Carroll to the rescue for Moyes
ANDY CARROLL scored for the first time this season to earn West Ham a vital win over fellow relegation strugglers West Brom.
The Baggies, mired in the bottom three, are still yet to win under former Hammers manager Alan Pardew after being denied by substitute Carroll.
The striker ended his long drought by cancelling out James McClean’s first-half opener then blasted home an added-time winner from Marko Arnautovic’s cross.
It took David Moyes’ Hammers out of the bottom three, leapfrogging Southampton and Stoke.
Albion had lodged an official complaint to the Premier League about the fixture scheduling that gave West Ham five days’ extra rest.
The Baggies, fuming this game was even taking place due to the fixture congestion, will at least be glad to see the back of 2017. Just seven league wins all year and it was more than four months since the last one arrived.
West Ham will have their own gripe at the calendar. Their last game was on Boxing Day but this was the first of two matches in the space of 48 hours.
Moyes is likely to select a different team to fact Tottenham at Wembley tomorrow night and he will certainty need his side to defend better than they did here.
Salomon Rondon turned Angelo Ogbonna all too easily in the 14th minute and Winston Reid’s hesitation gifted the Venezuelan a route to goal, only for his chip over Adrian to land on the top of the net.
West Ham had barely laid a finger on West Brom before finally calling Ben Foster into action in the 22nd minute when he
WEST HAM WEST BROM
Manuel Lanzini’s powerful shot was beaten away.
West Brom looked the more likely of two poor sides and McClean opened the scoring on the half hour.
There looked no danger when the Republic of Ireland winger collected the ball on the left. But he cruised past Reid and manoeuvred himself into a shooting position where his 25-yard shot deflected off Ogbonna’s foot before looping over Adrian.
The West ham fans’ boos would have quickly turned to jeers had Lanzini not been foiled by Foster after the Argentinian showed great footwork to carve out the chance. Carroll should HEAD FIRST: Andy Carroll equalises for West Ham have hauled West Ham level within 60 seconds of the restart but could only slice Arnautovic’s cross over.
That was a temporary reprieve as Carroll ended his long wait for a goal by heading the Hammers level from a superb Aaron Cresswell cross in the 59th minute.
As Albion dropped deeper and deeper, Arnautovic was denied by Foster’s legs but the Austrian had the last word as he set up the stoppage-time winner for Carroll.
WEST HAM (3-4-3):
Richard AT THE ETIHAD