Curbishley: Justice was done

Alan Curbishley feels that Robert Green’s injury time penalty save ensured a fair outcome at Fratton Park yesterday. After a battling hammers performance for 92 minutes, Portsmouth were awarded a penalty after Gabbidon handballed on the edge of the area. Up stepped Premiership leading scorer Benjani (after a 5 man debate in our box!) but he was unable to beat Green and West Ham had earned a point. Curbishley told the official website:

‘It was a harsh decision to give a penalty like that in the 93rd minute and, even if it had gone for us up at the other end, then I still would’ve felt exactly the same. Suddenly, in the heat of the moment, we thought that it had all gone against us, and after that we could only hope that Greeny would change it and thankfully he did with that penalty save. In the end, justice was done.’

Curbishley, like the Hammers’ fans, is aware that a point away at Portsmouth is a very good point even if we had a couple of golden opportunities to win the game:

‘Portsmouth are on a good run and this isn’t an easy place to come to,’ he said. ‘My players have really dug in today and, in some respects, I’m disappointed that we only got a point. But, then again after the way that the game panned out perhaps I should be grateful, because even that could’ve been snatched away from us at the end.’

Curbishley did not complain about several other ‘interesting’ decisions made by referee Mike Dean (thankfully, as managers banging on about referees is becoming duller by the day) and takes the Hammers to Coventry for Tuesday’s televised Carling Cup tie on a two game unbeaten run; the good times are back.

source: whufc.com