Complacent Hammers surrender to Wigan

Wigan started off well yesterday and were out of the starting blocks like a ferret up a drain pipe. With strikes from Ivan Ramis and James McArthur that was enough to do the damage although West Ham pulled back a goal late into the match via a lovely placed header by James Tomkins that gave the Wigan keeper no chance.

The Hammers were complacent and didn’t really get down to business if you ask me. They had their chances but they were not put away and at this level we all know what happens when you don’t stick your goals in the net, don’t we? It was visions of last year when we lost the plot half way through the season and went on a spree of drawing matches to let other clubs like Saints in the back door and take away our lead.

I must admit though that it was a beautiful volley from the Spaniard Ramis, who turned down West Ham by the way, to move up north to join fellow countryman Roberto Martinez. Big Sam must be biting his lip because it was only last month when Ramis scored his first goal for Wigan against West Ham in the Capital One Cup. His goal yesterday, came after 8 minutes of play and paved the way for the Irons’ second loss in 14 away outings.

Wigan could even have bettered the score at Upton Park had they been more accurate in front of goal.

After the game, Hammers boss Sam Allardyce had this to say:

“We never got going. It wasn’t just the defence, we did not function anywhere near our best in any department.
“As a promoted team you must give your very best to have any chance of winning on the road.
“Wigan were looking for a first home win and we needed to put pressure on them to make them more nervous.
“The technique Ramis showed for that first goal was terrific — any striker would have been proud of it. If Robin van Persie had scored it people would never stop going on about it.
“We did try to get him but Roberto’s Spanish tipped it Wigan’s way!
“It was a disappointment to see us perform that badly. We need to pick ourselves up quickly because we’ve got some very tough games coming up.”

The Wigan front men Arouna Kone and Franco Di Santo were causing the Hammers all sorts of problems and kept Jussi Jaaskelainen on his toes for a lot of the game. With James McArthur’s goal, it gave the Latics some breathing space being 2 goals up. They started to play nice football but their cocky style nearly backfired when the ball fell sweetly to Andy Carroll after being picked out by George McCartney. If it wasn’t for a pitiful first touch that ended with the ball running out of play, the Latics would have been taking just a point from this one.

West Ham need to tighten up the defines as Jussi can’t do it all, can he? The Hammers also need to put away their chances. Football is a very unforgiving game and if you don’t find the net with the chances you do get then it’s game over. I’m sure Sam will borrow Fergie’s hairdryer and give his boys the rocket they so deserve. Come on you irons!