23/09/06: City 2 West Ham 0Updated: October 3rd, 2007
It’s hard to know how much to read into this game.
Certainly, we were up against a very poor side made even weaker by the loss of Anton Ferdinand after 22 minutes. The Guardian’s Ian Whittell called West Ham “shambolic” while The Times’ Brian Doogan described their display as “astonishingly poor”.
But three points are three points, and the performances of Samaras, Miller and Richards can only give us hope.
The noise generated by the 41,073 crowd was another plus point, though the fans who booed Reyna when he came on and directed Munich chants at Roy Carroll left a bad taste.
After his battling talk in the run-up to the game, Pearce showed his softer side in his post-match interview, explaining how his daughter’s Beanie Horse cuddly toy ended up sharing the touchline with him.
Maybe Beanie had positive influence on the game, with neither side picking up a booking. It certainly had an effect on Pearce, who kept it in his pocket for the post-match interview and promised to take it on the trip to Goodison on Saturday.
Should we get three points from Everton, we might even see the start of Beanie-mania. Daft as it sounds, in the superstitious world of football this has the potential to turn into something big.
For the moment, we should be posting a 24-hour guard around this magical horse - just in case.
~ Sky’s match stats can be found here, while a typically excellent selection of photos from the game can be found at rtfract.com.
Match reports
City 2 West Ham 0 (MEN)
Stuart Pearce’s biggest investment as a manager paid off at exactly the right time as Georgios Samaras’ brace eased the pressure on the beleaguered Blues boss.
Samaras brace sinks Hammers (Sky)
Samaras… was a stand-out performer in a game that will not live long in the memory.
Samaras lifts City gloom (Telegraph)
A turgid first half suggested Pearce’s uncomfortable start to the season would continue but five minutes after the break Samaras produced a moment of genuine quality, collecting a loose ball on the edge of the area on his chest and sending a well-struck volley beyond Roy Carroll.
Samaras double curtails speculation about Pearce’s tenure (Independent)
The first of Samaras’ goals was rooted again in City’s ability to attack the flanks with pace and power as Miller surged past Hayden Mullins, the replacement right-back.
Samaras double provides Pearce with breathing space (Guardian)
So fickle are the Premiership’s football gods that all it took for Alan Pardew to supplant Stuart Pearce as the division’s most under-pressure manager was a hamstring tear for Anton Ferdinand and a two-goal half from Greece international forward Georgios Samaras.
Samaras spices up Stu.. and Pard feels the heat (Sunday Mirror)
Fair or not, George’s genius eased the mounting criticism on his manager - although no-nonsense Pearce was genuinely unaffected by the criticism. He added: “I went to the training ground this morning, joined in the practice on a fantastic training pitch with the sun shining… and I was just thinking, what a fantastic club this is to represent.
Brilliance of Samaras ensures relief for Pearce (Times)
Georgios Samaras scored two goals of such magnificence, in a performance by Manchester City that surpassed the 1-0 victory over Arsenal, that supporters were ready to forget the misery which has afflicted the club for such a long time.
Manchester City 2 West Ham United 0 (Knees Up Mother Brown)
City were not much better than their visitors, but the partnership of Dietmar Hammann and Joey Barton in midfield exerted a relative amount of control, and West Ham were constantly troubled by the forward surges of Micah Richards.
Player ratings
The ratings come from (in order) the Evening News, Sunday Times, Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, Sky, Sky Your Rating and rtfract.com.
Weaver: 6, 6, 5, 5, 6, 7.1, 6 (av: 5.9)
Not overworked but the crosses he did have to deal with he took confidently (MEN)
Not troubled (Sky)
Richards: 7, 6, 7, 8, 7, 7.6, 7.5 (av: 7.2)
Some great marauding runs down the flanks, but strayed offside (MEN)
Powerful (Sky)
West Ham were constantly troubled by the forward surges (kumb.com)
Dunne: 7, 6, 6, 6, 7, 7.7, 7 (av: 6.7)
A captain’s display. Brave and dominant against all four forwards used (MEN)
Solid (Sky)
Distin: 7, 7, 5, 6, 6, 7.5, 7 (av: 6.5)
Dropped too deep at times, but no nonsense clearances caught the eye (MEN)
Did his job (Sky)
Jordan: 6, 6, 5, 5, 6, 7.3, 7 (av: 6.0)
Much more energetic than on Wednesday. Timely headed clearances (MEN)
Steady (Sky)
Sinclair: 7, 7, 6, 5, 6, 6.9, 7 (av: 6.4)
Less flashy than his opposite number on the left but his workrate was phenomenal (MEN)
Quiet (Sky)
Barton: 7, 7, 6, 6, 7, 7.4, 7.5 (av: 6.8)
All-action display, putting foot in when needed. Got better of Reo-Coker (MEN)
Never stopped (Sky)
Exerted a relative amount of control (kumb.com)
Hamann: 6, 6, 5, 5, 6, 7.4, 6.5 (av: 6.0)
Needs more games to settle into rhythm, but complemented Barton (MEN)
Efficient (Sky)
Exerted a relative amount of control (kumb.com)
Miller (Reyna 81): 8, 7, 7, 8, 7, 8.1, 8 (av: 7.6)
A revelation on the left. Brimmed with pace and confidence (MEN)
Promising (Sky)
His energy and enthusiasm set the tone for an industrious team performance (MEN)
Samaras (Ireland 89): 8, 8, 8, 9, 9, 8.8, 8.5 (av: 8.5)
City fans have waited a long time for him to deliver and he did (MEN)
Quality goals (Sky)
Stand-out performer (Sky)
Corradi (Dickov 70): 6, 7, 6, 5, 6, 7.1, 7 (av: 6.3)
More effective than in recent away games. Crucially made the second (MEN)
Assist (Sky)
Subs:
Dickov (Corradi 70): (av: 5.8)
Tireless (Sky)
Did what he always does and gave defence no peace (MEN)
Reyna (Miller 81): (av: 5.6)
No time (Sky)
Ireland (Samaras 89): (av:5.8)
Late introduction (Sky)
Subs Not Used: Hart, Beasley.