Carroll snatches late draw against Stoke
London, April 17: West Ham United substitute Andy Carroll netted a late equaliser to snatch a 1- 1 draw at home to Stoke City on Monday that moved the Londoners a step closer to Premier League safety and left the visitors facing the drop.
Stoke thought they had secured all three points and their first away win since October when substitute Peter Crouch knocked a loose ball into the back of the net after West Ham’s England goalkeeper Joe Hart spilled a shot after 79 minutes.
But West Ham showed all their fighting qualities as they rescued a point in added time when Carroll volleyed a cross from Aaron Cresswell past Jack Butland into the corner of the net. West Ham will count themselves unlucky not to have won after having three goals disallowed in the second half, but the victory means they now stand seven points clear of the bottom three, while Stoke are five points adrift of the safety zone.
“I thought we played well throughout,” said Carroll.
“Obviously Crouchy came on and scored, which is what he does best, and it was disappointing for us because we’d had a few chances and a couple of goals disallowed.
“We took points off them, though, and it’s a point for us, so it’s a good result.”
Stoke manager Paul Lambert said, “I still think we need three wins. If we can get a little break on Sunday against Burnley, we’re certainly in with a fight.” — Reuters