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Sport

Wilson volley sinks West Ham, Newcastle United secure crucial win over Cardiff

Matches
Bournemouth (UK), Jan. 19, 2019 (Reuters/NAN) Bournemouth’s Callum Wilson smashed home a wonderful second half volley to give his side a much-needed 2-0 home win over West Ham United in their English Premier League clash on Saturday.

His strike partner Joshua King scored the second goal after Wilson gave the home side the lead with a thunderous volley in the 54th minute.

With West Ham attacking and Bournemouth content to play on the counter, Wilson almost got a second in the 71st minute.

But this time his first-time shot came off the foot of the far post and rolled to safety.

The visitors continued to leave space at the back as they desperately chased an equaliser.

And King was able to slot the ball into an empty net after a superb counter-attack to secure all three points for Bournemouth.

Elsewhere, Newcastle United moved out of the relegation zone and dropped Cardiff City into it.

An unlikely double by Fabian Schar earned them a crucial 3-0 victory at St James’ Park.

An afternoon that began with unpopular club owner Mike Ashley being booed by disgruntled home fans ended on a brighter note as Rafa Benitez’s side took maximum points.

It was Newcastle United’s third home win this season.

After five games without a league win, the visit of Cardiff had the feel of a key relegation battle and Schar’s 24th minute opener eased the tension around the ground.

Finding himself in an advanced position the Swiss international centre-back drove in from near the touchline and curled a superb shot past Cardiff goalkeeper Neil Etheridge.

It was Schar’s first goal for Newcastle United since joining from Spanish club Deportivo La Coruna.

And, having got the taste for it, he doubled his side’s lead when bundling the ball into the net from a Matt Ritchie corner just past the hour mark.

Cardiff offered little in response apart from the odd flurry and Schar was not far away from claiming a hat-trick when he headed off target from another Ritchie corner.

Ayoze Perez added some late gloss, tapping in Newcastle United’s third in stoppage time from Salomon Rondon’s cross.

Newcastle United climbed to 17th with 21 points, one place above the drop zone while Cardiff are in 18th spot, with 19 points.(Reuters/NAN)
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)

Sport

Rice’s first West Ham goal enough to sink Arsenal

EPL

London, Jan. 12, 2019 (Reuters/NAN) Declan Rice’s first goal for West Ham United earned his side a deserved first home victory over Arsenal for 13 years on Saturday.

The youngster’s 48th minute strike secured a 1-0 win at the London Stadium.

Arsenal began brightly and then had a flurry of chances after falling behind but West Ham were good value for the three points as they put a dent in Arsenal’s top-four hopes.

Former Arsenal midfielder Samir Nasri, rebuilding his career at West Ham after a doping ban, was at the heart of much of West Ham’s best work on his Premier League debut for the club.

It was the Frenchman’s neat lay-off that allowed 19-year-old midfielder Rice the space to curl a superb shot past Bernd Leno.

Rice had headed wide in a first half in which West Ham took charge with Felipe Anderson drilling a shot fractionally wide of the post after another lay-off by Frenchman Nasri.

Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette had a double chance early on and Matteo Guendouzi’s 25-metre effort flew just wide but Arsenal struggled to exert any sustained pressure.

Alex Iwobi shaved the post with a low shot but Arsenal failed to score for the first time in 21 Premier League matches.

The north London oitfit remain fifth on 41 points while West Ham move up to eighth on 31 points before the rest of the weekend fixtures. (Reuters/NAN)

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Sport

West Ham’s Wilshere suffers injury setback, Carroll back in training

West Ham’s Wilshere suffers injury setback, Carroll back in training

London, Oct. 19, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) West Ham United midfielder Jack Wilshere’s return after an ankle surgery has been pushed back, manager Manuel Pellegrini has said.

Wilshere, who joined West Ham from Arsenal on a free transfer this season, underwent a minor ankle surgery after picking up the injury against Wolverhampton Wanderers early last month.

The 26-year-old, however, remains on the sidelines, due to some inflammation around the ankle, pushing his likely return to next month.

“Jack felt some pain the last two days here so he needs more time to recover,” Pellegrini told the British media.

It’s not all gloom though as striker Andy Carroll was back to training on the pitch in a welcome boost.

The Chilean manager was more optimistic about Andy Carroll’s fitness levels, with the striker penned for a return in “15 days” after suffering an ankle issue during pre-season.

West Ham, currently 15th in the Premier League standings with seven points, host London rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday. (Reuters/NAN)

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Edited by Emmanuel Okara/Silas Nwoha

Sport

League Cup: Magnificent Hazard ends Liverpool’s 100% start as West Ham, Arsenal stroll

League Cup: Magnificent Hazard ends Liverpool’s 100% start as West Ham, Arsenal stroll

League Cup

Liverpool (UK), Sept 26, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) The brilliance of Chelsea’s Eden Hazard ended Liverpool’s 100 per cent start to the season as Maurizio Sarri’s side enjoyed a 2-1 win at Anfield in the League Cup third round on Wednesday.

Liverpool have started with six wins in the Premier League and a victory in the Champions League but they were knocked out by a superb solo goal from Hazard in the 85th minute.

Former Chelsea striker Daniel Sturridge, who had earlier missed an open goal, put Liverpool in front in the 58th minute with an acrobatic volley after Willy Caballero parried out Naby Keita’s drive.

Emerson levelled for Chelsea in the 79th, slotting home after Simon Mignolet parried out a Ross Barkley header from a free kick whipped in by Hazard.

The goal was reviewed by VAR but ruled as fair although Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp felt it should have been disallowed for offside.

Sturridge then struck the bar with a fine effort from distance but it was Chelsea who struck the decisive blow.

“It’s a fantastic goal. Not only the beauty of it but for the time he scored it,” Chelsea assistant manager Gianfranco Zola said.

“Not only is he one of the best in the Premier League – if not the best – but he is one of the best in Europe and the world.

“In my opinion we haven’t seen the best of him yet. He’s remarkable,” he added.
The two teams face each other at Stamford Bridge on Saturday in the Premier League.

Elsewhere, West Ham United hammered fourth tier (League Two) Macclesfield Town 8-0 for their biggest win since 1983.

Grady Diangana and Robert Snodgrass both scored twice as West Ham ripped apart the Cheshire side who are bottom of League Two without a win this season.

In an all-Premier League tie, Tottenham Hotspur progressed to the last 16 by beating Watford 4-2 on penalties after the game, played in Milton Keynes, ended 2-2.

Isaac Success had given Watford the lead in the 46th minute but Spurs looked to have grabbed the win thanks to a Dele Alli penalty in the 82nd minute and Erik Lamela’s goal four minutes later.

But Etienne Capoue’s 89th-minute drive took the game to penalties, only for Capoue and Domingos Quina to fail to convert their spot-kicks.

Alli didn’t fail to wrap up victory for Spurs.

Danny Welbeck scored twice as Arsenal beat Championship Brentford 3-1.
After the former Manchester United striker put the Gunners 2-0 up, Alan Judge brought Brentford back into the game but Alexandre Lacazette made sure of the win for Arsenal.

In an all-Championship match, Nottingham Forest beat Stoke City 3-2 despite having Diogo Goncalves sent off 13 minutes from time. (Reuters/NAN)

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Edited by Salif Atojoko

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Sport

Chelsea drop first points with 0-0 draw at West Ham

Draw

London, Sept. 23, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) Chelsea lost their 100 per cent Premier League record when London rivals West Ham United held them to a 0-0 draw on Sunday.

Needing a two-goal win to depose Liverpool at the top of the table, Chelsea struggled to make clear chances despite having the majority of possession.

They stay third behind the Merseysiders and champions Manchester City.

The home side could have punished them but Michail Antonio, who was deputising for the injured Marko Arnautovic, missed two first-half chances and Andriy Yarmolenko headed wastefully wide.

West Ham, with only one win so far from their six matches, remain 17th, one place above the relegation zone.

Despite having barely 30 per cent of possession in the first half, West Ham finally came alive after 30 minutes with two good chances for Antonio.

Sent through by record signing Felipe Anderson he shot too high but then forced goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga into a good save after being set up by Yarmolenko.

For all their dominance, Chelsea made barely one real opportunity before the interval when N’Golo Kante arrived to head wide from Willian’s smart volleyed cross.

In the second half it was two of Chelsea’s substitutes who went closest.

Alvaro Morata’s first attempt hit goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski in the face and later Ross Barkley’s curler was also kept out by the home goalkeeper.

Chelsea’s third substitute was experienced defender Gary Cahill, getting a first opportunity under new manager Maurizio Sarri when replacing the injured Antonio Rudiger.

The best chance of the game, however, fell West Ham’s way when Yarmolenko was alone at the far post to meet a perfect cross from Robert Snodgrass, but put his header wide.

After losing their first four games but winning at Everton last weekend, West Ham are showing signs of improvement.

“Signing nine players and with a new manager it was always going to be difficult,” Antonio told Sky Sports.

“Now we’re starting to gel.”

That new man in charge, the Chilean Manuel Pellegrini, understandably felt his side were well worth their first home point of the season.

“A good point in a very close game,” he said. “We played a good tactical game, defended well and created some chances.

“If you don’t score (from) your chances, you must pay. But if you don’t win, then don’t lose.”

Chelsea have another chance to knock Liverpool off the top when they play them at Stamford Bridge on Saturday — three days after the clubs meet in the League Cup at Anfield.

Manager Sarri is likely to make a number of changes on Wednesday but will want to see greater energy and more penetration in the league game after Sunday’s subdued performance.

“Today was a very difficult match,” he said.

“West Ham are a very good team and after they won at Everton they had confidence.” (Reuters/NAN)

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Edited by Felix Ajide

 

 

Sport

West Ham’s Perez denies refusing to play at Everton

West Ham’s Perez denies refusing to play at Everton

EPL

London, Sept. 17, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) West Ham United striker Lucas Perez has defended himself in the wake of media reports that he refused to warm up and come on as a substitute on Sunday.

The match in question was the 3-1 win of the London club over Everton in the Premier League.

The Spaniard was on the bench and looked like he was about to replace the injured Marko Arnautovic in the second half, but manager Manuel Pellegrini brought on midfielder Michail Antonio instead.

Perez was then captured by TV cameras in conversation with West Ham’s goalkeeping coach Xavi Valero on the bench and some sections of the British media reported that he had refused to play.

“Given the false information spread by the media that has affected my image, I am obliged to explain the only truth.

“I have never ever refused to warm up in my whole career, let alone play a match. In the moment that Marko got injured, I was on the bench after warming up.

“The coach called me to go out to play, however having realised that it was faster to substitute Antonio in, who at that moment was warming up, he changed his decision.

“The images that have been misinterpreted correspond to a talk with the goalkeeper’s coach, in which I never refused to warm up and explained what happened,” Perez said on Twitter on Monday.

Pellegrini said after the match that he had no problem with Perez and that “Antonio was already ready so played as I needed to make the change.”

The victory was West Ham’s first of the season and lifted the club off the bottom of the table and up to 16th place. (Reuters/NAN)

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Edited by Remi Koleoso/Salif Atojoko

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Sport

International break blessing for West Ham, says Antonio

International break blessing for West Ham, says Antonio

London, Sept. 12, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) The international break arrived at the right time for struggling West Ham United and their focused training in the past fortnight can kickstart their Premier League campaign, winger Michail Antonio said on Wednesday.

West Ham have lost their first four league games, including a 1-0 home defeat by promoted Wolverhampton Wanderers before the break.

The lack of result heaps pressure on new manager Manuel Pellegrini and his expensively assembled squad.

“International breaks can sometimes be a blessing and sometimes be a curse.

“Right now, I’d say it’s a blessing because it’s given ourselves a chance to clear our minds after the first part of the season,” Antonio told the club’s website.

“It’s given us an opportunity to do some good work and get ready to make a fresh start… we’ve been working on shape and tactical stuff and tying things down.”

West Ham brought in a number of new players in the closed season but are yet to extract the best out of them, scoring just two goals in the league so far.

“We’ve signed nine new players and it takes time to gel as you can see in the games, where we think people should be and getting things a bit muddled up,” Antonio added.

“We need to learn more about each other and I do see it coming good.”

West Ham return to Premier League action with Sunday’s trip to Everton. (Reuters/NAN)

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Edited by Silas Nwoha

Sport

New managers Emery, Pellegrini scrap for first point

New managers Emery, Pellegrini scrap for first point

London, Aug. 24, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) When Manuel Pellegrini and Unai Emery were appointed within a day of each other in May, neither could have envisaged where their teams now stand on the table.

Both teams met for the first time three months later and after two games, West Ham United and Arsenal are joint bottom and pointless.

Two games is no measure of a season, and both were handed the hardest possible opening fixture.

But their poor starts have given Saturday’s derby at the Emirates an unexpected edge as each scrambles to kickstart a response.

Both managers have arrived with a bagful of experience and trophies with Arsenal boss Emery a multiple Europa League winner with Sevilla.

West Ham’s Pellegrini is a Premier League champion with Manchester City.

Each can expect the time to ensure they adjust after securing the all-important first win.

Of the two, Emery has taken on arguably the greater challenge, succeeding Arsene Wenger at a club needing to reassert its top-four potential.

Former Arsenal players have a vocal place in the British media and are divided about what they have seen so far from the Spaniard.

Ray Parlour and Alan Smith both praised the way he was quick to make changes in the two defeats.

The coach substituted Aaron Ramsey after 53 minutes against Manchester City and Mesut Ozil in the 68th minute at Chelsea.

“That’s a strong statement to make in these early weeks, when everyone is trying to come to terms with the manager’s methods.

A lack of accountability, after all, had marred Arsene Wenger’s last few years,” wrote Smith in the Evening Standard on Friday.

“Irrespective of performance, you never got the feeling Ozil would be dropped under Wenger. If fit, the inconsistent playmaker seemed guaranteed a place.”

Under Wenger, Ramsey and Ozil started a combined total of 45 games last season.

However, the arrival of Lucas Torreira from Sampdoria and Matteo Guendouzi, arguably Arsenal’s best player in their first two games, from Lorient has added competition.

The fact that Torreira has not started yet has surprised another former player, Tony Adams, who felt that Emery has presided over two Wenger-like performances.

Adams claimed that Arsenal was lacking the sort of defensive steel the Uruguay World Cup midfielder was presumably bought to provide.

“I felt so sad about that. Everyone knows what Arsenal have been missing — it’s that steel, that resilience,” wrote Adams in The Sun.

“Whether Emery can coach it or not I don’t know yet, it is early days.”

Such arguments over Arsenal’s midfield will not be lost on former Gunner Jack Wilshere, who will play for West Ham on Saturday.

He was told in a 15-minute conversation with Emery that he did not feature in his plans after 197 appearances for the club.

Wilshere’s quality has never been in doubt but his poor injury record made a parting likely and he has faced a tough opening to his West Ham career.

The lack of pace at the heart of West Ham’s midfield, where Wilshere has partnered Mark Noble, has been questioned by pundits and fans.

Pellegrini is likely to be forced into a change on Saturday with captain Noble unlikely to be fit, with Pedro Obiang set to come in.

West Ham spent around 105 million pounds on new players in the close season and Pellegrini said he is unconcerned about the poor start.

“If you review my career, at Villarreal, at Malaga, at Manchester City, the first games that I managed were never good games,” he said.

He acknowledged that some of West Ham’s defensive work against Bournemouth had been unimpressive.

Any repeat on Saturday will sharply crank up the pressure. (Reuters/NAN)

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Edited by Silas Nwoha

Sport

EPL: West Ham’s Hernandez dreaming of top-six finish

EPL
London, Aug. 9, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) West Ham United have endured relegation battles in their last two Premier League campaigns but striker Javier Hernandez says he is dreaming of a top-six finish this season.

The London club have brought in Manuel Pellegrini as manager and spent nearly 100 million pounds to bolster the squad in the transfer window.

“Top six, top four is the aim, as high as we can. I’m a dreamer,” Hernandez told the club website ahead of Sunday’s trip to Liverpool.

“I am always aiming as high as I can and if we can put West Ham in the Champions League why not?”

The Mexico international scored just eight goals in 28 league appearances last season but is looking forward to working with Pellegrini.

“He told me I was going to be an important player and would play an important role in this team, so he gave me a lot of confidence,” he said. (Reuters/NAN)
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(Edited by Omolade Michael/Mufutau Ojo)

Sport

West Ham appoint Pellegrini on three-year deal

West Ham appoint Pellegrini on three-year deal
Appointment
Kayode Adebiyi
London, May 22, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) West Ham United have appointed former Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini as their new manager on a three-year deal, the Premier League club announced on Tuesday.
Chilean Pellegrini left Chinese Super League club Hebei China Fortune on Saturday and replaces David Moyes, who guided the club to a 13th-placed finish in the league this past season.
“I am delighted to welcome Manuel Pellegrini to West Ham United.
“He is one of the world’s most respected football coaches and we look forward to working with him,” West Ham joint-chairman David Sullivan said.
“It was important that we appointed someone with knowledge and experience of the Premier League.
“Someone who already has an understanding – not only of the teams and players we face – but of West Ham United and our ambitions,” Sullivan explained.
Former Villarreal, Real Madrid and Malaga boss Pellegrini returns to England two years after leaving Manchester City, a team the 64-year-old led to the Premier League title in 2013-14. (Reuters/NAN)
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Edited by Salif Atojoko
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