Vinny's Brighton Report
Vinny 12:07 Sun Apr 15

Other articles by Vinny ...

West Ham United 6 Brighton & Hove Albion 0

West Ham well and truly ended their poor run of results at home with a stunning victory over Brighton in the clubs biggest win since 1998.

This was a wonderful day and a true joy to watch. There can be little better than watching your team score six goals and I am not exaggerating when I say it could have been even more.

We were clinical in front of goal and when you have a player like Ricardo Vaz Te you know you have a chance to score goals. His three goals were outstanding and that third goal I will not tire of watching.

The frustrations of the last couple of months all seemed to be taken out on a shell shocked Brighton side who never got going as we scored three goals in the first ten minutes.

With Reading beating Southampton at St Marys on Friday night it would seem as though the Play Off’s will be where we are heading at the end of the season. With this result we are now three points behind Southampton and by winning six goals we have reduced the goal difference between ourselves and Southampton to just three goals.

Whilst I still hold out some hope (you have to have some) I am realistic and know that it is very unlikely that automatic promotion will be achieved this season. The damage done in all those home games since beating Millwall at the beginning of February has been too great but the fact is no matter what happens between now and the end of the season, to beat Brighton 6-0 is outstanding.

The way we played was similar in the early stages to how we finished against Birmingham as we bombarded the Brighton area in a breathless opening quarter. It was attack after attack and I sincerely mean that we fully deserved the score line.

We had energy in midfield with Lansbury and O’Neil doing a lot of the running which allowed Noble time on the ball to spread passes about and gave Nolan room to move into.

In the second half especially when going forward we actually were able to support Cole and get bodies around him which saw us regularly get onto the flick on or pick up the second ball.

We were tactically spot on and this was the type of performance that perhaps we had been expecting to see all season when playing at Upton Park.

Allardyce stated in the post match interview that he was happy that the West Ham fans had got to see a performance at home like our performances away.

I believe it was more the fact that we put in a positive performance and looked to attack the opposition instead of letting them dictate the play and gain confidence from our indecision.

The Team

Sam Allardyce made three changes to the side who started against Birmingham City last Monday.

In defence, George McCartney was out with the injury which forced him to come off against Birmingham and he was replaced by Matthew Taylor who took up the left back slot.

At centre half, Abdoulaye Faye was dropped to the bench with Guy Demel coming into the team. Demel went to right back with James Tomkins taking up his rightful position at centre half alongside Winston Reid.

Nicky Maynard was dropped to the bench with Henri Lansbury coming into the midfield.

First Half

Having made a number of Grand National bets (to which I won none) and a number of drinks in the Britannia in Plaistow I arrived in the ground just in time to see our first chance of the game as Vaz Te passed to Lansbury who hit a shot which took a slight deflection, looped over the keeper and hit off the bar. This was within the first minute.

But our next shot on goal would be even better and what a shot it was.

With three minutes on the clock Taylor won a challenge and Nolan knocked the ball inside to Ricardo Vaz Te who hit an unstoppable which Brighton keeper Brezovan didn’t even see as it flew past him to make it 1-0.

Whilst you can argue that the keeper should have perhaps done better the sheer power in the shot was outstanding and a really excellent goal.

So we had got that early goal and the hope was that we could build on it. And we certainly did.
With 6 minutes gone we were so close to scoring the second goal in a great move which saw Taylor cross for Nolan to meet it on the volley but Brezovan would make a terrific save to stop it from going in.

But we were not to be denied two minutes later.
At this point it had been a bombardment of the Brighton area and it was just attack after attack.

A shot from Kevin Nolan was blocked by the ball came out to O’Neil who put in a brilliant deep cross for Ricardo Vaz Te to get above his marker and head low past the keeper who couldn’t keep it out and make it 2-0.

They were two very different goals from Vaz Te but it just showed his eye for goal and this boy is on fire at the moment.

The tempo didn’t cease after the second goal and West Ham were not going to stop the destruction of Brighton just yet.

The visitors just couldn't get a hold of the ball and it looked almost as though we had more players on the pitch.

With the ten minute mark just passing we would strike again.

Carlton Cole was fouled (as he was most of the day) and a free kick was awarded half way inside the Brighton half.

Taylor hit his left foot free kick to the back post for James Tomkins to firmly win the header and put this across goal for Kevin Nolan to have the simple task of putting over the line to make it 3-0.

This had all taken place with just ten and half minutes on the clock.

We did take the foot off the gas for the rest of the half and Brighton saw a lot of the ball and had bundles of possession. It was not too much of a surprise that this was the case and although there were murmurs of frustration among some of the support there was no way we could have kept that tempo up for the rest of the game.

We should have scored a third when Vaz Te won possession and ran towards the area and found Cole who got into the box but his shot was incredibly weak and a very disappointing effort.

With three minutes of the half remaining Brighton had their best chance of the game and only for a great save from Robert Green they would have pulled a goal back to give them some hope.

It came from a corner which saw Cole inadvertently flick on a Greer head towards goal which Green clawed out despite many of the Brighton players claiming it had gone over the line. It hadn't.

Vaz Te was out to get his third before half time and hit another long range effort with similar power to his first but Brezovan got behind it and beat the ball away.

And even in injury time we had another chance as a pass was slipped through to Lansbury who was in on goal but thrashed his shot high and wide when he probably should have finished.

Half time 3-0. Sensational.

Second Half

There were no changes for either side at half time as Brighton knew that if they were to have any chance of getting anything from the game they needed to get an early goal.

But we continued to dictate the play and started the half strongly.

An early corner saw Brighton only half clear and Vaz Te attempted an ambitious overhead kick which he did not connect with well enough. He would have another go at this soon enough though.

Ten minutes into the half Allardyce made his first change of the game with Gary O’Neil coming off and Jack Collison replacing him.

With just under 30 minutes remaining we would score our fourth and what a finish it would be.

Another deep cross from Matthew Taylor saw Cole win the ball and knock it down for Lansbury to be bundled over in the area for what seemed a sure penalty but the referee (who was terrible I might add) gave nothing and as the defender put his header into the air Ricardo Vaz Te acrobatically smashed his volley into the goal to complete his hat trick.

The finish from Vaz Te was emphatic and exactly how you want your forward to score goals. A superb diverse hat trick from a player who just gets better and better.

Just two minutes after scoring the fourth goal we would find our fifth.

Cole was played through down the left and ran towards the area, he cut inside on and hit a right foot shot which deflected off the foot of Henri Lansbury and past the keeper for 5-0.

Carlton Cole may have been accredited with the goal but as it hit Lansbury and this deflection took the ball in this is clearly Lansbury’s goal.

In a way it was similar to a goal which Diego Tristan scored a few seasons ago when Cole again hit a shot which simply hit the Spanish striker and went in.

Vaz Te was taken off on 76 minutes to a standing ovation from the crowd. John Carew replaced him.

A sixth goal came on 78 minutes when a corner from Noble was met by Brighton’s Gary Dicker who made a hash of his clearance and turned the ball into the back of the net to make it 6-0.

Carew had a chance as a good shooting opportunity presented itself but for some reason he decided to try and beat another defender forgetting that he possess no skill or pace to do so.

There was one more good chance remaining in the game as a cross into the area saw Tomkins head the ball across goal which found Nolan who looked as though he just needed to tap the ball in but he put his shot wide when he probably should have tried to head the ball.

Nevertheless I was pretty pleased with six and I like most stayed at the end to applauded a stupendous performance and a remarkable result.

Player Reviews

Robert Green
A welcome clean sheet at Upton Park in a game where he had little to do but when called into action like in the first half he made a great save and was always alert.

Guy Demel
Although he has started a couple of games previous, this was the first time I had actually noticed him. He was strong in the tackle and has a bit of pace about him. He is not a player that Brighton wanted to try and take on and hopefully he will cement the right back position from here till the end of the season.

James Tomkins
A top display from Tomkins who showed that when you play him at centre half he is clearly our best defender and a certain candidate for the Hammer of the Year award. He is always dangerous from free kicks and his assist with a header across goal for Nolan was typical.

Winston Reid
There is a lot more aggression to his game which he lacked in this first season at the club. No longer does he look easy to beat or weak in the tackle and the Championship seems to have had a good effect on his development. He was excellent throughout.

Matthew Taylor
A good display from Taylor who saw many of his crosses lead to goals or good chances. His cross for Nolan early on nearly found a goal, the free kick for our third led to a goal, the cross for Cole to head back for the fourth led to a goal and his general play was decent throughout. No complaints about this display.

Gary O’Neil
A busy performance from O’Neil who is one of the hardest workers we have in our side. His main contribution of the game was a delightful cross for Vaz Te to score the second goal and since he has a had run in the side we have been playing better football.

Mark Noble
Sat deep and controlled the game. Did well to dictate the tempo and put his foot on the ball when needed. Made a few good challenges throughout the game and although he looked a bit knackered at times in the second half this was still a good showing.

Kevin Nolan
Scored his 12th goal of the season which really is an excellent return for a midfielder. Involved throughout the game and put himself about as he usually tries to do.

Henri Lansbury
After an encouraging second half against Birmingham, Lansbury again put in a positive display which I was quite impressed with. Looks fitter than earlier in the season and will look to cement his place in the midfield for the remaining games. Despite the goal being given to Cole, Lansbury got the final touch and without it I don’t think it would have gone in.

Ricardo Vaz Te
A magnificent performance from the Portuguese forward who has now taken his tally to ten goals since signing for the club which is an impressive return. He was skilful, hardworking, and always a threat. Man of the match.

Carlton Cole
Should have scored in the first half but the effort was tame although he had a very good second half and caused Brighton a number of problems. Brighton were finding it difficult to deal with him and were going in on him hard which the referee chose to ignore. Was unlucky not to get on the score sheet but the deflection off Lansbury will surely take this goal away from him.

Subs Used

Jack Collison (on for O’Neil 55 mins)
Nowhere near as effective as O’Neil and I didn’t really notice him in his time on the pitch. Fallen behind Lansbury and O’Neill in the pecking order for me.

Danny Collins (On for Demel 68 mins)
For a moment I had forgotten he had come on. We were not troubled defensively so Collins didn’t have too much to do.

John Carew (on for Vaz Te 77 mins)
Ahead of Maynard? Was Baldock injured? If not how can this lump of former footballer get on the bench?

Subs Not Used: Henderson, Maynard

Bookings: Cole

Man Of The Match: Ricardo Vaz Te

Brighton & Hove Albion: Brezovan, Painter, Calderon, Greer, El-Abd, Dicker, Bridcutt, Navarro, Assulin, Vicente, Barnes
Subs: Ankergren, Noone, Jara, LuaLua, Mackail-Smith

Attendance: 32, 339

Overall

Automatic promotion may be unlikely but we can still end the season on a high and perform like this in our remaining three fixtures and we may see similar results.

We had fight, we had attitude and we had Ricardo Vaz Te. When you have a player like this in your side you know that something can happen at any moment and at West Ham we have always loved an exciting player who makes things happen and scores goals.

This was a devastating display and Brighton were completely outclassed and outplayed from start to finish.

This is how I had hoped we would apply ourselves at home this season and that any team coming to the Boleyn would find it tough to get a kick.

Deluded I may have been but this squad was more than capable of doing this in my opinion and it is shame they have not shown this when playing at home this season.

Next Game – Bristol City (a) Tuesday 17th April 7.45pm Kick Off

I will not be attending this game sadly due to work so there will be no report but hopefully we will do what we did at Barnsley and not let them have a kick.

Bristol City are in danger of being relegated and really have to win so this will not be an easy game by any stretch of the imagination, but we surely have enough in our team to beat them as we have done with many of the sides we have played away this campaign.

The fact is if automatic promotion is something that can be achieved realistically then we have to win our next three games. There will be no other chances and we need to win our games and hope that luck is smiling down on us regarding Southampton’s results.

But whatever happens, this game against Brighton will live long in the memory because it is a rare thing for West Ham to be winning games 6-0 and I will savour this one.


Sam's View

"It was a tremendous victory for us today I think that since Millwall at home this is close to as good as we have played.

"The pressure we were under to deliver a result was huge and the quality of our football and final third of play was fantastic.

"We started the game so brightly and we scored the goals that we deserved to score from the amount of chances we created. Kevin Nolan drove the team on today and got a goal too. Carlton Cole played very well up top and got a goal too. Matt Taylor did well filling in at left back.

"There wasn't really a player that didn't do his job properly today. Vaz put in a scintillating performance today he took his goals very, very well."

"We got a clean sheet too so if we carry on like this, hopefully we can win all three games we have got left. The six goals also is a massive benefit to our goal difference, we are now only three goals behind them and in the end that could make a massive difference. All we can do now is win on Tuesday and hope somebody else slips up."





Season 2011/12 Scorers and Red Cards

Kevin Nolan - 12 (12 League)
Carlton Cole - 11 (11 League)
Ricardo Vaz Te - 10(10 League)
Mark Noble - 8 (8 League)
Sam Baldock - 5 (5 League)
Own Goal - 4 (4 League)
Jack Collison - 3 (3 League)
James Tomkins - 3 (3 League)
Gary O'Neil - 2 (2 League)
Nicky Maynard - 2 (2 League)
Henri Lansbury - 2 (2 League)
Winston Reid - 2 (2 League)
John Carew - 2 (2 League)
Frederique Piquionne - 2 (2 League)
Papa Bouba Diop - 1 (1 League)
Joey O'Brien - 1 (1 League)
Matthew Taylor - 1 (1 League)
Julien Faubert - 1 (1 League)
Frank Nouble - 1 (1 League)
George McCartney - 1 (1 League)
Danny Collins - 1 (1 League)
Scott Parker - 1 (1 League)
Junior Stanislas - 1 (1 Cup)


Red Cards

Callum McNaughton - 1 (vs Aldershot home)
Frederique Piquionne - 1 (vs Portsmouth home)
Joey O'Brien - 1 (vs Reading away)
Jack Collison - 1 (vs Reading away)
Kevin Nolan - 1 (vs Millwall home)
Matthew Taylor - 1 (vs Southampton home)
Robert Green - 1 (vs Blackpool away)*

*rescinded by FA on appeal





Email: vinnywhufc@hotmail.com

Lily Hammer 12:26 Tue Apr 17
Re: Vinny's Brighton Report

I think that was a demonstration of the perfect gameplan, what you always hope for, especially when you are due to play again in a few days. It would have crazy to bust a gut for a 4th so soon in the match.

Score early, get another as soon as possible, and likewise the third, then take a breather from the all out push and soak up the pressure while they tire themsleves out, breaking when opportunites arise, which they will more and more the longer the match goes on.

Doesn't always work like that, but that's as well as things can work.

Vinny 1:22 Tue Apr 17
Re: Vinny's Brighton Report

It is a difficult one to judge given the scoreline after the first 10 minutes.

I felt it was natural that we sat back and that they finally settled after actually seeing some of the ball.

Even in that 30 minutes we had a great chance for Cole whose shot was tame, another excellent shot from Vaz Te and a golden chance for Lansbury.

Brighton were stuffed completely when we scored our fourth goal and they were not able to do anything of note for the remainder of the game.

Allardyce mentioned at the end of the game that he was pleased that the fans got to see an 'away' performance. In those away performances we allow the opposition to see a lot of the ball and attempt to hit them on the break in numbers.

At home the opposition begin the game trying to soak pressure up but then when we fail to offer any end product they gain confidence and start to come at us a little more.

Palace, Watford and Doncaster all got comfortable when they saw we lacked firepower.

Brighton were caught out early and thankfully we had a player such as Vaz Te who can provide the end product as I suspect without his excellent shot (our players rarely shoot outside the area) the same type of thing would happened.

I still think we played 4-5-1. Vaz Te for me was a winger throughout the game and I refuse to believe Gary O'Neil was another 'forward'.

But yes, in answer to the question, we did drop deep and allowed them to have more of the ball.

Brighton like most teams in the division lack a goal scorer. Earlier in the season we beat them 1-0 and they had tons of possession yet in the end had only one more shot than we did on goal which if you recall we hardly threatened.

Passing football can be played but you need that quality in the final third or at least numbers in the area to get that goal.

On Saturday we had it.

Sir Alf 1:04 Tue Apr 17
Re: Vinny's Brighton Report

Great result and report.

However, I have a question/problem or conundrum that I would ask the WHO collective / footballing gurus (flattery gets you everywhere) to try and answer or solve. It relates to that 30 mins after we got the third goal and then the period immediately after the break before we broke any spririt Brighton had left when we got the 4th.

We struggled to get and keep the ball. It was bizarre. Fortunately Brighton were reminiscent of the West Ham way of old, lots of pretty football but no end product but it is something that seems to happen a lot at UP nowadays and even predates the Fat Man. I can remember under Zola I first noticed it when Wolves tore us a new one at UP. Sure many of the better teams have dominated play over the years. We barely got a kick against Arsenal, Man United, Chelsea and a couple of others but it now seems to happen against any team that plays on the floor with a one or touch style, lots of movement etc... I have made no secret of the fact that I think it is the collective one paced midfield we have and how that gets exposed when we play less than 5 or even 4 in the middle. But then I saw on Saturday, in the second half that we managed to stop them playing the pretty patterns and broke up the play much better so it got me thinking (dangerous thing). Did they run out steam, did their substitutions actually help us, did BFS change the formation and play a more conventional 4-4-2, did we simply get tighter to them after BFS made it clear we were giving too much room. Or was it that we dropped deep and gave them too much room in the first half after that devasting first 10 minutes?

Humour an old man (me) if you can? This came up as a discussion point in the match thread on Saturday but was never really answered. I just like to use these forums to get different opinions / thoughts. Old fashioned idea I suppose? using a forum to discuss football matters ;-)

Thanks as always Vinny for what, after a few week's of painful reading, was a nice report to read :)

inconsistant fc 5:57 Mon Apr 16
Re: Vinny's Brighton Report

Thanks Vincent

Vaz Te's 3rd goal reminded me of that Cottee goal where he volleyed it in mid air, took off and smashed it in with both feet off the floor. I think it was about 1987 and I can't remember who it was against but I've only ever seen it on video so I'm sure some of you older lot will correct me if I'm wrong!

The "foul" in the build up to that goal was one of the most obvious penalty calls you will ever see, by the way, not that it matters now.

Eddie B 5:16 Mon Apr 16
Re: Vinny's Brighton Report

dealcanvey 5:14 Mon Apr 16

Agreed. That HAS to be the only reason he brought Carew on in front of him on saturday.

dealcanvey 5:14 Mon Apr 16
Re: Vinny's Brighton Report

Another great report.

I think Fat Sam is saving Maynard for tomorrow. He is surely going to start against his former club.

Duke of Devonshire 12:47 Mon Apr 16
Re: Vinny's Brighton Report

Cheers Vince.

I didn't really notice O'Neil from where I was but I take your word for it and take back what I said about him a few weeks ago. I had him written off but it looks like I got it wrong.

But I was right about putting Lansbury back in the team. With the extra movement in midfield, it allows Nolan to push up and be a nuisance to the centre halfs. We're looking much more balanced now.

Vaz Te looks to have the lot. He's skilful, runs at defenders, scores goals, can head the ball and is also strong and can hold the ball up. A bit of a poor man's Ronaldo, and I mean that in a good way.

Westside 10:42 Mon Apr 16
Re: Vinny's Brighton Report

Great report Vinny. I do disagree with one thing "The damage done in all those home games since beating Millwall at the beginning of February has been too great".

I think taking one one point out of 12 against Reading and Southampton, is the real reason for not being in the top two. If we had only drawn twice with them both, we would all be level on points.

Ronald_antly 6:56 Mon Apr 16
Re: Vinny's Brighton Report

That's unusually blunt of you, Huggie.

keddy 6:51 Mon Apr 16
Re: Vinny's Brighton Report

Well done Vinny!

Hugh Monteith 5:27 Mon Apr 16
Re: Vinny's Brighton Report

The goal was to be 3-0 up Ronno,


FFS

Ronald_antly 5:26 Mon Apr 16
Re: Vinny's Brighton Report

Sorry, but I must disagree with this;

"Half time 3-0. Sensational."

By the half-time whistle, we'd gone over half an hour without a fucking goal!!

BOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Ozziehammer 1:07 Mon Apr 16
Re: Vinny's Brighton Report

Thing is now, with only 3 goals diff to S'ton we have to make up goal diff with any slip up by them. So we win 1-0 and they lose 1-0 and it's almost all square. It's now win all three by as many as possible and hope S'ton lose one. Not so bad as it might have appeared before Sat. Great game ,great result, just a pity we had to wait so long. Thanks Vinny as always.

fordstar 6:52 Sun Apr 15
Re: Vinny's Brighton Report

Iron2010 6:02 Sun Apr 15



Im not discrediting anything, its my opinion on a player that gets far to much praise on here for what he really does.


He is not the player that most on here have claimed he is or what he would become, we need better than Mark Noble.........IMO of course.

riosleftsock 6:47 Sun Apr 15
Re: Vinny's Brighton Report

Noble reminds me a bit of Geoff Pike, who was also west ham through and through.

Despite many fans' adoration of Pike, I never remember any other teams wanting or fearing him - same as Noble.

Decent player, occasional good game, but very slow in every aspect. Slow to turn, slow to see opportunities and slow to react when we don't have the ball.

I still like the lad and am glad we have him, as I am with Cole who is at about the same level.

kylay 6:35 Sun Apr 15
Re: Vinny's Brighton Report

thanks again vinny. even if we don't achieve automatic promotion, this form is something to be excited about and strike fear into any of the playoff contenders.

stewie griffin 6:06 Sun Apr 15
Re: Vinny's Brighton Report

You're quite right, 2010, he renders any meaningful discussion pointless when it comes to noble. I'll pick this up with you another day!

Iron2010 6:02 Sun Apr 15
Re: Vinny's Brighton Report

Fordstar
Leave it out mate. You are discrediting any decent point. You can't think that Noble isn't a decent player. in my opinion he just dosen't shift the ball quick enough.
Great performance yesterday hopefuly more to come.

stewie griffin 6:02 Sun Apr 15
Re: Vinny's Brighton Report

What macca said. You're all over the place here, and thankfully I knew how thick you were that that would be your response. Ridiculous.

TOP of our assists chart, 4th best goal return, its fairly evident to anyone who isn't peddling some weird agenda that its a perfectly decent return. Like I said, most importantly, it illustrates that he isn't a massive problem for us.

fordstar 5:58 Sun Apr 15
Re: Vinny's Brighton Report

Macca the more you do the lottery the more chance you have got of winning it.

One McAvennieeeeee 5:53 Sun Apr 15
Re: Vinny's Brighton Report

But his corners are shit?

Hahaha

Love it.

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