When Mark Noble dreamed of playing for his beloved West Ham, he probably imagined scoring last minute winning goals against the likes of Liverpool. Yesterday he made that a reality and sent the Upton Park faithful home in delirious mood.
Most West Ham fans were happy enough in the 93rd minute having seen their side compete with the (once) mighty Liverpool and would have settled for a point. But Ljungberg and Etherington ran the length of the pitch to fashion one last chance and Jamie Carragher obliged, bringing Freddie down in the box with virtually the last kick of the game. Up stepped local hero, Noble, who put his penalty just out of Reina’s reach to claim three very welcome points.
West Ham had been impressive for much of the match, and had Boa-Morte’s finishing been more clinical than criminal the points could well have been in the bag earlier. As it was, Liverpool were having their strongest spell as the game approached it’s thrilling climax. Liverpool could point to a possible handball claim against Lucas Neill, but there is little doubt that the Hammers were worth their victory.
The problems continue to mount for Rafa Benitiez, but Alan Curbishley is really getting his teeth in to the West Ham job and the gap between us and those chasing European places is diminishing rapidly.
West Ham team:
Alan Curbishley on another scalp for West Ham:
“It’s tremendous – if you’re going to get a penalty and score then it’s a great time to do it.
“Week in and week out we’ve put in a lot of effort – the squad have a fantastic attitude and full credit goes to them.
“We’ve lost three games in the last 16 and that’s gone unnoticed.”
Under pressure Reds manager Rafa Benitez:
“We had chances but couldn’t take them.
“We started really well and in the second half we had a lot of possession and to lose following a counter attack in the final minute is disappointing.
“For them to score from a penalty so late on was terrible. We now need to think about the next game.”
West Ham team:
Green, Neill, Ferdinand, Upson, McCartney, Ljungberg, Noble, Mullins, Bowyer (Ashton 58), Boa Morte (Etherington 59), Cole (Spector 81).
Subs Not Used: Wright, Solano.