West Ham brush aside QPR to ensure dismal return for Harry Redknapp
West Ham 2 QPR 0
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http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/oct/05/west-ham-qpr-premier-league-match-report
Harry Redknappâs autumnal trip down memory lane has proven a dead-end street for his Queens Park Rangers side. With defeats already suffered at his old haunts of Southampton and Tottenham, West Ham United completed the hat-trick thanks to Nedum Onuohaâs early own goal and Diafra Sakhoâs second-half header. âIt wasnât great,â said Redknapp afterwards. That was an understatement.
Gary Nevilleâs post-match view â âdiabolicalâ â was a touch closer to the truth. The result leaves QPR bottom of the pile but the manner of the result will sting as much as the consequences.
Toothlessness in attack and flakiness at the back is a toxic combination and both were in evidence here â only Everton have conceded more, only Burnley have scored fewer. Not that West Ham will mind. Sam Allardyceâs side claimed their second home win in succession with some ease despite a stop-start performance that failed to maintain its early sparkle.
âWeâre short of goals and weâre short of goalscorers,â said Redknapp. âWe lost Loïc Rémy right on the deadline and couldnât get a replacement. It has not been easy. Weâve had a tough start but thereâs an awful long way to go.â
A lack of goals, though, is not a new problem for this Rangers side â the list of teams who outscored them in the Championship last season includes Sheffield Wednesday, Middlesbrough and Bournemouth â and they fashioned only two chances of note here.
They both fell to Charlie Austin who created the first himself midway through the opening half after flummoxing James Tomkins on the edge of the box but planted his shot too close to Adrián. The second came courtesy of an immediate impact from Bobby Zamora following his half-time introduction from the bench, but Austin poked the substituteâs cross narrowly wide.
âIf you canât create a goal threat then the rest of the team comes under too much pressure and ultimately cracks,â said Allardyce, whose side are up to seventh. âWeâve suffered that ourselves in the past. When youâve got a real goalscorer in your team it makes so much difference. Look at the difference that Diego Costa has made to Chelsea.â
Allardyce ensured that his side carried plenty of threat by picking an attacking XI with a front three of Mauro Zarate, Enner Valencia and Sakho, while Redknapp aimed for solidity by naming Karl Henry alongside Sandro in midfield.
The way in which the home team took the lead in the fifth minute, though, owed nothing to tactical tinkering. The excellent Stewart Downing swung in a corner and Onuoha inadvertently bundled into his own net from close range.
After an opening spell full of verve and swagger from the home side, during which Valencia should probably have put them two up but turned wide Sakhoâs cross, Rangers improved and Austinâs two missed opportunities followed.
The home sideâs strut had been sucked from them, and an equaliser was looking the more likely next goal when West Ham doubled their advantage. The irrepressible Zarate let fly from distance, a block saw the ball spin out to James Tomkins and the defenderâs hook across goal was nodded in from little more than a yard out by Sakho.
Valencia thought he had made it 3-0 but saw his effort ruled out after intercepting Robert Greenâs free-kick inside the penalty area (âI will check the rules,â promised Allardyce ominously) and Rangers huffed and puffed thereafter to little effect. Adrián was forced to tip wide a Nico Kranjcar free-kick and Adel Taarabt fizzed a long-range effort wide but the Hammers were comfortable. QPR seem in for a season that is anything but.
Man of the match Stewart Downing (West Ham)
Comments:-
"This feels even worse than the last relegation season. Ferdinand has been consistently awful and Redknapp's bizarre transfer policy has left us without a specialist right back. Attack is toothless, midfield is guileless and defence is gormless. Just awful."
"Redknapp out.. Moyes in"
"If this is to be a relegation season for the Rs then it could be the mother of all relegations unless they have made their peace with the Football League."
