CARROLL’S RETURN CAN’T COME QUICK ENOUGH FOR GOAL-SHY WEST HAM
WEST HAM manager Manuel Pellegrini won’t take time off during the international break, just so that he can make a personal check on Andy Carroll’s long-awaited comeback. Carroll, 29, is pencilled in to play in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Brentford on Thursday for his first action since ankle surgery in pre-season. ‘Andy is close to coming back,’ the Hammers boss said. ‘He has been with the first-team squad working with the ball, a little but not 100 per cent. He will work this week again until Thursday when we hope he can play some minutes. ‘I will be watching the game — there will be no holiday! In the second week of the international break maybe Jack Wilshere will also be working with the squad.’ Despite three goals in two games for Felipe Anderson, including Saturday’s equaliser at Huddersfield, West Ham would welcome Carroll’s availability. They sit a modest 13th in the Premier League despite a hefty transfer outlay of £99million in the summer — the fifth-highest in the division. ‘We’re mid-table, but we don’t just want to be comfortable between 10th and 13th. We want to push on and see how far we can go,’ Aaron Cresswell, the West Ham defender, said. ‘Of course we can go higher. There’s no stopping us. The top four is pretty much nailed on every year, but why can’t we push into the top eight or even top six?’ Huddersfield’s ambitions are more limited. They dominated the first half at
the John Smith’s Stadium but only had Alex Pritchard’s strike after six minutes to show for it, and lost Chris Lowe with a shoulder injury. Anderson levelled in the 74th minute, but the Terriers remain in the bottom three. Steve Mounie is a non-scoring centreforward at present and was twice foiled by goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski as he chased his first goal since April. ‘At least I am getting chances,’ he said. ‘I cannot spend the season without a goal. I am a striker, come on! I will score soon, I am sure of that. ‘My first chance was a header that brought a good save. The second one, I did not make a good choice. I shot towards the near post, and should have gone to the other side.’ Huddersfield are the Premier League’s lowest scorers. They have hit the woodwork 10 times, Mounie and Philip Billing both adding to the tally on Saturday. ‘It is not a question of bad finishing, only luck,’ said their manager David Wagner. At least Huddersfield secured their first League point against West Ham since beating them 1-0 in November 1971 at Leeds Road, when Bobby Moore was in the Hammers’ line-up. HUDDERSFIELD TOWN (3-5-1-1): Lossl 7; Jorgensen 6.5, Schindler 6, Kongolo 6.5; Hadergjonaj 6, Billing 7, Hogg 6.5, Mooy 7, Lowe 6 (Durm 46min, 6); PRITCHARD 7.5 (Mbenza 72, 6); Mounie 7 (Depoitre 89). Subs not used: Hamer, Smith, Bacuna, Kachunga. Scorer: Pritchard 6. Booked: Jorgensen. Manager: David Wagner 7. WEST HAM (4-1-4-1): Fabianski 6.5; Zabaleta 6 (Fredericks 73, 6), Balbuena 5, Diop 5, Cresswell 6; Rice 5.5; Diangana 5 (Hernandez 46, 6.5), Snodgrass 6, Obiang 6.5 (Antonio 64, 7), Anderson 6.5; Arnautovic 6. Subs not used: Adrian, Ogbonna, Masuaka, Perez. Scorer: Anderson 74. Booked: Snodgrass. Manager: Manuel Pellegrini 7. Referee: Chris Kavanagh 5.5.