Anderson looking the ace in Pellegrini pack as Hammers roar on
BEFORE this game began they waved flags at pitchside bearing West Ham badges from back to the Thames Ironworks days. This Felipe Anderson-inspired victory was apt, then — one for the history books.
Throughout a first half full of frustration, it seemed as if James McArthur’s opener for Crystal Palace would bring the hosts’ good run of late to an end.
Then Robert Snodgrass bent in a lovely half-volley, Javier Hernandez did what he does best and Anderson managed to outdo his Scottish colleague with a wonderful curled strike, all in a frantic 17-minute spell.
By the end, the home fans were celebrating a third Premier League victory in eight days, and the Hammers have scored three goals in each.
This club has not achieved that since October 1982. So long ago, in fact, that manager Manuel Pellegrini struggled to remember what he was doing back then, claiming he was already managing, though he did not retire as a player until 1984.
More importantly, he is bringing back the West Ham way they talk about in these parts.
‘It has been a really, really good week,’ Pellegrini reflected. ‘It is not easy to score three goals in each game. But I think that reflects the style that we want to play here, and that the players are convinced by what we are doing.
‘We had two different halves – for the first 45 minutes we played too nervously, without being calm, because we were one goal behind. But in the second half I think we played much better.’
The nine points West Ham have picked up have taken them into the top half of the table for the first time this season. When talk of a top-six finish was raised by some of the old boys that work here, it seemed misplaced.
But Pellegrini, unprompted, admitted he is already eyeing up sixth place – and by extension, overhauling Manchester United.
‘We are now in 10th, five points from sixth in the table,’ he added. ‘Maybe the first five teams have so many points that’s difficult. We go step by step and try to beat Fulham next week.’
It has not been an easy spell for the Chilean. He has lost one of his best players in Marko Arnautovic to injury. Lucas Perez got the nod in his place.
His day started badly. It took just five minutes for McArthur to prod the ball past Lukasz Fabianski – just – after meeting a James Tomkins header across the box.
Annoyance slowly grew in the stadium. Palace keeper Wayne Hennessey seemed to be taking an age over his goalkicks but the real issue was that the Hammers’ attacking play was not coming together.
When Snodgrass dragged a cross back to no one in the 45th minute, his own fans reacted with jeers. Little did they know what was to come next. Roy Hodgson himself was not particularly happy at his own side. ‘At halftime, we were quite fortunate to be in the lead,’ the Palace manager admitted. ‘I don’t think we’d played anywhere near as good football as we’re capable of playing. We scored a goal from a free-kick and had something to cling to. But I didn’t think we’d done anywhere near good enough to merit that.’ Andy Carroll came on from the bench after a tough half for Perez. But it was Snodgrass who dragged West Ham back into the game three minutes into the second half. A header dropped for the winger on the right side of the box and he sent his strike high past a despairing Hennessey. ‘It is a goal that he deserves,’ said Pellegrini later. ‘Robert’s a player who works so hard during 95 minutes in attacking and defending. ‘He has absolute commitment with this project and this club, so I am very happy for him.’ In the stands, anger had turned into joy and the crowd pushed their team on. Within a further quarter of an hour, they were ahead. Carroll went down on the edge of the box and referee Anthony Taylor awarded a freekick. Hodgson later revealed Tomkins had picked up a booking over that decision – but only after the final whistle.
He said: ‘Tomkins is still so upset by that, he couldn’t resist the temptation to tell the referee again that he’d made the wrong decision. He got himself booked and he’s out of the next game, so that was a double whammy.’
What happened next probably influenced his emotions. Hennessey parried Anderson’s free-kick but Hernandez moved quickest to meet the ball and fire into the roof of the net.
West Ham’s confidence – buoyed by their victories over Newcastle and Cardiff – was growing and Anderson took control. Three minutes later, he picked up the ball on the left side of the pitch and cut inside. From the left-hand edge of the box, he struck a shot past Hennessey into the top corner. The life had seemingly been sucked out of Palace. Jeffrey Schlupp reduced the deficit with a header from a corner but West Ham held out.
Much has been made of their move to this stadium over the past two years. Now Pellegrini’s team are making the change easier, marrying the off-field alterations with an ambitious outlook on the pitch.
‘I always tell the players they must have a winning mentality,’ he added. ‘They must decide to be a big team. We must try to see to what is happening in front of us. We’ve just started.’
Matching 36-year-old records is helping to make the past just that. With Christmas approaching, the present looks good.