Cheers then tears for Alvin’s boy

DAVID MARTIN broke down in tears in his famous father’s arms after keeping a clean sheet on his Premier League debut at the age of 33.

West Ham’s third-choice keeper — the son of club legend Alvin — finally got his top-flight chance in the 1-0 win over Chelsea because of Lukasz Fabianski’s injury and the poor form of Roberto.

He was rarely tested but did his job as West Ham avoided conceding for the first time in eight league games and took the win through Aaron Cresswell’s second-half strike. At the whistle, Alvin Martin, who made nearly 600 West Ham appearances over 21 years, was in tears with his son. David Martin said: ‘I’m pleased I got through it and I didn’t let anyone down. I actually enjoyed it in the end. For my dad to play for the club for 21 years and see it, and for me to make my debut, keep a clean sheet and get the win for the boys, it is so pleasing.’

The victory has eased the pressure on West Ham boss Manuel Pellegrini after seven games without a league win. He said: ‘The most difficult thing this week was convincing the players not to change. We didn’t have the results we needed but we couldn’t believe all we were doing was wrong.’

Frank Lampard’s side have now gone three games in all competitions without a win and he said: ‘We’ve shown good stuff this season. There are not many times I have sat here and said we were below par.

‘We just didn’t do enough in the final third, which was the story in our past three games.’