West Ham 3-0 Fulham – Match Report

Andy Carroll made an instant impact on his West Ham debut as they comfortably beat Fulham 3-0 at Upton Park.

It took just 53 seconds for Carroll to introduce himself to the Hammers fans when his clever flick-on found Ricardo Vaz Te who was able to lay-off to captain Kevin Nolan to volley home from 8 yards.

Winston Reid made it 2-0 just before the half-hour mark when he got himself on the end of a Matty Taylor corner to register his fifth goal for the club.

Taylor made it three just before half-time when he found himself unmarked at the edge of the area to smash the ball past keeper Mark Schwarzer after Carroll forced a poor clearance from Brede Hangeland.

Carroll, however, was forced to limp off after 68 minutes with a suspected hamstring strain, which will see him miss the upcoming England internationals against Moldova and Ukraine.

It was a much needed performance from Sam Allardyce’s men, though, as they tried to put last week’s 3-0 loss at Swansea behind them as quick as possible.

It only took less than a minute to do so when he nodded on a James Collins clearance to Vaz Te who squared for Kevin Nolan to finish sweetly, capping his 50th appearance for West Ham with his 15th goal for the club.

Ricardo Vaz Te’s pace shone through all game and he could have got a well deserved goal when he played a one-two with Joey O’Brien in the Fulham area, only to see his first time shot saved well by Schwarzer at his near post.

Carroll’s areal ability was giving Fulham many problems in the early stages and his cushioned header down to Mohamed Diame almost gave him an assist, but the Senegalese midfielder saw his half-volley tipped on to the crossbar by the Fulham keeper.

A long period of pressure from the home side warranted a second goal and it came when defender Winston Reid rose highest to head home a Matty Taylor corner from six-yards.

Fulham tried to get themselves back into the game, but the absence of key players like Moussa Dembele and Clint Dempsey – both sold in the transfer window – showed, despite Steve Sidwell and Damien Duff both trying their luck from distance.

The Hammers kept on dominating, though, and it was Andy Carroll’s ariel threat that sucked three Fulham defenders away from the lurking Matty Taylor at the edge of the area as he took advantage of a weak Hangeland header to make it 3-0 before the break.

New Fulham signing Dimitar Berbatov was introduced at half-time but, despite showing signs of promise, couldn’t improve the fortunes of his new club.

Hugo Rodallega went closest for Fulham in stoppage time, but he saw his volley pushed on to the post by keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen before his follow up was also saved for a corner.

However The Hammers had all but won the game with their first half showing and, although they could’ve scored one or two more, spent the final 45 minutes keeping possession and ensuring they kept a second consecutive Premier League clean sheet at home this season.

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West Ham United

Starting XI: Jaaskelainen; Reid, O’Brien, Collins (67), Demel (78); Nolan, Taylor, Noble, Dimae; Carroll (68), Vaz Te

Subs: Henderson, Tomkins (67), Diarra, O’Neil, Cole (68), Maiga, Hall (78)

Goals: Nolan (1), Reid (29), Taylor (41)

Fulham

Starting XI: Schwarzer; Riise, Hangeland, Richardson (59), Hughes; Riether, Sidwell, Duff, Diarra; Petric (46), Rodallega

Subs: Stockdale, Kelly, Baird, Briggs, Kasami, Kacaniklic (59), Berbatov (46)

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Referee: Anthony Taylor

Attendance: 33,458

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