WEST HAM 1 X 1 WEST BROMWICH

  

Tony Pulis’s presence boosts West Brom in gutsy draw at West Ham

 

Marvel at the Tony Pulis effect. Although the presence of the Premier League’s leading troubleshooter in the stands at Upton Park was not quite enough to lift his new side to an unlikely victory over West Ham United, this was an encouraging first step in the right direction for West Bromwich Albion, who can take great heart from a performance that suggested they are more than capable of staying up.

West Brom will be disappointed that they were unable to summon the inspiration that might have resulted in their first win in four matches, but this may come to be seen as a valuable point in the final reckoning. Pulis, whose first match in the dugout will be the visit of non-league Gateshead to The Hawthorns in the FA Cup on Saturday, will be satisfied with what he saw. Saido Berahino’s first-half equaliser was just reward for an excellent first-half display and West Brom were resilient when they had to be to stretch West Ham’s winless run to three matches. It was a mark of how well West Brom coped with West Ham that there were boos from the home fans at the final whistle.

Something had to give after West Brom’s 2-0 defeat at Stoke City on Sunday ended with the visiting supporters in open mutiny and there was a doomed inevitably about Alan Irvine, a decent man who was on a hiding to nothing from the start, losing his job. Putting it bluntly, it did not come as a shock to learn of Irvine’s sacking on Monday night. There was no option but to act ruthlessly and the bloody-minded way that Pulis guided Crystal Palace to safety last season after taking over when they were in an even worse position than West Brom’s now has instantly revived optimism.

The fear for West Ham was that the arrival of a new manager would give West Brom a new lease of life, even though Pulis left it to Rob Kelly and Keith Downing to take temporary charge of the team, and the way the visitors played in the first half, with freedom and invention, belied their perilous position.

Stéphane Sessègnon, whose tricky footwork and easy dribbling style would make him a genuine force in this league if only he was more consistent, was a source of creative menace working in tandem with Graham Dorrans and he should have done better than slash wastefully wide from close range midway through the first half, while Adrián also had to adjust himself brilliantly and make a wonderful flying save when Chris Baird met Andre Wisdom’s driven cross with a surprisingly acrobatic volley.

By then, however, West Brom were already a goal behind. As sloppy as West Ham were on occasions, their attacks a tad laboured and their passing unnecessarily skittish, they always carried a threat when Stewart Downing and Alex Song were in possession and they took the lead in the 10th minute with a beautifully crafted goal. Joleon Lescott was caught out when Downing sent a searching ball sailing over his head and Morgan Amalfitano was able to bring the ball down, assess the situation and then carve West Brom open with a pass through to Aaron Cresswell, whose fizzing cross was headed into the far corner by Diafra Sakho. West Ham will miss Sakho’s goals – this was his ninth in all competitions - when he heads off to the Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal next Monday.

Going behind briefly threatened to shake West Brom’s confidence and they were grateful to Ben Foster for denying Downing as West Ham pushed for a second goal. They might as well have headed back up the motorway there and then if Downing’s shot had gone in but, gradually, West Brom imposed themselves and equalised shortly before half-time. West Ham were caught horribly short at the back as Sessègnon skated down the left and rolled the ball inside to Berahino, who alerted any potential suitors to his qualities by scoring for the first time in 12 matches with a cool finish.

West Ham could hardly plead ignorance given that it was Berahino’s third goal in four matches against them but of greater concern to Sam Allardyce was how leggy his players were looking. West Brom were playing the brighter football at the start of the second half, Youssouf Mulumbu firing into the side netting from a tight angle and Berahino testing Adrián with a deflected effort from 20 yards.

Something had to change for West Ham. On came the rarely spotted Matt Jarvis and things improved. Cresswell struck a post with a free-kick, Andy Carroll fluffed an overhead kick, Sakho just failed to bundle in a Downing centre and Jarvis, all scurrying endeavour and willing running down the left, started to pose a few problems for Wisdom.

West Brom sank back as the minutes ticked away and West Ham pushed hard for a winning goal, but a draw was the right result.