PULLING PUNCHES
United on stroll with all eyes on Cup final
TWO years on from the day when West Ham fans launched the Upton Park farewell party with an attack on Manchester United’s team bus, the same fixture could not have conjured a more startlingly sedate affair.
United were back in the area, only this time they were on time and there was no anarchy on the streets.
They were greeted inside the stadium by thousands of empty seats and a deathly atmosphere, and the teams took a long time to stir the blood.
Eighty-six uneventful minutes had passed when Paul Pogba tripped Mark Noble in midfield, sparking a furious reaction from the West Ham captain and a brief eruption of unruly skirmishing.
Noble grabbed at Pogba’s face and players from both teams waded in until referee Jon Moss settled it with yellow cards for Pogba and Noble.
Until then, the away fans had passed the time by teasing their hosts about their new home, despite the latest attempts to infuse the place with the spirit of West Ham, with flags bearing club crests and new concourse displays.
Jose Mourinho picked a team strangely devoid of attacking players. No doubt Mourinho has a plan in his mind as he approaches the FA Cup final against his former club Chelsea.
It is his final chance to finish the season with a trophy and as a result, unsurprisingly perhaps, this match was a contest of very little goalmouth activity.
Manchester United made eight changes to the team beaten last week at Brighton, a defeat which was followed by Mourinho’s withering assessment that some players were ‘not good enough’.
Those comments were reinforced by his team selection, and appeared especially relevant for Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial.
The two young strikers were on the bench despite an injury which will rule top scorer Romelu Lukaku out of the final two games of the season.
Mourinho opted to start with Alexis Sanchez and Jesse Lingard up front and made a change to his usual system to deploy three central defenders.
West Ham, having secured Premier League survival with a win at Leicester on Saturday, made a positive start.
Marko Arnautovic wriggled into space on the edge of the penalty box and forced the game’s first save from David de Gea.
Arnautovic was unable to turn a tricky header on target when a low cross from Aaron Cresswell spun into the air as Chris Smalling failed to clear.
Scott McTominay, who was fortunate to escape injury when Cresswell went over the ball early in the game, lashed one wide from long range and Lingard forced Adrian into action with a fading strike from distance.
West Ham’s goalkeeper, who retained his place after Joe Hart missed the Leicester game through illness, sprang to his left to push it away and followed it with a fine double save.
In the second half Pogba headed a cross wide and Smalling also missed the target as the end-ofseason drift prevailed. WEST HAM UNITED (3-4-2-1): ADRIAN 7.5; Rice 7, Ogbonna 7, Cresswell 6.5; Zabaleta 6, Kouyate 6.5, Noble 6, Masuaku 6 (Carroll 66min, 6); Mario 6, Lanzini 6; Arnautovic 6.5. Subs not used: Hart, Hugill, Obiang, Evra, Fernandes, Cullen. Booked: Noble. Manager: David Moyes 6. MANCHESTER UNITED (3-5-2): De Gea 6; Lindelof 6, Smalling 6, Jones 6; Valencia 6 (Bailly 90), McTominay 6.5, Herrera 7, Pogba 6.5, Shaw 6; Lingard 7 (Rashford 73, 6), Sanchez 6.5 (Young 90). Subs not used: Romero, Mata, Martial, Blind. Booked: Pogba. Manager: Jose Mourinho 6. Referee: Jonathan Moss 6. Attendance: 56,902.