be the first time since the start of the season West Ham have had a full strength side at their disposal.
For more West Ham fan views or to join the conversation visit www.90min.com
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of West Ham United